(蔵王キツネ村) Zao Fox Village

The CUTENESS Village! This is just an overload of cuteness, and I definitely loved every frigid second of it!

Budget: JPY7,410 (~USD71)

• JPY2,410. One day's worth allocated with Seishun 18 ticket. (if from Tokyo) OR
• JPY4,000. One day's worth allocated with JR East's Welcome Rail Pass 
• JPY4,000. Taxi, shared between 2 people. (JPY4,000 one way)
• JPY1,000. Entrance fee, Zao Fox Village.

Visit Date

• January 2, 2018 

When to Go
Winter! So December to March. 

Special Notes

• The village is closed every Wednesday. Here's their website. 
• Fox feed is JPY200 per bag. There's a specific deck (balcony?) where you can feed it to them. Don't worry, the foxes know the drill and will immediately come to the deck the moment someone comes in. 
• It can get really cold, so make sure gloves and winter clothes are available. 
• Access.
• Bus. From Shiroishi Station, there is a bus that runs every Tuesday and Friday, none for weekends nor holidays. JPY200 one way. It leaves Shiroishi Station 7:58am. Return bus leaves at 2:20pm, at least based on the fox village website. 
• Taxi. The easiest and only feasible way for me, a taxi costs JPY4,000 one way. For the return trip, just tell the people at the fox village that you need a taxi back, and they'll call one for you. 
• Taxis are pretty rare, particularly going back, so it's better to have an expected schedule and have the village folks call the taxi about 30 minutes in advance. 
• Shuttle. A shuttle package is provided by Yakushi-no-yu, which includes pickup from Shiroishi Station, dinner/breakfast, and accommodations at their onsen. Package is at JPY11,000 per person, which changes by the day. 
• Car rentals. Definitely feasible, but make sure you have winter tires. 

Itinerary

• 04:46am Tokyo Station to Shiroishi Station. 
• 11:10am. ETA: Shiroishi Station. Taxi to the fox village.
• 11:30. Fox Village
• Play with foxes.
• 03:00pm. Taxi, Fox Village to Shiroishi Station.
• 03:49pm. Train, Shiroishi Station to Tokyo Station, 4 transfers, 363 minutes!
• 09:52pm. ETA: Tokyo Station. 

The entrance to the zoo. 

They have plenty of signs all over, though generally just in Japanese. 

At the entrance, a good number of foxes are waiting!

Hello! You cute little beings. 

A black fox!

I was pretty scared when I started walking past. 

Them blocking the way didn't help with the scary part. Haha. Or maybe it did. They were very tame, and basically ignored me. 

The walking path, and one of them blocking the way. I had to wait til he left. 

Just the snow covered path, with foxes either frolicking with the snow, or just sleeping. 

Feeding area?

Having a lazy day. 

Looking all cute. 

Darn. The embodiment of Japanese "kakkoi"

Resting on the path. 

Finally! A fox that looked at me!

The saddest picture I've taken. It's a white fox who headbutted whatever it is, which in some posts say that these foxes shouldn't be confined, and when confined, they hurt themselves. 

Back to the cute pictures. 

Smiling fox!

Cold fox!

"I'm too cool for you" fox. 

One of my top pics. 

Look at that fur!

Falling in love with them. 

The area where I can throw feed at them. They go to the feeding spot the moment someone comes in, and ignores you when you leave. They are well conditioned for this. 

One last pic then I had to say goodbye. :(