[START FROM KARUIZAWA] Private Snow Monkey Tour

Highlights

Karuizawa is a picturesque mountain town as popular in summer as it is in winter. Easily accessible from Tokyo using the Hokuriku Shinkansen (Bullet Train) service, Karuizawa is the usual getaway for Tokyoites and increasingly on the radar for international visitors who wish to head to the mountains in summer to escape the heat, or for the beautiful winter landscape and skiing offered in winter. No matter what time of year you're headed to Karuizawa, we can provide a fully private tour of the world-famous Jigokudani Monkey Park combined with lunch and a visit to Nagano City's historic Zenkoji Temple - all from your preffered pickup location in Karuizawa!

Highlights

• Starting from Karuizawa Station or any Karuizawa Area Hotel, we will pick your party up in our private vehicle to take you on your private tour and drop you off afterwards back in the Karuizawa area or in Nagano City!
• Visit the famous Jigokudani Monkey Park and learn all about what makes the resident monkeys so unique.
• Enjoy lunch at a nearby restaurant and experience Nagano’s renowned food culture.
• Explore Zenko-ji, one of Japan’s oldest and most important Buddhist temples, and home to the first known Buddhist statue to be brought to Japan.
• Try ‘sake’ with a tasting and learning experience all led by your guide (non-alcoholic options also available).

This tour offers amazing value for those looking to see Nagano's big attractions from Karuizawa, without needing to navigate public transport!

Review

What’s typically included?

A one-day tour (typically) includes:

• Private vehicle/driver for the duration of the tour
• Private English-speaking guide for the duration of the tour
• Entrance to the Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park
• Lunch 

A private tour provides a different atmosphere from offered group tours, as you can truly enjoy this intimate time with your party to enjoy these amazing locations with no interruptions or unexpected happenings.

The tour cost is calculated per person (aged of 6 years and over) with infants (under 6 years of age) included free of charge. Infants are included free of charge and therefore do not receive lunch (if required, please order directly to the restaurant according to your needs).

Depending on your pick-up and drop-off location, the price will change to account for differences in distance between tour locations. Please understand this when choosing your tour pick-up and drop-off points in the order window.

Tour Description

Once your tour begins, you will board our private tour vehicle and begin your journey to the Snow Monkey Park, located in the onsen town Yudanaka at the foot of the mountains. Your guide will take you along the forest trail which leads to the park and into Jigokudani - rather dramatically translating to 'Hell's Valley'. Home to the only troop of monkeys in the entire world known to bathe in hot springs, there are no barriers separating you from the wild monkeys, making this a unique and memorable experience.

Your guide will introduce these truly curious creatures and provide you time to enjoy the unique experience of observing them in close proximity. Make sure to bring your camera as you're going to need it!

Your guide will then accompany back along the trail and you will enjoy a traditional Japanese Lunch from a few different options that is sure to please anyone's taste. This specially prepared lunch is locally sourced and offers a visually pleasing and decadent experience that will leave you wanting more! This lunch is designed to match the season and highlight the best of Nagano's renowned food culture.

The exact contents of the lunch will change throughout the year, but there will always be fresh meat, delicious vegetables, and diet or lifestyle choice friendly options available.

Well-fed and content, it's time to head-out of Yudanaka to explore the picturesque town of Obuse, and its remaining Edo-style buildings. Known for its historic character, chestnut delicacies and sake breweries, walking the streets of Obuse provides an incredible opportunity to sample some local specialties and appreciate the local culture of Nagano and Japan as a whole in this stroll through time.

After spending some time in Obuse, you will once more board the private vehicle bound for Zenko-ji Temple. As a registered National Treasure, the temple is the most important cultural site in Nagano and one of the oldest and most important Buddhist temples in the entire country! A place of true historic importance, full of legends and myths, you will be guided around the temple before your guide will give you the opportunity to explore the surrounding precinct of smaller temples, shops, and food by yourself.

As Japan’s second largest producer of sake, Nagano is synonymous with sake and no visit to the region is complete without delving into Japan’s most famous beverage. Your guide with lead your party to a local producer of sake, and introduce how to differentiate one brew from another as you taste a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The information provided by your guide will allow you to continue to enjoy sake in a meaningful way even after the tour concludes.

After sake tasting concludes, the guide will say their goodbyes as you board the bus to your selected drop-off location. The ride back is the perfect time to sit back, relax, and look through all those monkey photos before you finally arrive safe and sound at your destination!

Notes

Included

• Private vehicle with driver
• Snow Monkey Park entrance fee
• Lunch (vegetarian options are available)
• Guided tour at Zenko-ji, at the sake-tasting, and at the monkey park
• English-speaking guide

Excluded

• Additional food, snacks & drinks
• Optional entrance fee to the inner sanctuary of Zenko-ji Temple
• Shinkansen / 'Bullet Train' tickets
• Accommodation

Other Information

• There will be a significant amount of walking required (1.6 km one way) to get to and from the Snow Monkey Park, along an unsealed forest trail so please wear appropriate shoes/boots.
• This tour is not wheelchair accessible and may not be suitable for mobility-impaired travellers. Should you have any concerns about your ability to join the tour, please contact us to discuss prior to booking.
• This tour uses different forms of transport. Tours can be conducted by microbus, larger coach or train depending on the season and size of the group.
• From mid-December until early-April the trail and park are likely to be affected by snow and ice. Please ensure that you are wearing suitable shoes/boots and warm clothing. If required, rental boots are available close to the monkey park and crampons (metal spikes that attach underneath your shoes/boots) can also be purchased. From mid-December until early-March please wear suitable clothing for temperatures potentially below 0°C (and as low as -10°C).
• During the winter it is common to see the monkeys enjoying the hot spring however from spring up to autumn there will be times where the monkeys play or eat in the water, however please note that the monkeys are wild animals and there is no guarantee that there will be monkeys in the bath.
• There are a few days in the year that the monkeys might not come down to the park.
• This tour includes lunch at a local restaurant. Please note that the restaurant may change their menu from time-to-time and the tour lunch may different to images shown on this page.
• This tour includes 'sake' tasting in Nagano City. The venue can change depending on the time of year. You must be a minimum of 20 years of age to consume alcohol on the tour. However, alcohol-free options are available.
• Infants (0-5) are free of charge. An infant lunch is not included and the order will be made directly to the restaurant according to your needs. We also cannot guarantee that a seat on the tour transport will be available for infants and they may be required to sit in the lap of an adult, especially during winter i.e. from December to March.

Why choose us?

Awarded a 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award for our 1-Day Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple & Sake Tour – recognised as one of the Top 10 Experiences in Japan – we have the local knowledge and experience to help you get the most out of your time in Japan.

We want all of our guests have the best possible time in Nagano, so good, that we hope you’ll come back again! We love our home region and want you to love it to… we’d love to see you here in Nagano!