Best Temple Tours in Nagano — Our Top 8

1.1-Day Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple & Sake in Nagano

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,020 reviews · from $151Our pick

Travel from Nagano to Zenko-ji Temple, a local sake tasting, and Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park. English-speaking guides such as Tom, Kieran, Nadine, and Endo help explain each stop. Lunch is included, but plan for a steep, icy forest walk to the monkeys, especially in winter.

“We were lucky to have Tom as our guide. He is extremely knowledgeable not only about Japanese history but also gave an excellent summary of sake production and the different types as well as the snow monkeys and Nagano attractions. Tom was also very generous with recommendations for other areas in Japan. The tour was an excellent combination of the temple tour and snow monkey forest. Fantastic lunch included. Plenty of time to see the Zenkoji temple as well as the monkeys. Thanks Tom”

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2.Snow Monkeys, Zenkoji Temple & Sake Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 833 reviews · 8 - 12 hours · from $135

Join an English-speaking guide such as Dylan, Brent, Tom, or Hiroshi for a full day of Nagano highlights. Visit Zenkoji Temple, taste local sake, enjoy a generous Japanese lunch, and walk the forest trail to Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park.

“The trip was incredible! Totally worth the trek out to Nagano from Tokyo. Guides were very informative and accommodating. Would absolutely recommend!”

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3.Food & Cultural Walking Tour around Zenkoji temple in Nagano

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 58 reviews · from $91

Meet near Nagano Station and walk toward Zenkoji through old residential lanes, local shops, and shrines. Guides such as Masa and Kasumi introduce you to oyaki cooked over an irori hearth, sake, miso soup, matcha, and Japanese sweets. The small group format keeps the pace personal.

“We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Masa. We visited a traditional Nagano building where they prepared Oyaki over the hot coals for us. Exploring the temple and learning about the different rituals of the locals was another highlight. An interesting and informative tour!”

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4.Nagano/Tokyo: Snow Monkey and Zenkoji Temple Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 54 reviews

Travel from your Tokyo hotel to Jigokudani Monkey Park and Zenkoji Temple in a private vehicle for up to six people. English-speaking drivers such as Ali, Raza, Sunny, and Fahad tailor the day around your interests, with optional stops in Obuse, Shibu Onsen, Yamanochi, and Matsushiro.

“Mirza was great—knowledgeable and personable. A very pleasant experience.”

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5.Snow Monkeys & Togakushi Shrine Two-Spot in-One Day

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 35 reviews · 8 hours · from $202

Spend eight hours with an English-speaking guide and private car at Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park and Togakushi Shrine. Guides such as Chris, Dai, Kazu, Shuhei, and Taketo adjust the pace, suggest local soba, and take photos for you. Expect a 30 to 40 minute walk to the monkeys.

“THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING TOUR! It is a great idea to take this private tour as it not only combines 2 destinations that are in opposite directions of each other but also makes transport such a breeze! We had a great time at the Snow monkey park, and lucky for us it wasnt even very crowded.Our guide Kazu then took us for a delicious soba noodle lunch before a lovely drive up the mountains to Togakushi.Plenty of snow and lovely sceneries throughout.Kazu was punctual, a safe driver and very thoughtful and communicated very well!. Highly recommend , this is so very worth it!”

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6.Food & Cultural Walking Tour around Zenkoji temple in Nagano

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · 3 hours · from $88Best value

Meet Masa or another English-speaking guide at Nagano Station for a 3-hour small-group walk around Zenkoji. Taste oyaki, soba tea, sake, miso soup, matcha, and sweets while learning about local religion, food, and everyday culture.

“Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, kind and respectful. This gave us the introduction to Nagano we needed. I would highly recommend this if it’s your first time visiting Nagano city.”

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7.Togakushi & Best of Nagano: Snow Monkeys, Obuse and more

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 12 reviews · 5 hours - 510 minutes · from $121

Travel by private car from Nagano to Togakushi’s sacred cedar path, guided by an English-speaking host such as Dai or Kazuki. Add Snow Monkeys, Obuse, Shibu Onsen, Zenkoji, Garyu Park, or April cherry blossoms, with local soba and flexible hotel or station drop-off.

“tour was fun but we were struggling to get in touch with the host the day before until very late, they never reached out, i had to contact the platform customer support. host took photos of us but never sent them to us, nor could i reach them on whatsapp. overall communication wasn’t great”

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8.1-Day Togakushi: Soba making, Ninja Town and Hidden Shrines

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · 8 hours · from $150

From Nagano Station, an English-speaking guide takes you into the Togakushi mountains for hands-on soba making, lunch, a ninja museum and trick house, then a cedar-lined walk to Okusha Shrine. Expect about 45 minutes of walking, stone steps, and a full day outdoors.

“Sehr gut. Viele tolle Sachen erlebt. Soba selber hergestellt, Ninja Museum und auch den Schrein besucht. Kann ich echt nur weiter empfehlen und würde ich immer wieder buchen.”

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