Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani: Hours, Tickets and Access

Opening hours: open in winter, but for less time

9 am to 4 pm in winter 1 November to 31 March 8:30 am to 5 pm in green season Arrive 30 min before closing

The park runs winter hours of 9 am to 4 pm from 1 November to 31 March, according to a notice dated 31 October 2026 on the park’s Japanese website, which the English guide page confirms. From 1 April to 31 October, it opens from 8:30 am to 5 pm. The park advises arriving 30 minutes before closing: in winter, that means being at the entrance by 3:30 pm.

Good to know before you go

• The monkeys are not guaranteed: the park says they can be absent during opening hours.
• The web ticket is not refunded if no monkey is visible.
• The trail and the park are snowy from December to March: wear suitable footwear.

Pixidia tip: in winter, plan your return around 4 pm, the closing time. Bus timetables from the green season don’t apply in winter. If no winter bus is confirmed, book a backup taxi for the trip back after 4 pm: about 1,600 yen, an undated estimate.

Snow monkey day trip, Zenko-ji temple and sake in Nagano★ 4.9 · 389 reviewsPartner link From €126.66 per adult (based on 2 adults, checked 15 November 2026 for departures from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027, available every day of the window)From €126.66 per adult(based on 2 adults, checked 15 November 2026 for departures from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027, available every day of the window)

See dates

Dated ticket: required at peak times

From December to March, and during Golden Week, Obon and New Year, the online dated ticket is mandatory. The park announced online sales on its Japanese website on 6 August 2026, and the operator’s FAQ confirms the rule. The sales rules, as shown on the operator’s page updated 13 August 2026, are:

• Tickets go on sale up to 90 days in advance, at midnight Japan time.
• You can cancel up to 3 days before the visit date.
• Payment goes through 3D Secure authentication.
• The ticket comes as a QR code or a 25-digit number.

Ticket prices: 800 yen until 30 November, then a revision announced

According to the park’s English guide page, checked on 15 November 2026, the adult ticket costs 800 yen and the child ticket 400 yen until 30 November 2026. The park announces a price revision from 1 December 2026, but its page doesn’t give the new amount. This article therefore publishes no figure for the following period: the price shown at checkout is the one that counts.

Age rules are not the same everywhere. The park lists a child rate for ages 6 to 17 and free entry under 5. The operator’s FAQ says 6 to 12 for children and under 6 for free entry. We won’t pick one: check the age bracket on the ticketing page before you buy, or ask the operator.

The park also mentions parking at 500 yen. That point is qualified further down, in the rules section.

From Nagano: train, local bus and a walk

From Nagano, the classic route has three legs: the Nagaden train to Yudanaka, the local bus, then a walk in winter.

The train is a limited express on the Nagaden line. The adult fare is 930 yen; a reserved seat costs 300 yen and a cabin 1,200 yen, according to ekitan. This train is not covered by the JR Pass, which only applies at JR Nagano Station.

Source: snowmonkeyresorts.com, express bus timetable (page of 28 September 2026), ekitan.com, train guide (1 September 2026), snowmonkeyresorts.com, local bus timetable (updated 22 October 2026), checked on 15 November 2026. Amounts and durations are indicative.

The express bus is the most uncertain point. The operator’s page, updated 28 September 2026, says it does not serve the park stop from 5 December 2026 to 5 April 2027, and that a separate bus at 3,000 yen one way takes over. A third-party guide, by contrast, describes a service every 20 to 30 minutes, which the official timetable does not confirm. We therefore publish no winter express bus timetable. Before you go, confirm the service with the operator.

The express pass (6,800 yen, entry included) is nonetheless shown as valid from 5 December 2026 to 5 April 2027, a period when the same operator says its express bus does not serve the park. Don’t buy it for winter until the operator confirms the pass is valid in winter.

The local bus is the route to check. Its 390 yen fare and timetable come from the operator’s page updated 22 October 2026, in its green-season version, valid from 7 April to 4 December 2026. The terminus is still to be confirmed: the timetable shows arrival at the park, while the hiking page gives Kanbayashi as the starting point of the trail. No winter timetable is published for the Kanbayashi line as of the consultation date (15 November 2026), so green-season departures don’t apply in winter, and the full timetable is not reproduced here.

The walk from Kanbayashi takes 30 to 40 minutes in winter. The distance varies by source: about 1.6 km according to the operator, about 2 km according to the park. The trail is slippery from December to March, and there are no toilets along the way. The taxi from Yudanaka, about 20 minutes, costs about 1,600 yen according to an undated estimate: it’s a ballpark figure, not a fare.

Footwear and gear: what to bring

The park recommends rubber boots or après-ski boots, plus simple crampons, on its precautions page. It also notes that in winter temperatures can drop to -10 °C and that snow sometimes exceeds a metre, according to its « about » page, checked on 15 November 2026. Pack warm, waterproof clothing, and something to cover your head and hands. Gloves, a hat and sunglasses are general snow advice, not park requirements.

The operator rents boots (1,000 yen a day), a jacket (500 yen) and a locker (500 yen) on site, according to its page updated 16 October 2026. Crampons are offered at 1,350 yen, rental or sale depending on the source, to be checked on site. These prices date from autumn: check them before your visit.

The park is accessible neither by pushchair nor by wheelchair, and there is no paved road inside. Families with a young child should plan to carry them on the trail.

Park rules: flash, food and parking

The park allows photos without flash, according to its precautions page. The operator’s FAQ bans flash. Both sources lead to the same practice: take photos without flash.

Visitors must not feed the monkeys. The park says so in its guidelines.

