About Jigokudani Monkey Park and Yudanaka

Hello everyone,

Planning another trip to Japan and did come across a question I had.

1) For Jigokudani Monkey Park, I know we can take bus and then walk up the hill but I would like to know if it is possible to take a taxi up the road so it is closer to walk to.

2) Which onsens (daytrip) have family baths to use

3) Any other things we should see in the area

We will be traveling in beginning of April 2017

Thanks!

There is a path through the forest. At taxi might save you 800 meters, but I am yet to see a taxi hanging around the bus stop.

You might like to visit Obuse (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6020.html). It's about halfway between Nagano and Yudanaka.

You can take a taxi from Nagano Dentetsu Yudanaka station to Jigokudani Parking.
It takes 15mins by foot from Jigokudani Parking to the Jigokudani Yaen-koen.

I rented a car instead of taxi, still had to walk about 15mins from the parking lot.

Forgot to mentioned that we parked the car on the Shibu onsen side, which is closer to the Monkey park than the Kanbayashi parking lot.

Forgot to mention that we parked the car on the Shibu onsen side, which is closer to the Monkey park than the Kanbayashi parking lot

1) You can take a taxi, but the bus stop is only a few minutes further down the road. From whichever parking lot you go, the paid parking lot at Shibu area or the free parking lot in Kanbayashi area, it doesn't differ much walking distance compared to the bus.
The Shibu area is a shorter walking route, but still takes a 15 minutes, compared to the 25 at Kanbayashi (which is the standard starting area).

2) There aren't any public baths to my knowledge in the area that offer private baths for families, because for Japanese the onsen is something to be shared with others. To see some of the baths please check the page below, it introduces 1 in each the Yudanaka (station), Shibu and Kanbayashi (monkey park) areas.
http://www.snowmonkeyresorts.com/activities/cat_act/onsen/

3) Other things to see and do there are. Like Ausfam mentioned, Obuse is a very nice place to visit. But also the area I previously mentioned, Shibu Onsen, is definitely worth passing through as it is a beautiful old onsen town.
The skiing season might be pretty much done by this time and the hiking season won't have started yet. But you might find some things to do in the area, or in Nagano city, on this website.
http://www.snowmonkeyresorts.com/activities/

It will be pretty cold still, especially compared to Kyoto/Tokyo, so it is advised to bring a bit warmer clothing than you would wear in the bigger cities.

I visited the Jigokudani Monkey Park twice; hike from both Shibu as well as Kanbayashi areas. If you are taking taxi and want to save a wee bit of leg-work, be sure to get off at Shibu parking area.