Japan - Day 5

My fifth day in Japan included a visit to Fox Village, located about 5 hours north of Tokyo in the Miyagi Prefecture.  We got to take the bullet train (shinkansen) which goes roughly 200 mph at it's top speed.  Crazy.  The view was breathtaking.  As we left the city and moved further into the country, there were more and more traditional style homes, snow capped mountains and fields, trees, and the like.  It was incredible.  This day made me decide that I must come back, and I must explore more of this beautiful country.



The shinkansen took us only a couple hours to get to Shiroishi and then a cab ride of about 20-30 minutes, brought us to Fox Village, which is located up in the mountains.  The ride was quite spectacular, and thank you to the drivers who took us (as we had to split two cabs btw 5 people).  They gave us a ride to and from, communicating with one another to ensure we got to the village with no problem.  Language barriers.  I give many thanks to all those Japanese people that were so pleasant and helpful through our travels.

Anyways, Fox Village was adorable - and on some level a little sad, much like any zoo or other structure built to preserve other animals, there's always some feeling of guilt.  The foxes, however, didn't seem to mind as they were all quite fluffy and large.  We all made friends and even got to hold one.





How freakin' cute is that.  I mean really, come on.  I wanted so much to lay down with a group of them and take a nap.  But that was a big no, no.  There's a specified feeding area, where you can toss treats to suspecting foxes.  That was special.  And mostly where the guilt kicked in as some foxes had a challenging time getting their treats, and that's where some of the fights broke out.  Oops.

When we were ready to leave, we all made our way outside.  Only to be beckoned back by one of the staff, as she found us sitting on a bench and motioned, 'Wait for taxi inside,' or something to that effect.  It was lovely.  Like forced hospitality.  Love it.  And so, we waited by the stove, kept warm and waited for the taxi to take us back to town.

It took him roughly 20 minutes, and then we were off again.  The ride back was even more fun, as we got to see more of the town (I think he took a long way).  He dropped us at the train station, and then we decided to wander.  Food was needed, and found, and oh so delicious.  Everyone enjoyed varying meats on sticks from a vendor outside the grocery store.  The grocery store itself was full of lovely looking produce, everything so fresh and clean.

After some thought, it was decided that we needed to visit a local onsen.  It wasn't far from our current location and we'd heard about it from a groovy gentlemen at the Fox Village.  Thanks mister, whoever you were.  You rock.  The onsen was glorious (sorry no photos there ha!).  Naked in hot steamy water.  You don't get any better.  Well, if it had been outside, and co-ed...yeah.  I would've dug that.

The day was wrapped up with sleep, much needed.  Um...that is...after all the sake.  Yeah, that happened.  We toasted to friendship and travels and such, and the next morning I saw everyone off...