Rural Japan GuidesHidden Japan, made reachable

Snow Monkeys Without a Car: Getting to Jigokudani from Nagano

How to reach Jigokudani Yaen-koen, the snow monkey park, from Nagano Station without a car: buses, trains, tickets, the walk in and the rules, from official pages checked on October 22 and 24, 2026.

Researched & written byRural Japan GuidesHow I researchSources20 sourceslisted at the endLast checkedDetails can change — check the official site before you travel.Read5 min
Japanese macaques, an adult and a young monkey in front, soaking in a steaming hot spring among snow-covered rocks

Japanese macaques in the hot spring at Jigokudani Yaen-koen in February. Photo: azkin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

The short answer
  • From Nagano Station, take the Nagaden express bus straight to the Snow Monkey Park stop (50 minutes; ¥3,000 from December 5, 2026), or the Nagano Electric Railway to Yudanaka and a 10-minute local bus.
  • From the bus stop it is about 30 minutes on foot along an unpaved path. In winter, wear snow boots; the park also suggests light crampons.
  • Entry rises from ¥800 to ¥1,000 for adults on December 1, 2026, and from December to April visitors with a web ticket get in first.
My pick

In winter, buy the bus-and-entry ticket online and take a morning express bus.

From December 5, 2026, Nagaden runs a direct express bus from Nagano Station East Exit every 20 to 30 minutes, 8:00 to 13:30. Seats are first come, first served.

Nagaden asks you to buy the bus-and-entry set ticket online in advance; at Nagano Station, same-day tickets may not be sold once online sales reach their limit.

  1. 1Express bus50 min; ¥3,000 from Dec 5, 2026
  2. 2Train + local busAbout 45 min + 10 min; ¥1,760 + ¥390
  3. 3Walk in30 to 35 min, unpaved

The snow monkeys are wild Japanese macaques that often bathe in a hot spring at Jigokudani Yaen-koen, a park in the mountains above Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen in Nagano Prefecture. You cannot drive to the park itself: everyone walks the last 30 minutes or so. From Nagano Station you get to the start of that walk by express bus, or by train and a local bus.

Times, fares and rules below come from the park, Nagaden Bus and the Nagano Electric Railway, checked on October 22 and 24, 2026. For other snow trips you can make by train and bus, see my guide to the Japanese Alps in winter.

Snow monkeys at a glance
From Nagano Station Express bus 50 min, or train about 45 min + local bus about 10 min
Walk to the park 30 to 35 min, unpaved
Hours 9:00–16:00 (Nov–Mar), 8:30–17:00 (Apr–Oct)
Adult entry ¥800 to Nov 30, 2026; ¥1,000 from Dec 1 (¥880 online)
Winter entry Web-ticket holders go first, Dec–Apr

From Nagano Station: bus or train

Express bus — Nagaden Ex24, Nagano Station East Exit → Snow Monkey Park

  1. Winter timetable, December 5, 2026 – April 5, 2027: 15 buses a day from 8:00 to 13:30, every 20 to 30 minutes, 50 minutes to the Snow Monkey Park stop.
  2. ¥3,000 one way from December 5, 2026. Until December 4, the summer fare is ¥2,000.
Why pick itno change of vehicle, and it stops where the walk starts.
Watch outno seat reservations. You line up at stop 24 and board in order; if a bus is full, you wait for the next one.

Train and local bus — via Yudanaka

  1. Nagano Electric Railway limited express from Nagano to Yudanaka, 44 to 45 minutes in the spring 2026 timetable. ¥1,660 plus a ¥100 limited express charge.
  2. Nagaden local bus from Yudanaka Station to the Snow Monkey Park stop, about 10 minutes, ¥390.
Why pick itit passes Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen if you are staying there.
Watch outone change at Yudanaka, and the winter rail timetable was not posted when I checked.

Coming back in winter, the express buses leave the Snow Monkey Park stop from 11:00 to 17:00 and take 55 minutes to Nagano Station East Exit; the 17:00 bus arrives at 17:55. Tickets back to Nagano are also sold from a machine in the waiting building at the Snow Monkey Park stop.

