Rather than miss out on day’s skiing in Habuka, we decided to visit the Jigokokudani Snow Monkey Park as a detour on our trip back to Tokyo on the last day of our holiday - needing to still make the strict deadline for the 8:25pm Jetstar flight.
Summary
The monkey onsen is a 4 hour detour from Nagano, and costs an extra ¥3100 for each adult and ¥1550 per child in fares and fees.
- 8:20 Happo to Nagano (bus)
- 10:10 Nagano to Kanbayashi (bus)
- 10:50 Walk to Jigokokudani
- 11:30 Snow Monkeys
- 12:30 Walk back to bus stop
- 1:15 Kanbayashi back to Nagano (bus)
- 2:58 Nagano to Tokyo (shinkansen)
- 5:03 Tokyo to Narita (express train)
- 5:57 Arrive Narita Airport
Details
The Bus from Happo Information Centre to Nagano departs 8:20
Tickets ¥1500 adults (cash only)
Kids ¥750 but kids tickets need to be bought from vending machine.
Arrive bus stop at Nagano at 9:40. Bus from Hakuba arrives at East Exit Stop 6 and the bus to the monkeys at Kanbayashi leaves at 10:10 from Stop 4, a few metres further down the street.
Link to Google Maps of Nagano Station
Luggage lockers are located about 50 metres further along that same street under the station next to a shop.The large lockers are ¥500 but take only ¥100 coins, so make sure you have a supply ready.
There’s a Visitor’s Information Centre upstairs in the station on the second floor (2F). There’s an ATM across the road from the bus stop in a Seven11, but as usual I couldn’t get it to give me any money. There’s a post office on the other (western) side of the station, past the information centre (they can help by showing a photo of the building that contains the post office), down the stairs and across the road. The ATM there worked. It was a sprint to get to the bus after that. I’d recommend you set out with the cash, if you have any left.
The bus fare to Kanbayashi was ¥1300 adults, half for children, each way. You pay when you get off. The trip takes about 40 minutes and has excellent views of Nagano. The driver announces the stop where you get off, but it looks like a random location. You walk back down the road and turn right. It is well sign posted from there. You can get a taxi instead of the bus, but it is ¥16000 return.
The walk through the forest takes about 40 minutes and is very picturesque. However it is cold and slippery- you need good shoes and gloves.
The monkey park itself is great fun and it is worth the effort of going there.
At noon the ranger feeds the monkeys so that brings many more down from the hills. The bus back is at 1:15. You need to have left the monkey onsen by 12:30 at the latest to make it. The stop is about 100 metres further down the road from where you were dropped off.
A shinkansen for Tokyo leaves at 2:26 or 2:58. We caught the later one so we could grab lunch. There are also good Bento boxes available on the platform. The train tickets can be bought from the JR Ticket Office, opposite the Information Centre, and I recommend that you get the tickets for the Narita Express at the same time. Tickets on the Narita Express are all reserved seating. Get unreserved seats on the Shinkansen. Total cost was about ¥10000 each, primary school aged kids half price.
The Shinkansen arrives at Tokyo at 4:32, which gives a comfortable amount of time for the long walk through pedestrian traffic to Platform 4. The Narita Express leaves at 5:03 - you will have a reserved car and seats. Terminal 2 is the second last stop. The train arrives at 5:57.
Seeing the monkeys up close was 4 hours very well spent. The efficient Japanese transport system makes all these rather tight connections possible. I don’t think I’d try this in Italy
