Foxes with sleepy eyes and adorable smiles are super healing – Zao Fox Village in Japan is exploding in popularity

Reported and photographed by Chen Hanyin / Japan

While visiting Nara in Japan always involves planning an itinerary to chase after friendly deer, if you're in Miyagi Prefecture in Northeastern Japan, you absolutely have to visit the adorable Zao Fox Village. The park is home to up to 250 foxes, with innocent-looking adult foxes wide-eyed and freely roaming around your feet. Here, you can also put on protective clothing and hold these fluffy foxes in your arms.

▲The sight of foxes lazily squinting their eyes is incredibly healing.

▲In Japanese folklore, foxes are the messengers of the god Inari, and many Inari shrines are adorned with fox statues.

In addition to the Hokkaido foxes commonly found in Northeastern Japan, the park also houses rare breeds such as silver foxes, platinum foxes, shadow foxes, and cross foxes. Hundreds of foxes roam freely around the park, sitting or lying down — the entire fox village serves as their runway.

Having been raised by humans since they were young, these foxes are friendlier compared to their wild counterparts. However, as animals still have their wild instincts, caretakers repeatedly remind visitors not to touch or feed them at will to avoid being bitten.

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Among the highlights is the “Human Resting Area,” a designated wooden viewing platform for feeding the foxes. Inside, animal feed is sold, and you can safely feed the foxes from inside the enclosure. Once you get the feed, you’ll realize that the previously lazy and adorable expressions were just a facade — the foxes immediately reveal their true nature, scrambling over one another to grab the food, showing their wild side. Some even perform tricks, leaping up to snatch food thrown by visitors.

▲The Human Resting Area is the only place in the park where you’re allowed to feed the foxes.

▲Foxes will give you innocent looks to beg for food.

Although foxes are cute, the parasites found in wild fox feces, such as the multicentric tapeworm, can cause serious health issues in humans if transmitted. However, to prevent genetic diseases caused by inbreeding, all foxes in the village are bred artificially and are regularly dewormed, making the risk of infection extremely low. After putting on protective clothing, you can safely hug them.

▲Tamer foxes can be held by visitors.

▲The park director with a fox cuddling up to him.

The director shared that the foxes here were originally raised by local families in the mountains and were sold to hunters or for use in fur products. However, as conservation awareness grew and the demand for furs and fur products declined, the fox trade became less profitable. That’s when this fox village was established, allowing the foxes to live freely and be open to visitors. Unexpectedly, the fluffy and adorable appearance of the foxes quickly won the hearts of many tourists, turning the village into one of Miyagi Prefecture’s most popular unique tourist attractions.

▲“The fox is right behind you — and it’s feisty.”

Zao Fox Village, Miyagi

Admission: 1,000 yen for visitors aged 12 and above, free for those under 12; animal feed costs 100 yen per pack.
Address: 11-3, Kawagami, Hachiyomi, Fukushima, Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture
Phone: 0224-24-8812