Bathing Apes in Rural Nagano

To get to the park requires a reasonably taxing climb up the mountain for about 30-40 minutes, and with snow and ice on the ground it can be a bit treacherous and might not be the best day out for those with small children. Wrapping up and wearing boots with good grip on the soles is a must! The views, however, are spectacular as you make your way up to the hot spring.

A glimpse of the mountains through gaps in the snow-covered trees

Once you pay your 500 yen to enter the park, you’ll start spotting monkeys almost immediately. From a distance, it can be hard to distinguish the brown-furred creatures from the brown rocks poking up through the snow, but you’ll get the hang of it fast. You still have a 5 minute walk before you reach the actual hot spring.

At first you’ll probably just encounter a few monkeys on their own. The monkeys are really used to humans, and while you won’t be able to touch them, you’ll be able to get up pretty close to take pictures.

There’s also a great view of a small village from the park.

They are so adorable when they’re hanging out in the water! The onsen itself isn’t actually that big, but there are plenty of monkeys around. There were quite a number of other tourists the day we went, but not to the extent that it felt crowded.

It’s really entertaining to watch the monkeys interact. They have a very complex ‘society’ within their group, and you’ll see everything from monkeys grooming one another to fighting over space in the hot spring.

There’s no limit to how long you’re permitted to stay (within opening hours 9am to 4pm in winter), but I would say it’s easy to spend anywhere between 40 minutes to 2 hours, provided you’re dressed warmly.