The Snow Monkey Tour takes in the gorgeous Japanese Snow Monkeys, a sake tasting and Shibu Onsen Village. It is a relaxed cultural tour that really gets at the heart of what makes Japan so special. All our guests absolutely love this tour and it is a must on any traveller to Northern Nagano's itinerary.

The Snow Monkey Tour starts right from the door of your accommodation in Madarao and takes you to the incredible Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani Monkey Park. We stroll through the Jigokudani forest and end up at the hot springs where the monkeys bathe and socialize. It is such an amazing experience to stop, watch and photograph these wonderful creatures. The monkeys are very used to the presence of humans but don't look them in the eye...

After the Monkey Park we visit the Shiga Brewery museum. The sake tasting is free but the brewery prefers people to buy a bottle of sake. They say if you are going to buy a bottle try the sake. The SHiga Brewery stocks of some of the best sake in Japan. The Shiga Brewery also sells their famous Shiga beer and some super cool Shiga Brewery merchandise as well. They often have special edition beer. Our favourite is the porter ale.

After the brewery we then head to Shibu Onsen where we stroll through the beautiful village at dusk. We eat local delicacies called onsen manju. Onsen manju are steamed Japanese style sweet dumplings. They are cooked in onsen steam and are filled with a wide variety of bean pastes. There are a number of shops in town that sell them. Don't eat too many because you may turn into one. If you are energetic you can climb the stairs to view a beautiful forest temple. It transports you back in time hundreds of years to medieval Japan.

The tour leaves between 1pm and 2pm (dependent on the time of year) in the afternoon so you can still get in a perfect morning of skiing or snowboarding at Madarao Mountain Resort. We return at between 6 and 7 to Madarao and will take you right to the door fo your accommodation.

Kids and adults love this tour (no sake for the kids of course).