From Tokyo, the Hokuriku Shinkansen takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to Nagano on a Kagayaki train, and a Shinkansen e-ticket with a reserved seat costs ¥8,250 in the normal season. Nagaden's winter timetable shows the 6:16 from Tokyo arriving in Nagano at 7:36, in time for the 8:00 bus.

Tickets

Nagaden's Snow Monkey Pass for Bus covers the express bus both ways and one entry to the park: ¥6,800 for adults (junior high school age and up) and ¥3,400 for elementary school children in winter (December 5, 2026 – April 5, 2027). Bought separately, the bus both ways and entry come to ¥7,000 at the gate price (¥3,000 × 2 + ¥1,000). That is ¥200 more than the pass; with the ¥880 web ticket instead of the gate price, the difference is ¥80. The pass is not valid on the Yudanaka local bus.

Buy it online, or at the Aruyo bus information counter at Nagano Station East Exit. Nagaden does not sell it on the bus or at convenience stores, and Aruyo may not sell same-day tickets once online sales reach their limit.

The walk to the park

The park's pages put the walk from the Snow Monkey Park stop at about 30 minutes in the text and 35 minutes in the access chart, on an unpaved path; from Kanbayashi Onsen it is about 2 km. The park also warns of steps, slopes and uneven ground on every route. In winter the forest road from Shibu Onsen to the Jigokudani car park is closed.

WinterSnow boots, and plan to arrive early

In winter the park recommends rubber boots or snow boots, and says light crampons make the walk safer. It asks visitors to reach the park at least 30 minutes before closing, which is 16:00 from November to March.

Latest plan in winter: the last express bus from Nagano leaves at 13:30 and takes 50 minutes, and the walk adds 30 to 35 minutes, so it still reaches the park before the cut-off 30 minutes before closing. After the park closes at 16:00, the walk back leaves time for the last bus to Nagano at 17:00.

Hours, entry fees and winter priority

  • Hours: 8:30–17:00 from April to October, 9:00–16:00 from November to March. The park says it is open every day, but it may close without notice because of the weather, the monkeys or natural disasters.
  • Entry until November 30, 2026: adults (18 and over) ¥800, elementary to high school age ¥400, under 6 free with a guardian.
  • Entry from December 1, 2026: adults ¥1,000, elementary to high school age ¥500; web tickets ¥880 and ¥440. Children under 6 still enter free.
  • Winter priority: from December to April, visitors who bought a web ticket are let in first.

Rules at the park

  • No dogs, cats or other pets.
  • No drones, selfie sticks or other special filming equipment.
  • Do not touch or feed the monkeys, and do not stare into their eyes from close up.
  • The monkeys are wild: the park says that depending on the season and conditions, they may not come to the park.

Luggage

Leave big bags in Nagano. Yudanaka Station's left-luggage service has been suspended since January 12, 2023. JR East lists 230 coin lockers at the Zenkoji Exit of Nagano Station and 189 at the East Exit, open 24 hours, at ¥400, ¥600 or ¥700 by size.

After the monkeys: Shibu Onsen and a brewery

  • Shibu Onsen: of the town's nine public baths, day visitors can use only the ninth bath, Shibu Odayu: 10:00–17:00, adults ¥800, children ¥500, with occasional closures. The other eight are free for guests staying in Shibu Onsen.
  • Tamamura Honten: the brewery behind Engi sake and Shiga Kogen Beer has a gallery shop with paid tastings, open Monday to Saturday, 9:00–17:30, about 1 minute on foot from the Kutsuno bus stop. Its taproom, THE FARMHOUSE, reopened in July 2026, about 5 minutes on foot from the Snow Monkey Park stop.
What I could not confirm yet
  • The winter 2026–27 Nagano Electric Railway timetable
  • Bus times and fares to the Kanbayashi Onsen stop
  • How quickly the winter bus-and-entry tickets sell out
  • Whether the Snow Monkey Pass counts as a web ticket for winter priority entry
  • How often the local bus runs from Yudanaka Station in winter, and its last bus

