Zao (Yamagata), Fox Village, and Alpaca Farm

by Brianin Japan, Miyagi, Tochigi, Yamagataon Posted on

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Zao/Miyagi Fox Village
Nasu Alpaca Farm

In January, Marie and I planned on taking a short weekend trip up to Mt. Zao for some skiing and animal farms.  I actually wanted to visit the fox village in Zao and Marie had wanted to visit the Alpaca farm in Nasu so we found more of an excuse to make the drive up by going skiing in Zao.  Just a quick 2-day trip staying one night in Yamagata.

Zao Onsen & Yamagata

Left early morning for the long drive up. Was really worried about the drive because of snow and ice but talking with a guy from work who just went said it should be fine (also checked a bunch of webcams and whatnot prior). Decided to chance the drive.
Very cold, but not bad weather so far I'm thinking....
Then we reach Zao! As soon as we started heading up towards the mountain, boom... snow.
At this point I'm freaking out a little bit since the car is not really meant for snow and didn't have studless tires on (or chains.... yet).
Not bad until we started heading up the last stretch to the ski town, then the car started drifting a little in the turns and slip when accelerating... I have to say, it was a traumatic experience to say the least.... but overall made it there safely...............
Had a hard time just getting into the parking lot since the driveway was sloped up and icy.... then the parking guy told me to park at a down angle near some slush so I already knew I was going to get stuck in there. This prompted us to make some decisions about what to do next so we decided to call some car shops in town and look for chains, just to assure we had a way out when the day was done. I tried the insurance company but apparently unless I was involved in an actual crash, they wouldn't tow the car for free... how's that for insurance... geez. So instead we got lucky and found an Autobac in town that had the right size chain for my tires, only thing is we had to catch the bus back to town to get them, then catch the bus back to the mountain. This whole entire process killed the whole morning so needless to say I was a little disappointed in myself but we had a problem and fixed it together without much panic so there's a positive!
Ski town area
Multiple parking lots, rental shops, and lifts to choose from... you get what you pay for in quality here basically
Just scoping out the town and different shops
Finally back to the start and ready to ski! Even if only for a few hours, better than nothing.
The main lift that goes all the way to the top had a long line so you have to get a ticket with time reservation.... given the wait period, you would only do this once a day so don't assume that you could go to the top continuously here. The yellow card is the lift ticket. You scan that when you pass through the lift gates, like you would at the train station.
Since the main lift to the top had a waitlist, we spent the rest of our time on the lower, smaller slopes/lifts.
There are a ton of different runs/combinations, here is a connection bridge between two of them
Nice little onsen tucked in there but was closed
Looking back at the town
Finally got into the main lift to the top
Everyone at the top, getting warm (it was so cold up here!)
It was -10 deg C at the top (real feel probably at least -20)
Visibility was pretty low at the top... gave snow gloves to Marie so all I had were running gloves... that did not end well for me. By the time we got low enough to where it wasn't so cold, I couldn't feel my hands and they didn't fully return to normal until a few weeks later.
The main reason for going to the top (and for Zao actually) are the "snow monsters" at the top, where the snow and ice freeze on the trees in unique ways. This is supposedly the only place in Japan where this occurs.
The run from the top is actually very long, depending on the route you take down
Stopped to catch the sunset
When leaving the parking lot, turns out I did need to use the chains so glad we went to get them beforehand. After a very nervous drive down the mountain, we checked into the hotel and got some discounted sushi from the grocery store nearby.

Miyagi/Zao Fox Village

I was relieved to have been out of the mountains and thought I was in the clear for driving, however the next morning was just as traumatizing getting out of the city. Overnight some snow fell and continued to fall, so now where the roads where dry the day before, it looked like this... even on the expressway. Most stressed out I've ever been while driving....
Yes, stressed
Finally made it out of the mountains but had to go back up into the hills not too far... just the sight of snow on the road was enough to make me super nervous (but at least we had tire chains just in case now).
Made it to Zao Fox Village
Two main areas, the caged area, and then the caged but free roaming area
Bunny huddle
Lil' Sebastian!
In this area, you can walk with the foxes, and there are numerous signs of how to behave so you don't get bit or attacked
Some were more curious than others, but overall they don't bother you much. They're all wild supposedly.
You can feed the foxes from this area... some had other activities in mind haha
Peaceful, happy guy
Gift shop on the way out

Nasu Alpaca Farm

After escaping the last bit of snow on the road at the fox village, I was more than happy to be driving to the alpaca farm in Nasu.
Little bit of walking to get to the main area of the farm
See these statues a couple of times scattered around
Entry to the main area
Never seen so many in my life... this place was pretty amusing to me.
Just look at their hair styles hahaha poor things...
Some were curious and weren't shy
Nice back drop with the mountains.. .good weather day, this one decided to pose for us
Trying to escape
Little baby alpaca...
omg... how scary is this one....
Something peaceful about watching them relax and watch the mountains
Say cheese!!!!!

In the end, a nice little weekend getaway, albeit traumatizing when it came to driving and freezing when it came to my hands.  Good learning experience and I will never (voluntarily) drive in snow again with this car haha.

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