Zenko-ji temple stands in Nagano city, the gateway to the monkey park. These tours put the temple, a sake stop and the monkeys into one day, from different start points.
The short answer
The classic snow monkey, Zenko-ji and sake tour is the Machinovate day from Nagano Station or Hakuba, with a guide at the temple, a sake tasting, lunch and the park ticket. From Nozawa Onsen, Machinovate runs the same combination. If you start in Tokyo and want no train, the JRT Group coach includes Zenko-ji but no sake, and the o8Experience tour from Nagano swaps the tasting for a brewery in Obuse.
Pick the day you want to see the monkeys, or the first and last day of your trip. We look at the booking calendar of every tour from Tokyo, Nagano and the ski resorts and list the ones that still take bookings.
Starts at: Nagano Station or Hakuba
Starts at: Nozawa Onsen
Starts at: Nagano
Starts at: Shinjuku, Tokyo
| Photo | Tour | Starts at | Sake | At Zenko-ji | Lunch | Reviews ↕ | Price ↕ | Book |
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Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji and Sake from Nagano Machinovate Japan Ltd | Nagano Station or Hakuba | Sake tasting | With a guide, inner sanctuary extra | Included | ★ 4.9 (992) | $137per person | Book now |
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Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji and Sake from Nozawa Machinovate Japan Ltd | Nozawa Onsen | Sake tasting | On the itinerary | Lunch | ★ 4.9 (16) | $137per person | Book now |
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Snow Monkey Park, Obuse and Sake Tasting o8Experience | Nagano | Masuichi-Ichimura brewery, Obuse | On the itinerary | Not stated | ★ 5.0 (11) | $156per person | Book now |
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Snow Monkey Park and Zenko-ji with Lunch JRT Group | Shinjuku i-Land | Not on the itinerary | On the itinerary | Lunch | New tour, no reviews yet | $126per person | Book now |
Each price is the one GetYourGuide or Viator shows right now, taxes and fees included. Shared tours are charged per person and private tours usually per vehicle; the line under the price tells you which.
Open a card for the start point, the stops and what the tour leaves out.
Guide at Zenko-ji, sake tasting, lunch and the park ticket, from Nagano Station or by winter shuttle from Hakuba.
A group day trip that starts in Nagano, not in Tokyo. Pickup is at Nagano Station or, for skiers, at hotels in Hakuba. The day combines Zenko-ji temple in Nagano city, a sake tasting, lunch and the walk to the monkey pools at Jigokudani.
Guests coming from Tokyo take the Shinkansen to Nagano on their own; the train is not part of the tour.
Nagano Station, or hotel pickup in Hakuba (Happo area) for the Hakuba option.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
Pickup in Nozawa Onsen: the park, lunch, Zenko-ji and sake, back in Nozawa in the evening.
The ski-resort version of the Nagano day trip: pickup in Nozawa Onsen, then the monkey park, lunch, Zenko-ji temple and a sake tasting, and back to Nozawa in the evening.
Nozawa Onsen.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
From Nagano: the park, Obuse with the Masuichi-Ichimura brewery, and Zenko-ji, in about seven hours.
A day from Nagano that adds the small town of Obuse to the monkey park. The itinerary lists the Masuichi-Ichimura sake brewery and Zenko-ji temple.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
Coach from Shinjuku i-Land with Zenko-ji and lunch, about 13 hours. New on the platform.
A coach day trip from Shinjuku that adds Zenko-ji temple in Nagano to the monkey park, with lunch and a stop at Shinshu Fruitsland. With about 13 hours it is the longest coach day here. New on the booking platform, no reviews yet.
Shinjuku i-Land.
Facts from the tour listing on the booking platform, checked in November 2026.
