Join my  "Incredible Nagano trips and tours"  - Snow Monkeys included !!!

MAIN INFORMATION YOU NEED                                                                                                           
Official name - Jigokudani Yaenkoen
Nick name - Snow Monkey Park
Distance - 2.5km from Shibu Onsen, 7km from Yudanaka station, 33km from Nagano city
Open 365 days in a year - Hours: Summer (4-10) 8:30am-5:00pm | Winter (11-3) 9:00am-4:00pm
Admission fee: Adult 500yen, Child 250yen
Kind of monkey: Japanese Macaque
Around 160 monkeys are living here in the moment. You can see them every day.

    

THIS PLACE TROUGH MY EYES                                                                                                              

I visit Snow Monkey park at least one time in a month.
Park is really in the forest where are just monkeys. You have to walk to get there 10min or 25min dpend to way you choose to go there. The walk tracks are trough the forest and are very enjoyable in each years period.  You can meet some monkeys even before the entrance. They are just walking around or sitting on the trees. Behind the entrace there are monkeys everywhere. You can get very close to them, take detail pictures or movie and observe the real monkey life. I enjoy watching small young and very cute ones. On the way to the main spot, what is kind of pool with hot spring water made by stones in size aprox. 10x5meters, you will pass 6 meter high rising hot spring. This place is between hills so you are walking trough the valley and it has special amosphere made by nature.
 

NEGATIVES (what people mostly complain about)                                                                             
In winter time your feet get very cold, because you walk and stand on the snow all the time.
(make sure you wear warm shoes and warm socks)
In spring and autumn it is not possible to avoid mud so your shoes will get dirty.
In summer you feel the same smell like in ZOO, where is lots of animals.
Monkeys obviesly don't have toilet, so watch your step ;)
In summer staff put some grain to the water, because the pool is not as full of monkeys as in winter time.

BIT OF HISTORY                                                                                                                                     
Monkey park was estabilished in the year 1964. Two groups of monkeys were coming close to the rising hot spring and in the winter startet to worming up in the small  hole. Local people sow it and made bigger open air bath for them aprox 300meter further. From that time monkeys made they home over here. There is only one grup of monkeys in the moment. From certain point you can see rising hot spring, steam and around high clifs what remind you hell - that is the reason local people started to call this place Hell's valley (Jogokudani). Current owner of Monkey park is Nagano Dentecu railway company.

INTERESTING                                                                                                                                          
*Monkeys are living in the hierarchy. It means the group has one boss. Park's employee first feed the boss after that his family and in the end ather monkeys. (They feed them 3times in a day, so if you ar lucky you can see that). All of the monkeys have respect from the boss. *In the souvenier shop are hanging portrait pictures of all previous bosses and current one, with the lengt of the time of his leading duration. If the boss die or leave this group, his possiton replace new strong leader. This is picture of current boss of Monkey park ->
*Monkeys are sleaping on the treas in sitting position.
*Staff is feeding them by grain, apples and  they pick up fleas from each other or eating  leaves, shoots or bark.    
* Photo-Gallery Snow Monkey interactive gallery
* Live Camera from Jigokudani Wild Monkey park

   
　                                                                                                                      the Boss 

MAP                                                                                                                                                         
how to get to Monkey park from Yudanaka-Shibu Onsen 


Distance between Yudanka and Jigokudani Parking place 7km (70-80min on foot)
Distance between Shibu Onsen and Jigokudani Parking place 4km (40-50min on foot)
From Jigokudani parking place to entrance of Monkey Park - 1km (10-15min on foot)
From Kanbayashi to entrance of Monkey park - 2km (20min on the foot)

MY RECOMMENDATIONS (before you leave this place)                                                                      
- if you have few minutes more, I highly recommend you to have a walk through the very old street of Shibu Onsen. You can  even take bath or foot bath in Shibu Onsen and have a lunch. It is 700 years old street full of hot springs, ryokans hotel, guests wearing Yukata, locals in  kimono and full of great Japanese  atmosphere.

In 1day from Tokyo? / 4days trip ?

Maps, Timetables, descrptions

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FOURM                                                                                                                                                      
Read more coments & feedbacks in Zeno's Guide FORUM
Article about Snow Monkey park -  by Mag Yamagute
Adele Wong's personal blog  from here travelling to Snow monkeys area click here >>>

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