Great day out - Had a great day out seeing the snow monkeys and the temple. Rana Nesir was a great host and driver for the day, very accommodating for my family.

It was well worth seeing... - It was well worth seeing the monkeys and this trip allows you to easily do it from Tokyo. It is about a four hour drive so be warned.

Nature vibe - Trip from Tokyo a bit long but well worth it. If you like seeing animals in their natural habitat. The monkeys were plentiful and unafraid of humans. Had walked right by us on the bridge. Driver was great and respectful and flexible of our time. Instead of driving all the way back he dropped us off at the train station so we can continue our trip to Kyoto

Highly recommended day trip when visiting Japan - Fantastic day visiting these sites with some really good photo opportunities. Highly recommend to anyone who visits Japan. Our guide Rana was very knowledgeable, friendly and made the day easy. The car was very comfortable and picked us up on time and dropped us off where needed. Thanks again Rana for a great day.

Fantastic day and guide - Ahmed was good company and guide. Brillant day Thank you!!! I will recommend your company and Ahmed in particular. The monkey park is an absolute must for any visitors and today was made extra special because Ahmed was my guide and I will remember this day as the highlight of my trip

Not for disabled or older person - This was a difficult climbing steps and walk up the side of a mountain on a muddy natural path. Must have a good level of fitness Beautiful forest scenery with not resting areas. 5 monkeys there. Tours Allow 1 hour it took me 1.5 and could have used 2 hours. I am 78 yrs . and walked carefully. The drive with a great driver was very relaxing and lovely. Plenty of comfort stops during the .8 hours drive

Day tour from Tokyo - Adding to previous review: Rana offered many supports to my mum who had mobility issues, making sure that we were dropped off with minimum walking and that she was comfortable when driving. We really appreciated that, thank you!

Day trip from Tokyo - We enjoyed our day with Rana. He was a friendly guide, and got us to and from each destination safely. We were lucky to see lots of snow monkeys during our trip and enjoyed the walk around the temple. I would suggest using this option to see the monkeys if Tokyo is the only place you are visiting. It is a very long drive and there may be closer locations, but all in all we had a good day.

Too long of a drive ... - Too long of a drive Take the train. Monkeys were great. Drive was terrible. 5 1/2 hours to get there and 3 1/2 back.

Snow Monkeys were fun - the "tour" no so much... - We booked this private tour as an alternative to taking the Shinkansen to Nagano. We knew upfront that there would be a 3-4 hr drive each way, but really wanted to see the Snow Monkeys. We expected to get a guide, but our "guide" did not provide any guidance or information at all. Dev contacted me via WhatsApp the day before to confirm the hotel address and pick up time. I let him know that there was no parking near our hotel and because of that, we would meet him outside at 730. He arrived 10 minutes early, just as we were finishing breakfast and using the bathroom before a long drive. I told him we would be there in a few mins, and he proceeded to text and call insisting we come right away. In the three hour drive, he said very little. He pointed out some cherry blossom trees, but that was it. We made a brief comfort stop on our way to the monkey park. All of us were back at the car ready to go on time, and waited for him to return. When we arrived at the monkey park, Dev took me aside and emphasized that I need to "manage my time" that our day ends at 530, and if we are late returning to Tokyo, we would be charged overtime. We were not aware that there is a 1 mile hike, partly up steep stairs, from the parking area through mud to get to the monkey park. We throughly enjoyed seeing the monkeys. There were lots of babies/juveniles and the monkeys were quite playful. We were fairly well covered in mud from the knees down by the time we returned. We cleaned our shoes the best we could and returned to the car. Dev told us that "if you can manage your time we can stop at the temple, otherwise, we will go back to your hotel". At that point, our estimated return journey would take until 515, so we opted to return to the hotel. After all of his admonitions for us to manage our time, he then stopped for gas, which he could easily have done during the 2 hours he spent chatting with other guides while we visited the monkey park. Dev avoided the toll gate at the comfort stop, which caused an issue an hour later when we attempted to leave the highway. He pulled near to the barrier, with cars squeezing past and had a heated loud conversation with a toll worker. She waved him away and turned to return to the building, and he followed her to the back of the car where the dispute continued. He finally returned to the car, did not say a word to us, and proceeded to our hotel. As we neared our hotel, he asked us to give him a 5 * review, saying "please, 5 stars. It is important for my job. Please. Ok?" By this point I just wanted out of the car and said I would leave a review. He then turned to my husband and said "If I have done anything wrong, please take my apology". Then at dinner, he again texted asking for a 5* review. BOTTOM LINE: If you don't mind the long drive, and want a driver, book the tour. Just don't expect a guide if you get Dev. This was an expensive excursion, and expected better service. If I had a "do-over", I would have taken the Shinkansen and hired a driver in Nagano. An awkward 7 hours in the car with a surly driver was not part of the plan. PLAN FOR A LONG MUDDY HIKE - DRESS ACCORDINGLY