Jigokudani Monkey Park

Within Joshinetsu Kogen National Park · Yamanouchi, Nagano

A small park in a steep, forested valley in the mountains of northern Nagano, famous around the world for its Japanese macaques, the snow monkeys, which bathe in a hot-spring pool in winter. The name means Hell's Valley, after the steam and boiling water that rise from the rocks. The monkeys are wild and come and go freely; they gather here because the park staff feed them, and in the coldest months some of them sit in the steaming pool, their faces and fur frosted with snow, which is the image that made the park famous. They are the northernmost non-human primates in the world. There are no fences between people and monkeys, and visitors stand a few metres away. The park is reached by a forest path of about thirty minutes from the road, snowy and icy in winter. Nearby are the hot-spring towns of Shibu Onsen, with its nine public baths and wooden inns, and Yudanaka. The park is an easy trip from Nagano city, itself on the shinkansen from Tokyo. The monkeys bathe most reliably from December to March; in summer they rarely use the pool.

6845 Hirao, Yamanouchi-machi, Yamanouchi, Nagano, 381-0401, Japan

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: the park opens daily from morning to late afternoon, roughly 8:30 or 9 am to 4 or 5 pm, with shorter hours in winter; there are no regular closing days, but the walk from the trailhead takes thirty to forty minutes, so arrive well before the last entry. Traps: buses from Nagano are infrequent; heavy snow can delay them; the monkeys are wild and may not appear. Confirm times and conditions before relying on them.

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