How I checked this

  1. Read the park's pages on hours, fees, access and rules, and its notice of the December 1, 2026 fee change.
  2. Read Nagaden Bus's winter 2026–27 timetable and fare table, its pass page and the Nagano Electric Railway's fare table and timetable.
  3. Matched every number to a dated official page; anything I could not confirm is listed above.
Jigokudani Yaen-koenNagaden BusNagano Electric RailwayJR EastJR WestShibu Onsen Ryokan AssociationTamamura Honten

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to the snow monkeys from Nagano without a car?

Take the Nagaden express bus from Nagano Station East Exit to the Snow Monkey Park stop (50 minutes in the winter 2026–27 timetable). Or ride the Nagano Electric Railway limited express to Yudanaka (about 45 minutes) and the local bus to the Snow Monkey Park stop (about 10 minutes). From the stop, walk 30 to 35 minutes to the park.

How much does it cost to see the snow monkeys?

Until November 30, 2026, entry is ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children of elementary to high school age. From December 1, 2026, it is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children of elementary to high school age, or ¥880 and ¥440 with a web ticket. Children under 6 enter free; the current fee table says they must come with a guardian.

Do I need to book the snow monkey bus?

The winter express bus has no seat reservations: you line up at stop 24 at Nagano Station East Exit and board in order until it is full. Nagaden asks you to buy the bus-and-entry set ticket online in advance; same-day tickets at Nagano Station may not be sold once online sales reach their limit.

Are the monkeys always in the hot spring?

No. The park says that depending on the season and conditions, the monkeys may not come to the park at all.

Can I bring a selfie stick or a drone?

No. The park bans drones, selfie sticks and other special filming equipment, and you cannot bring dogs or other pets.

More on this route

Japanese Alps in winterWhich parts of the Japanese Alps you can reach by bus and train from December to March, what closes for winter, which buses to book and snow delays to plan for.Winter for non-skiersWinter in central Japan without skis: 2027 dates, prices and train times for the snow monkeys, Kenrokuen's snow ropes, the Shirakawa-go light-up and more.Hakuba without a carHakuba without a car: trains and the Nagano bus, winter reservations, shuttles and taxis, where to stay, snow and seasons, from official pages.

Sources

  1. Hours and admission — Jigokudani Yaen-koen
  2. Notice of new admission fees from December 1, 2026 — Jigokudani Yaen-koen
  3. Jigokudani Yaen-koen (winter web tickets) — Jigokudani Yaen-koen
  4. Rules for visitors — Jigokudani Yaen-koen
  5. Access — Jigokudani Yaen-koen
  6. Your visit, step by step — Jigokudani Yaen-koen
  7. Winter 2026–27 express bus timetable (notice, in Japanese) — Nagaden Bus
  8. Ex24 Nagano – Snow Monkey Park timetable, December 5, 2026 – April 5, 2027 — Nagaden Bus
  9. Express bus fares from December 5, 2026 — Nagaden Bus
  10. Express bus, summer timetable — Nagaden Bus
  11. Snow Monkey Pass for Bus — Nagaden Bus
  12. Local bus fare changes from March 1, 2025 — Nagaden Bus
  13. Rail fares from December 1, 2025 — Nagano Electric Railway
  14. Timetable, spring 2026 — Nagano Electric Railway
  15. Yudanaka Station — Nagano Electric Railway
  16. Coin lockers at Nagano Station (in Japanese) — JR East
  17. Hokuriku Shinkansen trains to Nagano (in Japanese) — JR East
  18. Shinkansen e-ticket prices — JR West
  19. Day-use bathing at Shibu Onsen — Shibu Onsen Ryokan Association
  20. Tamamura Honten gallery shop and THE FARMHOUSE — Tamamura Honten

Researched and checked by Rio, based in Japan. I read Japanese timetables, operator PDFs and prefecture notices, cross-check them and date every fact. Published . Updated . How I research →