Where each tour starts and ends, how you get there from Tokyo, the time at the park and whether ticket and lunch are part of it. "Not stated" means the listing does not say.
| Tour | Starts at | From Tokyo | Whole trip | Time at the park | Ends at | Park ticket | Lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple and Sake Day Trip from Nagano | Nagano Station or Hakuba | Shinkansen to Nagano on your own | 8–12 h | 3 h | Back at the start point | Included | Lunch |
| Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji and Sake Day Trip from Nozawa Onsen | Nozawa Onsen | Starts in the mountains | 10 h | Not stated | Back at the start point | Not stated | Lunch |
| Snow Monkey Park, Obuse and Sake Tasting Day Tour | Nagano | Shinkansen to Nagano on your own | 7 h | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Snow Monkey Park and Zenko-ji Temple Day Trip from Tokyo with Lunch | Shinjuku, Tokyo | Coach both ways | 13 h | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Lunch |
Taken from the tour listings, checked in November 2026. The length of the whole day is the operator's figure.
Zenko-ji stands in Nagano city, and every tour on this page fits it in before or after the park. On the Machinovate tour a guide takes you through the grounds. The inner sanctuary is not included, so if you want to go inside, bring the entrance fee. The other tours list the temple on their itinerary without saying whether a guide comes along.
The Machinovate tours from Nagano and from Nozawa Onsen both stop for a sake tasting. o8Experience goes to Obuse instead, a small town with the Masuichi-Ichimura brewery, and visits Zenko-ji as well. The JRT Group coach from Tokyo has Zenko-ji and lunch but no sake stop. Anyone driving the next morning, or travelling with children, loses nothing on that last tour.
From Tokyo, take the Shinkansen to Nagano and join the Machinovate tour at the station, or sit on the JRT Group coach from Shinjuku for a day of about 13 hours. Skiers in Hakuba use the winter shuttle to the same Machinovate tour, and guests in Nozawa Onsen have their own departure. Tours from Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen.
Zenko-ji holds a Gokaicho only once every seven years. The next one runs from 4 April to 19 June 2027, and Nagano gets very busy in those weeks. There is no snow at the park by then, but it is the season when baby monkeys are born. Book trains and rooms early. The park month by month.
Zenko-ji is the part of these days that reviewers judge most differently. From Nozawa Onsen the temple was a highlight; on the tour from Nagano, travellers in a larger group felt the temple and the sake stop were squeezed in, with half an hour at Zenko-ji. If the temple matters more to you than the monkeys, stay in Nagano city after the tour and go back on your own.
“Spectacular full day tour. Amazing time spent with the snow monkeys. … Beautiful scenery and a pleasant walk through the forest up to the snow monkey thermal spring area. We saw at least 100 monkeys including very cute baby monkeys, Our guide was very friendly, engaging and knowledgeable, and gave us clear instruction. Transport was very comfortable . Lunch was delicious …”
“Kei was an absolutely amazing guide, and we loved our trip so much! The lunch was much better than we expected considering it wasn't the main attraction, and it was in a beautiful old building … The timing for the monkey tour wasn't too crowded and the temple was wonderful! …”
“We were a diverse group of about 18. We had about a 20 seater bus with our backpacks which was cramped. A group of this size really needs headsets to hear just what the guide is saying. … Zenkoji Temple and sake tasting just seemed to be day fillers. Lunch was adequate and ready when we got there, which was good. Be warned there is a 1.6 km walk into the monkey park which could be a challenge for some.”
“… I am not happy at all with the free time left at the Zenko-ji temple, only 30 minutes. … I wasn't aware that in autumn it was really hard to see any monkey. There was not a single monkey to be seen. …”
Real traveller reviews from GetYourGuide.
The Machinovate tour visits the temple grounds with a guide, but the inner sanctuary costs extra. The other listings name Zenko-ji on the itinerary without details.
Yes, with the Shinkansen to Nagano and the Machinovate tour from Nagano Station. The JRT Group coach from Shinjuku includes Zenko-ji but has no sake stop.
From 4 April to 19 June 2027. It takes place once every seven years and draws large crowds to Nagano.
Every snow monkey tour with its start point and inclusions.
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