Zao Fox Village

A fenced hillside in the mountains of Miyagi holding over a hundred foxes of six species, which you walk into. There is no glass and no cage between you and them. That is the appeal and also the thing to take seriously.

These are not tame animals. They are habituated to people, which is not the same thing, and they will approach, ignore you, sleep in the path, fight each other and occasionally bite. Staff give a briefing at the entrance and the rules are simple: do not crouch, do not put your hands out, keep bags closed and straps off your shoulder, and do not carry food. Loose items dangling at fox height get taken.

Feeding is done from a raised platform, with pellets bought at the gate, thrown down to the animals below. Trying to feed at ground level is how people get hurt. A separate enclosure lets you hold a fox briefly for an extra fee, with staff handling the animal.

Winter is the season. From December to February the coats are thick and the foxes are at their most photogenic against snow; in high summer they are moulting, sluggish and patchy, and the smell of the enclosure is considerable in any season.

Entry is around 1,000 yen. There are also rabbits, goats and a few horses, and the site includes a shrine to Inari, whose messenger the fox is, which is the reason the place is here in the first place.

Getting there needs planning. It is about twenty minutes by taxi from Shiroishi-Zao station on the Shinkansen line, buses are minimal, and the last taxi back should be arranged before you go in.