長野の春：1日桜＆スノーモンキーガイドツアー

Tour on time. Guild, Kei, and the driver were awesome. Transport clean and comfortable. Monkeys are so cute and the blossoms abundant. Great Day!!!

We had a wonderful tour with guide, Endo. The pacing was excellent with enough time for the snow monkey park and the cherry blossom viewing without feeling rushed. The lunch was also delicious. I like that they scout out what cherry blossom sight is at peak so it will change on different days.

I was warned that this time of year we would not see the monkeys because it’s not winter and I’m so glad I didn’t listen to people that told me that because we saw so many and it was absolutely amazing! Make sure you’ve got good, sturdy shoes on because it’s a bit of a hike to get in to see them but absolutely worth it. Our guide Kei (Kay) could not have been kinder or more accommodating for my grandson and I. The restaurant for lunch was much nicer than what I’m used to on tours and the food was delicious. Seeing the cherry blossoms up close in full bloom is definitely a sight to behold. If you’re an animal lover, and want to be out in nature, I absolutely recommend this trip!!

We had a great time. The guide was fantastic. The lunch was fabulous. Cherry blossoms every where. The monkeys a must see! Highly recommend this tour.

The trip was amazing! The monkey park was really fun, the lunch was great, and the cherry blossom spot they chose for us was truly beautiful! And of course, a shout out to the tour guide Kevin, who was really eganging, knowledgable and funny throughout the whole trip!

Our tour of snow monkey park luckily coincided with cherry blossom viewing time, so we booked this organised tour to give our brains a break from doing all the legwork ourselves. Kevin, our guide, was professional yet relaxed, informative and ensured everything ran on schedule. We went on a 45 seat bus to the Jigokudani snow monkey Park, where after the drop off point you walk a couple of kilometres at your own speed into the park proper, past forest and a small geyser to the onsen pool where the snow monkeys relax and play. Took so many photos! There were a couple of tiny remnants of snow along the path in April. Bring warm clothes. After an hour or two, we went back down at our own speed to meet Kevin and had an unexpectedly super delicious and large lunch in a heritage building. Tempura, sushi, miso soup and a broth with choice of seafood, meat or vegetarian components were on offer. Then the tour company had chosen Ueda castle for our cherry blossom viewing, as this coincided with Ueda's food stall fair at the castle moat. The bus took enough time to get there that the majority of passengers had a power nap. At Ueda, again we wandered at our leisure for an hour taking a multitude of photos of combinations of blossom, historical castle with its gates and shrines and high look outs over Ueda city, and locals walking their impossibly cute dogs around the stalls. Back on the bus for the smooth hour drive back to Nagano and to reflect on a memorable day. Very happy to recommend!

I had a great time and since I went solo, I was sat with kevin for lunch. He was an excellent guide, very knowledgeable about the area and provided suggestions for local wine to have with our included lunch. The snow monkey park was a nice experience and the cherry blossoms at the castle was amazing! He saw I was having trouble using with my chop sticks for food in my soup bowl, so he graciously showed me how to bring the bows toward me to be more efficient. We were given the option to go back on the train in Ueada to Tokyo instead of driving back to Nagano which was in the opposite direction- it helped get me to Tokyo much sooner. I will highly recommend him and the tour to my clients and friends. Thanks Kevin for a great day and I hope you get to see your mother soon.

We liked the tour, the guide was nice and provided a lot of interesting information. The included lunch was fantastic. We were disappointed by the second part, we were expecting to be brought to a place with higher concentration of cherry trees, instead we got to Ueda castle ruins. Yes there were cherry trees on the stroll between food stalls, but just as you can find anywhere without a guided tour.

Great experience, fun and friendly guide. It was a fun trip overall. Good vegetarian food was provided. The trial to the monkey park was about 2-2.5km, which was quite mucky given the rains, made it a bit exhausting. But it was worth the view to seee the monkeys enjoy the hot spring bath. The cherry blossom park was lovely!

Our guide Joyce was very friendly and had an answer to every question. In general, the tour was very interesting and informative and also gave you a lot of freedom to explore independently. The food was great and the views great. I was able to take many beautiful pictures. Should I book a tour again then very gladly again with Joyce.