The snow monkeys of Japan are a unique and wonderful exciting experience in Japan. You can either experience this with a one-day jam-packed day-trip from Tokyo or take your time and explore the country-side town of Shibu Onsen where you can relax in 9 different hot springs, all with invigorating health benefits.
Start your journey with an incredible experience in itself by riding the bullet train! We took the Hokuriku Shinkansen line (Asama model) from Tokyo Station at 17:32 to Nagano Station arriving at 19:18.
You can usually get bullet train tickets the day of unless it’s a Japanese holiday (especially New Years or Golden Week). I’m normally a bit more cautious so I would try and buy them a few days before. For all the information you need about the bullet train, including all the ways to buy tickets, checkout this robust guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html
Then from Nagano Station you can take the local train arriving by 20:45 at Yudanaka Station. (Google Maps can map this out pretty easily for you if you’d like to leave earlier/later.) From Yudanaka Station, catch a taxi cab (around $10) to your Ryokan.
What is a Ryokan you might ask? It is a traditional Japanese inn! It’s an incredible cultural experience and I couldn’t recommend it enough.
To book a ryokan in Shibu Onsen visit: http://www.shibuonsen.net/english/
We stayed at Hishiya Torazou because they had an English site, internet access, their own bath, and was affordable.
Hiyashi Torazou was really great! The family that operates the inn is so kind and warm! The only negatives is that they can be a little slow to respond to emails, they don’t speak much English, and they don’t have western style showers (but they have showers with their traditional baths). That’s the only negatives and they are completely out weighed by the incredible experiences and hospitality you will experience at Hiyashi Torazou.
Make sure you reserve and eat meals at the ryokan, because that is one of the best parts of the entire experience! The meals are terrific and an incredible feast. Normally breakfast and dinner are included. (Be sure to pay attention to dining times because they are normally set, we arrived later on Friday and they were very kind to make dinner for us out of the normal time).
After checking in, learning about the ryokan, and eating; change into your yukata (your Japanese robe that will be provided for you) and hit the traditional Japanese bath to relax!
Japanese baths are ingrained in Japanese culture and history, so be sure to respect their customs. (You shower completely before entering the bath and don’t wear any clothes, towels or jewelry in the bath.)
There is a bus to the Snow Monkey Park, but if it’s nice weather and you’re up for it, the walk is really lovely! It’s normally 45 minutes to a hour and a half depending on the season (there are certain paths that are closed depending on the season). There are temples to stop at and even sake tasting/museum along the way.
The only thing I would caution is that the path to the snow monkeys can be icy causing it to be very slippery. Make sure you bring boots with good grip or you can buy snow shoe adjustments at the base of the hike (like snow chains but instead of being for your tire, they’re for your shoes).
I would head into the snow monkey park in the morning, as the monkeys are more active there in the earlier hours. The snow monkey park costs 800 Yen for adults and 400 yen for children. The Snow Monkey Park is incredible and we had the chance to see hundreds of monkeys wandering about. They’ll even brush right up next to you! Make sure to respect their space, especially around the younger monkeys.
On the way back down, make another pit stop at the Sake Museum/Tasting if you haven’t done so. (We went on the way up and then stopped back on the way down to actually purchase sake so we didn’t have to carry it up with us.) The sake was excellent and reasonably priced! They have a really cool snow monkey bottle that is a perfect size for gifts.
Enjoy lunch at many of the incredible Shibu Onsen restaurants. We ate at a really nice udon restaurant.
Throw on your Yukata, grab your towel and hop around the 9 different hot springs! (Your ryokan should provide you a key into all of the hot springs.)
Enjoy another incredible feast at your ryokan. For women, the onsen host will help you try on beautiful kimonos.
Pre-arrange a taxi cab from the ryokan to Yudanaka Station, catch the local train back to Nagano then the Kagayaki model bullet train on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line departing at 9:55am arriving at Tokyo Station at 11:20am. Just in time for a flight back to the states!
We visited Shibu Onsen in early March, which was a perfect time to see the snow monkeys with their long coats then enjoy the hot springs in the cold weather. (I’ve also visited the park in October as well, which was great but the snow monkey’s coats were shorter.)