Nagano worth the deviation from Tokyo?

We are a party of 6(2A 4K, 12,10,7,2yo). We are booked to arrive Tokyo, and departing Osaka 10nights later. First time to Japan.
We are keen for the kids to play some snow and see the snow monkey at Yamauochi, Yudanaka. But notice that Nagano is somewhat out of the way from tyo/Osaka. We could possibly drive or take the train, and would like views if it would be worth the deviation to Yamauochi. I'm planning 2n stay at Yudanaka.
My itinerary is as follows
Day 1-4 city sight around Tokyo (possibly including day trip to Hakone, Fuji q or Disneyland or Disney sea, trip to fish market)
Day 5-7 ryokan for onsen soaking at Yudanaka, snow play, snow monkey
Day 8-10 around Osaka (including day trip to nara, Gion, Kyoto depending if we have enough time)
We travel with kids, so we like activities that keeps occupied and get introduced to culture and sighs of Japan with moderate pace.
Suggestions are very much appreciated to help in our planning for our maiden trip to Japan

I think it's worth it. The kids would love it. When are you going?

Are you travelling at a time of year when there will be snow?

Hi, am traveling between 10-20 December. Was hoping to catch some snow, albeit unsure if we should drive. With 4 kids plus luggage and stroller, transferring between platforms and trains could be challenging. We were also considering that traveling between places could be more flexible in terms of timing.

1. Any thoughts on feasibility of driving? We are from the tropics and have driven overseas but not in Japan.

2. If we chose to driven, is it more feasibile to use the Nagano-Toyama-Kanazawa-Nagoya route, or should we go cut across central Japan?

All advice much h appreciated.

Maybe snow, maybe no. Last year was a warm start to winter and there was not much around in mid-December.

Also, for long distances the train would be a more sensible option, plus, if it has snowed and the roads are icy you would be better/safer on the bus from Nagano station to the Monkey park.

There are a couple of other snow accessible points around Nagano too (it was a winter olympic site, so gets a decent amount most years).

Thanks all for your feedback

You children should be fine with you navigating stations and platforms. Only the 2yo would require assistance.

I probably wouldn't do Nagano if you only have 10 days. Especially if Day one is flying in and day 10 is flying out. So you'd really only have 8 full days then.

As above, for the travel dates, you may or may not see real snow. I'd suggest making Nagano a day trip from Tokyo, that way if the snow hasn't come yet, you can be flexible and switch to somthing else.

Monkeys can also be found at Mt Takao 45 minutes west of Tokyo and Arashiyama @ Kyoto if there is a real interest in seeing monkeys.