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Zao Heartland Fureai Ranch is a vast ranch located in Zao Town, Miyagi Prefecture. You can interact with animals such as cows, sheep, and goats and spend a relaxing time surrounded by nature
Zao Heartland Farm
Photo courtesy of Miyagi Prefecture Tourism Promotion Office
The entire ranch covers an area of approximately 100 hectares, roughly the size of 20 Tokyo Domes. It's a vast expanse of green pastureland where cows, sheep, goats, and other animals are raised.
The park has a variety of facilities, including a corner where you can interact with the animals kept there, a "Handmade Experience Hall" where you can try making dairy products yourself, a cheese cafe called "Wind Square", a highland Genghis Khan restaurant called "Wind Deck", and a Zao cheese souvenir shop
Handmade experience at Heartland
Photo courtesy of Miyagi Prefecture Tourism Promotion Office
At Heartland,you can enjoy farm-only experiences. making cheese and butter using milk, as well as sausages and ice cream. These unique experiences, unlike anything you'd find in everyday life, are perfect for creating lasting memories for both children and adults! Reservations are required 3 days or 1 week in advance depending on the experience, so please check our website for details.
cheese making
You will make cottage cheese. This is a low-calorie cheese that can be easily made at home with just milk and vinegar, so why not try it out and learn how to make it? You will eat the cheese you make right away
Experience fee
770 yen
Experience time
10:15~/13:15~ (approx. 30 minutes)
Number of people allowed to experience
2 to 50 people
Ice cream making
You will create your own original ice cream with authentic flavors using ingredients mixed at the cheese factory. You will then enjoy the ice cream you made on the spot
Experience fee
1,100 yen
Experience time
11:00~/14:00~ (approx. 1 hour)
Number of people allowed to experience
2 to 90 people
Sausage making
The seasoned meat is kneaded, then stuffed into sausage casings using a special tool, and finally boiled. You can experience the process of the meat changing shape and transforming into the familiar sausage. You can take the boiled sausages home, so we recommend bringing a cooler box.
Experience fee
1,650 yen
Experience time
11:00~ (approx. 2 hours)
Number of people allowed to experience
Approximately 10 to 40 people
butter making
Put the cream into a plastic bottle and shake! Shake! Shake! Once the cream in the bottle separates into yellow chunks and liquid, the butter is ready. Freshly made butter tastes completely different from the butter you usually eat. You can take the butter you make home with you
Experience fee
770 yen
Experience time
10:00~ (approx. 30 minutes)
Number of people allowed to experience
Approximately 10 to 90 people
Interacting with animals at Heartland
Photo courtesy of Miyagi Prefecture Tourism Promotion Office
At Zao Heartland you can interact with goats and sheep
The goats at Heartland are Saanen breeds and their crossbreeds. Apparently, cute babies are born there every spring. The sheep are shorn in April to help them survive the hot season.
It's so relaxing to see animals living freely in the great outdoors
Heartland offers farm-grown dairy products and cuisine made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients
At the food corner on the first floor of the Handicraft Experience Hall, you can enjoy soft serve ice cream made with milk from the foot of Mt. Zao, moluk made with cheese whey, dairy products such as milk, sausages, and bacon
The product that caught my eye was MOLK. apparently a refreshing drink made from whey, the liquid left over from cheesemaking. Whey is said to contain a wide range of nutrients, so much so that it's called a "drinkable IV drip," and its nutritional value and beauty benefits have recently been attracting attention. I definitely want to try it when I visit Zao!
The direct sales store offers a wide variety of Zao cheese and local specialties, making it a great place to find souvenirs.Fresh butter made from raw milk produced at the foot of Mount Zao, bacon and sausages from JAPANX pork raised in Zao town—all of these specialty products, nurtured by the magnificent land of Zao, are truly appealing.
Today's snack ♥#ZaoDairyCenter#ZaoWheyMOLK 135kcal per 200ml. Available in 720ml and 200ml sizes. My husband brought it back as a souvenir from his trip to Zao Heartland today 🌺 A dairy beverage made using whey, a by-product of cheese production 🌼 It used to be called cheese drink 🌻 It tastes like rare cheesecake and is really delicious 🥰 Highly recommended 🎵 pic.twitter.com/jxtx6VMaWN
Photo courtesy of Miyagi Prefecture Tourism Promotion Office
Adjacent to Heartlanda variety of facilities including a farm, factory, restaurants, a direct sales store, and a training centerwhich houses
produces fresh cheeses such as cream cheese, as well as aged cheeses like Gouda and Cheddar, and many other dairy products,At the Zao Cheese Factory located within the Zao Dairy Center, which. The fair is bustling with special sales on cheeses and stalls selling local products from Zao.
The premises also include a restaurant where you can eat cheese dishes, a facility where you can buy homemade bread, and a rose garden, making it a spot you'll definitely want to stop by in addition to Heartland!
The best time to visit the rose garden is from early June to early July. Approximately 400 varieties of colorful and beautiful roses, including old roses and English roses, will be in full bloom.
Zao Dairy Center <Information>
Name: Zao Dairy Center General Incorporated Foundation
Zao Heartland Petting Farm is a place where you can relax and refresh yourself while interacting with animals in a natural setting and enjoying delicious local food. You can also participate in activities like cheese making, making it a great place for families, couples, and friends to visit. And best of all, admission is free, so feel free to stop by!
Zao Heartland <Information>
Name: Zao Heartland
Address: 201 Nanakahara, Togatta Onsen, Zao Town, Miyagi Prefecture
Business hours: 10:00-17:00 (open from early April to late November)
Parking: 100 cars (free)
Access: Tohoku Expressway, Shiraishi IC - National Route 4, Prefectural Route 12 towards Zao Echo Line - From Togatta Onsen, take National Route 457 to Shiraishi/Shichikashuku. Approximately 18km from Shiraishi IC
A housewife and writer born and raised in Fukushima. She
loves freshly picked Fukushima "hard peaches." Her
hobbies include driving and gourmet food.
She hopes to share the charm of Tohoku with others.
![Zao's kettle](https://jp.neft.asia/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/24424765_m-150x150.jpg.webp "[Zao Town, Miyagi Prefecture] The emerald green "Okama" lake is an explosion crater! Experience the power of life and death")
