Miyazi Zao Fox Village Review
January 19, 2019
Probably one of the most kawaii places in the whole of Japan is located in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku Area. Tohoku is not really well explored by tourists unlike the Kansai area, but on my winter break, I decided to have a trip to Tohoku and explore tons of prefectures. And in my opinion, the most famous tourist spot you can get in Miyagi especially during the winter season is Miyagi Zao Fox Village that hosts around 300 foxes
HOW TO GET HERE
To get here, it's a little bit tricky, and expensive if you don't have any JR Pass or JR TOHOKU PASS
If you have JR Pass or JR TOHOKU Pass, the shinkansen will be fully covered from Tokyo
The route will be either Ueno or Tokyo station to SHIROISHIZAO STATION with Tohoku Shinkansen, and you reach it in 2 hours (You can use google maps to find out the timetable)
If you dont have JR Pass or JR TOHOKU Pass, the shinkansen ticket for one way is around 10.500 yen, making it 21.000 yen just for the return train alone. Therefore for foreigners, I would strongly suggest buying JR Tohoku Pass to cover this trip because you can get your worth just by using one pass in one day, and you can still explore other parts of Japan
After reaching Shiroishizao Station, you have two options
First, if you come on Tuesday and Friday, you can ride a bus BUT you only have one schedule
Bus from Shiroishizao Station Departs at 07.58 to Kawarago Dam
Bus from Kawarago Dam (1.1km away from Fox Village) back to Shiroishizao Station departs at 14.32
Fee is 200 yen per person, for one way
Ask the bus driver to drop you at Zao Kitsune Mura
Second, if you don't visit on those days, or if you wish to have more flexible time, you can use taxi!
Just get a taxi and say Kitsune Mura, they will know! Taxi one way is 4000 yen, and it's really recommended to come in group to split the cost, OR you can find other tourists that are going to the same fox village like you
I chose the latter option for my trip, and it's definitely pretty difficult to find tourists in Shiroishizao because everyone comes in different time. But when you reach the fox village, you can always come and talk to foreigners who want to split the taxi fare, since almost everyone is going back to the station anyway!
ENTRANCE FEE
The entrance fee is 1000 yen per person and you can roam around as long as you want. They also have a fox petting schedule with additional fare, and you can also feed foxes by buying their foods for 100 yen per small pack
When I first stepped into the village, honestly the smell was so strong and it was pretty bad. I don't know if it's the poo or what, but usually, I never smell something like that in Japan. However, I have never even been to a japanese zoo (only aquarium) and the comparison of the bad's smell is only with indonesia's zoo, which is pretty similar
The foxes roam freely and walk side by side with human, and the poos are scattered around. We have to be careful to not step on the poo
Also, foxes are not a pet, they're wild creatures, hence it' strongly prohibited to pet or touch them because they might attack you. They look calm, fluffy, and cute but honestly, it's kinda frightening to disturb them during my stay lol
Some of the foxes were in cage. I am not sure what's that for, probably for sick foxes, or foxes that need attention
You can in fact see some of their poos lol
I tried feeding the foxes, and feeding is only allowed from a specific place, which is from a tall place. And I do understand the reason, because they might bite your hand accidentally when trying to grab the foo
The foxes gather around mostly when it's the feeding time by the staff. It was around 10.50 when the staff brought a bag full of foods and the whole foxes came surrounding him. And I think that's the only time you can take pictures of the foxes in a big group, since mostly they're doing what they want to do, individually
I would say it's pretty interesting but this is the kind of place that is enough to be visited only once. And if you dont have JR Pass or anything and you have to pay for the normal shinkansen ticket, I don't think it's worth the hassle since basically, you're just going to be staying in this place around 2 hours, while the whole journey will take you around 6 hours
But if you want to visit Iwate Prefecture, and have the pass, and want to take pictures, I think this village would be good :)
That's all for now, talk to you again on my next post!
0 comments