Where to stay after the Snow Monkey Park.
A ryokan with private saunas, 50 minutes by car

The Snow Monkey Park at Jigokudani is where wild Japanese macaques get into a hot spring of their own. Most people see it on a half day. The harder question is where to sleep afterwards.

MATSUKAWAKAN is 30.3 km from the park, about 50 minutes by car. That is not walking distance, and we will not pretend otherwise. It is an easy afternoon drive, and it ends in a hot-spring village with two private saunas rather than at a station hotel.

Below: the real distance, the hours and the fee at the park, how long the walk in takes, what changes in winter, and what is waiting at the end of the day.

The park is 30.3 km away, about 50 minutes by car

Measured on Google Maps in August 2026, the quickest route from Jigokudani Yaen-koen to MATSUKAWAKAN is 30.3 km and about 50 minutes, over prefectural route 66. A second route, on National Route 292, is 35.7 km and about 55 minutes.

The park stands in Yamanouchi Town; we are in Takayama Village. Both sit in the north of Nagano, on either side of the same hills, which is why the drive takes longer than the distance suggests.

There is no bus between the park and the inn, and we do not run one. Our free shuttle runs between Nagano Station and MATSUKAWAKAN, for overnight guests, by reservation. Coming from the monkeys, it is a car or a taxi. Full directions are on our access page.

Hours and admission at Jigokudani Yaen-koen

The park keeps two sets of hours, and which one applies matters if you are driving on to us afterwards.

The park is open all year, though it can close for weather or for the animals. These figures are taken from the park's own site (jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp), read in August 2026. Please confirm there before you set out.

The walk in is 15 minutes or 35, depending on the car park

You do not drive to the monkeys. You park, and then you walk, and the length of that walk depends on which car park you use.

From the free car park at Kanbayashi Onsen it is 35 minutes on foot. From the Jigokudani car park, 500 yen for a normal car, it is about 15 minutes.

The path is unpaved, with stairs, slopes and steps along it, and the park states that wheelchairs and buggies cannot be used on it. Wear shoes you can walk a hill in, and count the return leg into your plan for the day.

In winter the short way closes, and the walk gets serious

Winter is when most people want to see the monkeys. It is also when the way in changes.

The forest road to the Jigokudani car park, the one reached by way of Shibu Onsen, is closed for the winter. That leaves the Kanbayashi car park and the 35-minute walk, on snow.

The drive to us changes as well. Snow and ice are ordinary here in the cold months, so please come on studless winter tyres. Our parking is free, in the village-run car park.

At the end of the day, a private sauna and water straight from the source

A cold day spent outdoors is the best possible preparation for what we have here.

The Forest Sauna has two rooms, at 85°C and 110°C, and a cold bath 120 cm deep filled with water from the mountains. It is included at no extra cost on room plans, and from 20:00 to 23:00 it belongs to overnight guests alone, with the fire lit outside.

The other building, the Tenku Sauna, stands 1,000 metres above sea level and is private for one group at a time, 120 minutes a session. For overnight guests it is 3,000 yen per group; on a day visit it is from 9,800 yen per group. Everything about it is on the Tenku Sauna page.

The inner bath runs free-flowing from the Yamada Onsen source, and overnight guests can use it from 11:00 until 24:00. Prices are subject to change; please confirm on the booking site.

Nine guest parties a day, in a hot-spring village you can walk

MATSUKAWAKAN takes nine guest parties a night. That is the whole inn.

Outside the door, Yamada Onsen has two public bathhouses within walking distance: Oyu, one minute away and in use since the Edo period, and Takinoyu, thirty seconds away. Overnight guests bathe at both at no charge, and walking between them in a yukata is much of the reason to stay.

Check-in is at 15:00 and check-out at 10:00. Put the monkeys in the morning and us in the afternoon and the timing works without hurrying. What the village itself is like is on our Yamada Onsen and Takayama Village page.

Frequently asked questions