冬 WINTER · DECEMBER–MARCH · THE POSTCARD

The four months the photograph is possible

December to March is the only stretch when the bath is in daily use, because it is the only stretch when the air makes it worth using. Everything else about a winter visit — the crowd, the ice on the trail, the short day — follows from that one fact.

Mean air −0.4 to 4.3 °C in Nagano city, and the park at 850 m runs two to three degrees colder. The gate is 9:00–16:00.

A young Japanese macaque walking through deep fresh snow towards the camera, snow settled on its head

¥THE GATE, ALL WINTER¥800 (≈$5.1)ADULT · CHILD ¥400 (≈$2.6) · OPEN EVERY DAY

One price in every month of the year, and the park asks visitors to arrive 30 minutes before closing time.

The ticket, in detail 湯THE GUIDED DAY, YEAR-ROUND$140 (≈¥21,800)PER PERSON · TICKET INCLUDED

One price in all twelve months. What changes is what is at the end of it.

Live dates in winter

The 4 months of winter, side by side

BEST ODDS / GOOD

December and March are the edges and they behave like edges: December depends on when the snow settles, March on when it goes. January and February are the same month twice, one colder and one deeper.

WINTER · MEAN AIR, NAGANO CITYCHECKED 2026-09-06

DecemberBEST ODDS · 3RD OF TWELVE · 9:00–16:00 · 30 CM

2.3 °C

JanuaryBEST ODDS · 1ST OF TWELVE · 9:00–16:00 · 63 CM

−0.4 °C

FebruaryBEST ODDS · 2ND OF TWELVE · 9:00–16:00 · 50 CM

0.4 °C

MarchGOOD · 4TH OF TWELVE · 9:00–16:00 · 17 CM

4.3 °C

What winter is, at this park

December is both: the bath is in use and the mating season is still running. The park puts the most bathing between December and March.

Thermoregulation and lower stress hormones — Takeshita et al., Primates 2018 (Kyoto University). The park records down to −10°C, over 1 m of snow at its own site, which is the condition the behaviour answers.

The park publishes a predicted time for the monkeys coming down from the mountain and asks visitors to check before traveling and again on the day, through its live cameras and social accounts — the only thing that answers «will they be there today», and it is free.

Winter cannot be booked around the crowd

Read before booking

Every operator arrives in the same three morning hours, because that is when the monkeys come down. Over New Year 2025/26 Nagaden withdrew the Snow Monkey Pass because the park was exceeding capacity, and said single tickets guaranteed nothing either.

NOTHING ON SALE CHANGES THIS Park staff work to attract the monkeys during opening hours, but the monkeys may not show up at all on certain days; appearances are particularly sporadic in autumn. Seven of the 21 tours on this site include the ¥800 (≈$5.1) gate fee in the price and the rest leave it at the gate; not one of them includes a monkey.

LIVE DATES · WINTER · FROM NAGANO · TICKET INCLUDED

Winter, month by month

Of the 4 months in winter, January ranks highest on this site’s own order — 1st of twelve. That is a ranking, not a promise.

See dates · $140 (≈¥21,800) · ticket included

OR DECEMBER · JANUARY · FEBRUARY · MARCH · ALL TWELVE COMPARED