Parking is listed at 500 yen on the park’s page, but the operator notes that private vehicles are not admitted during the winter peak. To plan your day, the train and bus remain the simplest option.

A limit of 2,000 visitors a day is being considered, according to an AFP report of 26 June 2026 picked up by CP24. The park does not confirm that this limit is in force at the time of checking. Don’t present it as settled, and ask the park whether it applies on the day of your visit.

The monkeys: a troop fed since 1964

The park opened in 1964, and the monkeys have been fed every day since then, according to the park’s own presentation. There is no fence between the monkeys and visitors, so the park does not guarantee they will be there. The site sits at about 850 metres above sea level.

One specialist site cites the Nagano tourist office for a troop of more than 200 individuals. That figure does not appear on the park’s website: we flag it without treating it as an official number.

Two studies from Kyoto University follow the effects of bathing and tourist numbers. The first, published 4 April 2018, looked at 12 adult females. It links winter bathing to lower stress hormones, and found no measurable effect from around 500 visitors a day. The second, announced on 20 January 2026 and published in the journal Primates (volume 67, pp. 199 to 211), describes subtle effects on lice and gut microbiota. Its authors call the results preliminary, so don’t draw firm conclusions.

Depending on your trip: family, first visit, tight budget

With children

Children pay 400 yen until 30 November 2026, but the age bracket differs by source. The pushchair won’t work: plan to carry the youngest on the 30 to 40 minute trail. The outbound journey takes 38 to 45 minutes by train and 10 to 15 minutes by bus, then 30 to 40 minutes on foot if the bus stops at Kanbayashi: roughly 1h20 to 1h40 each way.

For a first visit

The trip takes about 1h20 to 1h40 each way, by train, bus and on foot. Leave Nagano early to be at the entrance before 3:30 pm, the last time we recommend walking through the gate before the 4 pm closing. The step-by-step plan is below.

On a tight budget

The cheapest option is the train and local bus, then the walk: 930 yen and 390 yen each way, with no gear rental. A taxi costs more, about 1,600 yen according to an undated estimate, but it skips the walk.

With reduced mobility

The park is not accessible by wheelchair. The trail is snowy and has no toilets. This visit is therefore not suited to anyone who can’t walk 30 to 40 minutes on a snowy trail.

A possible plan from Nagano, in winter

This plan follows the park’s winter hours and the routes described above. No winter bus timetable is published for the local line: the bus terminus is to be confirmed, and the walk is only needed if the bus stops at Kanbayashi.

Leave Nagano by train to Yudanaka. Allow 38 to 45 minutes on the limited express, for 930 yen.

Take the local bus to the park or Kanbayashi. The trip takes 10 to 15 minutes and costs 390 yen. Check the timetable and the terminus with the operator the day before, since the published departures are for the green season.

Walk from Kanbayashi, if the bus stops there. Allow 30 to 40 minutes on a trail that is slippery from December to March, with crampons if you have them.

At the park, before the 4 pm closing. Arrive at least 30 minutes before closing, so before 3:30 pm, and keep the QR code or the 25-digit number handy.

Return. No winter bus is confirmed for the return. If no bus is confirmed for your return time, book a backup taxi from Yudanaka, about 1,600 yen according to an undated estimate.

Common mistakes

• Arriving after 3:30 pm in winter, when the park closes at 4 pm.
• Counting on an express bus to the park without the operator confirming winter service.
• Turning up at a peak time without a dated ticket.
• Assuming the JR Pass covers the trip: it only covers JR Nagano Station.
• Forgetting that the monkeys are not guaranteed, and that the web ticket is not refunded if no monkey is visible.

Budget: about 3,440 yen per adult

For an adult travelling from Nagano by train and local bus, then returning the same way, without gear: 1,860 yen for the train (930 yen × 2), 780 yen for the bus (390 yen × 2) and 800 yen for entry, about 3,440 yen in total. This assumes the return costs the same as the outbound, which we have not checked. Add 1,000 yen if you rent boots. Crampons cost 1,350 yen, rental or sale depending on the source, to be checked on site: if you have your own, bring them rather than rely on a rental.

The one-day pass, at 4,800 yen in green season with entry included, costs more than this calculation. Its winter price is not announced (another site gives 5,100 yen), and where it is sold differs: online and collected at Nagaden station according to one guide, in person only at Nagano station according to the operator. Before you buy, check the price and the point of sale.

What other guides don’t tell you

The points below appear in the official sources checked on 15 November 2026. They are missing from, or carry the wrong dates in, the mainstream guides we read.

• Price revision from 1 December 2026, with no amount published. Guides show 800 yen as the current price, with no switchover date. Official park guide (checked 15 November 2026).
• The Nagaden express bus does not serve the park stop in winter 2026-2027, according to the operator. A separate one-way bus at 3,000 yen runs instead; guides describe the stop without distinguishing by season. Operator, express bus timetable (page of 28 September 2026, checked 15 November 2026).
• The online dated ticket is mandatory at winter peak times. Some guides say it is only recommended, others deny it based on an older version of the page. Official park website (sales announcement of 6 August 2026, checked 15 November 2026).
• The local bus from Yudanaka to the park costs 390 yen one way for adults, not 310 yen. A February 2026 guide still shows 310 yen, from before the operator’s update. Operator, local bus timetable (updated 22 October 2026, checked 15 November 2026).
• The park accepts neither pushchairs nor wheelchairs, and the trail has no toilets. Several guides leave this out. Official park website, access (checked 15 November 2026).
• A Kyoto University study published in 2026 looks at this park’s monkeys. None of the mainstream guides we read mention it, and its results are preliminary. Kyoto University, press release of 20 January 2026 (checked 15 November 2026).