One of the most popular ways to access the Snow Monkey Park is using the Nagano Dentetsu (Nagaden) train line from JR Nagano Station. The train affords you an easy and comfortable journey to Yudanaka Station (the nearest stop to the Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park) through the scenic landscape that defines the Yamanouchi region.
As of April 3rd 2018, Nagano Dentetsu made significant alterations to their train timetable. While these changes are reflected on our website and the up-to-date train schedule can be viewed via our access information, many timetables that are still in circulation, particularly those in print, are no longer current.
The changes to Nagaden’s train schedule were made following the publication of the Snow Monkey Resorts Vol.07 Winter 2018-2019 magazine. The timetable that can be found on page 22 of the magazine is therefore unfortunately no longer current and should be disregarded.
How can I tell if the timetable I have is current?
The timetable should display the date from which it was intended to be used. As you can see in the online version of the Snow Monkey Resorts magazine, it states that the timetable was “In use from April 3rd 2018”. The updated scheduled can now be found through our access information at shows the date from which it is current (in Japanese) as 2018年04月03日, which can be read as “In use from April 3rd 2018”.
Another simple way to confirm that you are looking at the correct schedule for trains to the Snow Monkey Park is by checking the times listed for individual train services. Most visitors using the Nagano Dentetsu train line to visit the monkey park choose to use the limited express train services (as these are notably faster than the local train services).
As you can see on the up-to-date timetable, the earliest express train from JR Nagano Station departs at 08:51 (marked in red) and arrives at Yudanaka Station at 09:36. On the now out-of-date schedule the earliest limited express train departing JR Nagano Station was at 09:04 (highlighted in blue in the Snow Monkey Resort magazine) and arrived at Yudanaka Station at 09:54.
The Nagaden trains continue to be a fantastic way to visit the Snow Monkey Park and one that we recommend for its convenience, comfort, and the flexibility it provides in combining your trip to the monkey park with visits to other stops along the line including Obuse and Yudanaka (along with Shibu Onsen).
We look forward to welcoming you to the region and Nagano’s famous snow monkeys!
