Zaō Fox Village — Attraction in Shiroishi

The visit to this place really makes me question Japanese authorities, are there no animal cruelty rules here? How is this place allowed to operate and why is it still open? Why is it advertised as a “sanctuary” and how can the government allow to promote it on their websites (Japan National Tourism Organization)? Aren’t foxes supposed to be sacred in Japanese culture, then why are they being disrespected like this? What is the impression of this place from local people, do they actually “like it” and “support it”?

As an international tourist and animal lover I was really looking forward to coming to this place as I had read online (Japan Travel, Klook, Discover Sendai, JNTO) it is the largest fox “village” in Japan and I love foxes! So I was excited and expecting to learn more about the types of foxes in Japan and their cultural relevance. While some google reviews made me hesitant to visit, most of them were positive so I decided to go and “see for myself”.

As soon as I entered, I regretted the decision. On the left you could see a chained fox with no more that 30 cm to roam around, and many many foxes (easily at least 20 foxes) on really small cages (they could barely fit, some couldn’t even stand up) and the signs everywhere of “No Photos/No Video”, plus “No reports allowed” made everything seem more shady and questionable.

The space where the foxes are supposedly “free roaming” it’s actually a fenced area, but that’s not what’s sad, the foxes in the “free” area constantly fight each other for food that tourists are giving them, some of them had visible injuries, could not walk properly and overall didn’t seem healthy (what’s the life expectancy of one of this foxes I wondered?)

It is very clear that once you enter it’s your responsibility to be respectful and mindful of the animals, as they are roaming around (sleeping on the path or trotting) and it made me really sad to see people touching the foxes and waking them up with claps, and all for what, a picture?

It seemed to me that foxes are constantly bred (there are large cages in the back that say “breeding facility” with more than 30 foxes!) so that there’s always a huge amount of foxes and the personnel doesn’t even care if one of them lives or dies since they will have more pups and continue to have tons of foxes. Do people actually enjoy watching foxes in these conditions just because “they are cute”? Are we really that blind?

On top of everything, you could even get to “hug” a fox, again, one that they have in an extremely small cage (it can’t even turn around). The staff treats them aggressively and the foxes seem sleepy (drugged maybe). In the souvenir shop besides all the fox merch (plushies, t-shirts, magnets, postcards, etc.) you can even purchase real fox fur! There are some which are even colored (red, purple, green, etc) and turned into keychains. Made me feel sick. The best one can do if you have already been tricked into coming to this place is to not support it in any other way (buying souvenirs, paying for hugging the foxes or paying for feeding them).

WE SHOULD NOT PROMOTE THIS KIND OF TOURISM, I felt ashamed, sad and guilty having come to this place. Needless to say I won’t ever come back and would tell everyone to stay as far away from this place as they can, I hope this review also makes you think twice on visiting.

I can only hope that in the future, authorities or animal organizations intervene in this place and shut it down, giving the foxes a dignified life.

I wish this experience was what websites and social media promote, but the truth is far away from that.

Please again, if you’re wondering or hesitating whether to visit or not this place, this is the sign you need,...

I visited the Zaō Fox Village back in 2014, during a trip to Japan with my dad.

There are a number of reviews here and there online that deride this place as being a terrible, evil zoo where none of the foxes are cared for and blah blah blah. While a scant few may be legitimate, the vast majority of negative reviews seem to come from foreign tourists who (unsurprisingly) have a severe lack of education in regards to non-standard animal care. The fact that many of them spout the "X is a wild animal, let them be free" rhetoric that gets so many rescues killed all the time is proof enough of that.

Thus, I'm writing this review in order to combat this typical animal-care stupidity, and give a better and more accurate picture of what the place is like.

Walking in, there are a number of medium- and large-sized doggy crates containing, at most, three fox kits. These are the fox kits that, for a fee, visitors are allowed to hold for taking pictures. They have natural grassy/leafy bedding and they're clearly cared for, but the most important thing is that this obviously isn't their permanent home. The same goes for a single fox leashed to a pole in the middle of this area, which is meant as a greeting for visitors first coming in. Anyone with a lick of common sense could tell you that these animals are obviously switched out on a regular basis, and none of them are stuck in crates or leashed to poles 24/7.

