Japan - Day 9 - Shiroshi

We got going a bit later today but still managed to get to the Zaō Fox Village for the opening time. The village was one of the highlights of the trip for Owen. It is like a zoo, except you get to walk inside a giant enclosure that looks like a temple grounds with nearly a hundred foxes.

You get very close to them, within feet, and they bite people all the time if you are not assertive. Additionally, Owen and I paid a tiny bit extra to hold a fox. It was amazing. The foxes were quite timid and felt tiny under all that puffy fur.

After the foxes, we drove back to Shiroshi and walked around for a few hours. One of the highlights was visiting Bukeyashiki, a samurai home turned into a museum. It was right on the city’s moat and very simple and pretty. The other was a visit to the imposing, rebuilt Shiroishi Castle. The castle had the best English translation of the exhibits that we came across in Japan. And the views were simply stunning.

We also had two excellent meals in Shiroshi. One was the local Umen noodles that were very soft and served cold with three dipping sauces. The other was am izakaya place with yakitori-type food that the locals helped order for us. People were helping translate menus and trying to help us have a good experience everywhere. Even though Owen was handling it, they were super excited to help. It was very nice of them.