Our tour guide was Hori and he was absolutely fantastic! His knowledge of the area and history behind everything was great. Our experience was so much fun. The hike was icy when we went in March so I definitely recommend having good traction shoes or spikes to go up and down the path. It is well worth the walk to see the monkeys in their natural habitat. The Zenko-ji temple was beautiful and wonderful to walk around.

Our guide Horiuchi-San was an absolute gem, he was knowledgeable, well-prepared, and is great company! The tour driver (I forgot his name) was just great, he drove safely and was very friendly. The lunch spot was just great, great food and atmosphere. Horiuchi-San messaged us a few days before the tour introducing himself and giving us a brief summary of what we will cover. Moreover, his instructions on the meeting time and spot were clear and unambiguous. We took the train from Tokyo to Nagano on the morning of and had no issues finding Horiuchi-San in the Nagano station. At the end of the tour, he accompanied us to the train station and saw us off. The tour itself was exactly as described. Moreover, Horiuchi-San gave extensive descriptions as we drove to the site, then accompanied us to the site while continuing to provide a local's perspective of the rich cultural heritage. He also gave us many recommendations on shopping as we visited the marketplaces, and in Obuse town. He also injected humor into the conversation and made us feel at home, it was like traveling with a friend! We will for sure return to Nagano as the area has so much to offer, and hope to meet Horiuchi-San again.

Being a nature lover, the snow monkeys of Nagano were among the last unique experience left in my bucket list. Although September is clearly not the ideal time for it, my brothers and I enjoyed the walk in the forest before reaching the park and there were enough monkeys frolicking in the pond to make it a worthwhile experience. After that we were treated to an excellent tonkatsu, chestnut ice-cream and sake degustation which made for a very nice day. Our guide Hitomi was very accommodating, and gave us good advice on how to optimize our tour content. She was also very friendly and used a translating software a lot to make sure my brothers, whose english is very basic, could understand her explanations in french. I strongly recommend this tour on, if possible, a more adequate time of the year.

Mutsumi was a great tour guide! She was informative and very easy to spend a day with! She explained all the history and significance of each spot we visited. The monkey park was inceredibkw highlight of our entire trip to Japan. They were so close and accessible we could not have had a better up close experience. The Zenjoki temple was also breathtaking. Understanding the history and importance of that site was truly impactful. The temple grounds were so impressive and peaceful. Highly recommend this tour and Mutsumi in particular. She was great!