Further into this area, there is a much larger enclosure (about the standard size, going by other fox-caretaker enclosures) where recently-pregnant foxes and their new kits can be seen resting, sleeping, or otherwise living. Surprise surprise, this is likely where the fox kits and such actually spend the majority of their time. They have a good amount of room, lots of small structures to climb and play on, and they are also clearly cared for.

(There are also a few other animals near the end of this area that form a small petting zoo. These are also very clearly cared for, but aren't the main attraction and thus aren't as relevant to discuss.)

A door at the back of this introductory area leads into the primary living space for the foxes, a large swath of slightly-hilly land with numerous decorations, structures for climbing, playing or sleeping, and so on. The main occupants are red foxes, but there are a few lighter- and darker-coated ones, and a couple marble foxes as well. There are numerous large water-bins set out around the place for them to drink from, and they can usually be found napping, yipping at each other, running around, digging, and so on.

You are allowed to buy a pack of chopped hotdog or chopped carrot that you can feed the foxes with, as well. While I was not scolded for feeding them right there and then, there is a clearly-marked "feeding spot" where visitors can toss the food down at them from a closed structure. The foxes tend to get excited when they are fed, but they are not fighting angrily with each other for the food as some people claim. Their screeching and jumping/bumping around is considered gentle play by fox standards. This also applies to the "scent of urine" that some people complain about - this is simply the natural scent of fox.

Beyond these two areas, there is also a small gift shop where you can buy shirts, fox plushies, and other souvenirs and memorabilia. I personally picked up a plushie and it was good quality. No spectacular, must-have gifts, but nothing bad either.

Overall, I hope this review helps to push back against the general idiocy that seems to plague the reviews of this place. I would absolutely go back again if I could, and as someone who deeply loves foxes, visiting was the...

To anyone wondering is they should go, it is better not to! There, the fox don't seems to be well-treated. There are multiples cages which are impossible to see in the pictures on internet. On them, many signs said to not take pictures of it ( it is like they want to hide the mess for the possible new visitors). Plenty of foxes are locked in those cages I'm not even sure if they are allowed to leave them once a week. The cages are really small, everything looks dirty. For the "village" it is true that the foxes are free in a limited area, ( in the pictures on the internet the foxes look like they are in the forest but don't be tricked the forest is around them, they don't have that much place). They even look really skinny. I'm not a specialist but even if it is summer and they lost their winter fur, the fact that they are really skinny and run (sometimes even fight between each others) when a customer give them treats makes me wondering. Moreover, that "village" contains load of foxes I'm not sure if they are really happy, they should better be in nature, running in reasonable places, not being stuck between 4 walls and always having a music running in the speaker ( not sure that there is an ambiance music in the real forest). To continue on the foxes, the differents petting activities are definitely NOT something to try. For the activity "hugging the baby foxes" I watched it all and I can tell you must be ready to see a lot of horrible treatments in a such short time. Firstly, the staff took all the baby foxes and put them in very small cages, while all the customers are doing their affair they have to wait the whole time in it. When one lady's staff was showing the fox to someone, because he dared to move (which is normal for a baby animal) she slapped him in the head gently and laughed. I don't tolerate those kind of treatments. One staff even took the fox by his tail to get it out of the cage. I disagree with those kind of activities, I saw all the baby shaking, it was so sad. This is definitely not natural for them to pass through that much hands. This activity also exists for the bunny and they all suffered in the same condition. Moreover, I saw a sign saying that there were horses and goats too, I only saw the goats, 3 were in a very small cage with just a little box of hay.

In addition, the staff is not so kind! One old man screamed at another customer because she was taking care of her crying child. After reading others posts I understand that this guy is not nice at all, multiples customers had bad experiences with him.

In conclusion, I feel so pitty for all the animals there. I'm also very sad about the fact that I indirectly contribute to this atrocious place by paying my ticket. If I knew the horribles conditions before I would never go there. It looks like a nightmare, all the "no pictures signs" make me feel so weird.. It looks like they want to hide everything from the futur customers! As a foreigner I know that Japan doesn't really care about animal welfare but I hope one day an animal organization will come to this park...