[Joan Pahisa]

Hi,

I was in Jigokudani on November 2018. Here’s the small review that I did on accessibility on my Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-7nK9IIewk/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y

The path is mainly flat, except for the beginning and the end, where there are two long flights of stairs (I’d say 40 to 60 steps each). The flight of stairs at the end has an alternative extremely steep and narrow trail that begins a few meters before the stairs to the right. The first bit of the first flight can be seen on the video.

Overall, if it has not rained or snowed too much (so better late autumn or early spring, as if it’s too hot the monkeys don’t enter the bath either), the path should be ok to wheel. It’s mostly a dirt path. You can expect lots of leaves, though, depending on the time of the year, but the ground was firm. I didn’t take my wheelchair and regretted it, but I went there alone and didn’t know if I’d find help along the way. Luckily, I did later on and it eased my journey. Then, there are also about 10 steps more to access the ticket place and the entrance to the monkey’s area (it can also be seen on the video).

Inside the Monkey area, you can reach the main pool with the wheelchair, but there are some lower areas that can only be accessed through stairs. Nevertheless, even if you don’t get to all viewing points, I’d say the experience is worth it : )

I hope you have a nice trip to Nagano!

[Joan Pahisa]

By the way, from the Yaen-Koen parking lot to the trail entrance, there are about a 100 meters of steep road, but if that were a problem, they can drop you at the trail entrance, near the stairs.

[alliejay]

Thank you Joan! It is really helpful to have the experience of someone who has done this recently. I really do want to go see these monkeys, so I will be sure to have both my cane and the chair with me so my husband can help where the chair won’t go.