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Minamigaoka Ranch in Bandai Kogen is an open ranch with a panoramic view of Mt. Bandai. It is popular for its various dairy products made with milk from Guernsey cows, which are rare in Japan. This time, we will tell you about our visit to Minamigaoka Ranch, which has a great location
Inawashiro Town, where Minamigaoka Ranch is located
Inawashiro Town is located in the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, and the area around its symbolic "Lake Inawashiro" and "Mount Bandai" is known as a leading resort and hot spring area. It is one of the prefecture's leading tourist destinations, with numerous places for sightseeing and recreation, such as the Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum and the Mount Bandai Geopark, as well as swimming in Lake Inawashiro.
Free admission! Enjoy nature at Bandai Kogen Minamigaoka Ranch
Bandai Kogen Minamigaoka Ranch is located on a plateau near Lake Inawashiro. The plaza near the lodge restaurant, where you can see Mount Bandai, has a great view and is a pleasant space. It's a great photo spot
Minamigaoka Ranch is open to the public with free admission and free parking, symbolizing the words of its first owner: "Why should I charge visitors an entrance fee?" Leisure facilities can be surprisingly expensive, so being able to enter for free is a real blessing.
Meals include the ranch's classic Genghis Khan and homemade ice cream, as well as Minamigaoka Ranch's specialty peroshki (apparently not piroshki)
The vast grounds are filled with play areas unique to a tourist ranch that blend into the natural scenery. There are also areas where you can interact with animals such as cows, horses, donkeys, and rabbits, as well as play facilities for putting golf and archery, so you can fully enjoy nature all day long
Recreation at Minamigaoka Ranch
When you think of a ranch, you think of interacting with animals. At Minamigaoka Ranch, you can interact with animals such as cows, sheep, donkeys, and goats
Within the fenced-in "Interaction Square," sheep, goats, rabbits and other animals are allowed to run loose
Admission to the petting zoo is 300 yen per person. There is no time limit, so you can feed the animals and interact with them to your heart's content.
Food is sold in a capsule machine. The goats are a little aggressive in their desire for food, so the kids were a little scared. My second son seemed to like the rabbits the most!
If you go to the back of the ranch, you'll find a course where you can experience horseback riding. Horseback riding for those 6 years and older costs 850 yen per course. Donkey riding for children aged 3 to 6 costs 850 yen for 3 minutes. You can enjoy a leisurely and elegant horseback riding experience.
Putt-putt golf costs 800 yen per course . The 18-hole course, with its varied terrain, is quite challenging. Because the course utilizes the natural shape of the trees, the ball just keeps rolling and rolling on the holes with the cups at the top of the slopes, no matter how many times you try... Conversely, on the holes with the cups at the bottom of the slopes, the ball goes out of bounds in one shot! But the children didn't give up; in fact, they seemed to enjoy it.
Archery was something that captivated the adults even more than the children. You can try it for 800 yen for 12 arrows Archery is quite serious, so it might be difficult for very young children. The adults were the ones who got hooked. After all, if you hit the target, you get a free soft-serve ice cream! In the end, I had to buy it myself, but I enjoyed it and felt like a kid again.
Minamigaoka Ranch offers a variety of activities that take advantage of Aizu's winter climate. During the winter season, you can enjoy activities like snow banana boating and snowmobiling. These winter-only activities sound wonderful! (Reservations required)
Eat at Minamigaoka Ranch
At the lodge restaurant, which can accommodate 300 people, you can enjoy authentic Russian cuisine such as borsch and perozhki, which the rancher learned to make during his time in Manchuria, as well as homemade black bread
My absolute recommendation is the soft serve ice cream and ice cream made with Guernsey milk from cows raised on the farm
The milk at Minamigaoka Farm comes from Guernsey cows, which are rare in Japan. Both the soft serve and ice cream are very milky and rich. Eating the ice cream while looking out at Mount Bandai was amazing. It's a must-try dish if you visit
The Guernsey cattle raised on the farm are a rare breed of cattle, with only about 200 of them being raised in Japan
Compared to Holsteins, Guernsey cows produce less milk, but the milk is richer and has a sweet, creamy taste. In the souvenir corner, you can purchase milk jams and cheeses made with the proud Guernsey cow's milk
Experience at Minamigaoka Ranch
At Minamigaoka Farm, you can experience butter making, ice cream making, and painting Akabeko dolls, a unique experience of Aizu. Each experience takes about 10 to 20 minutes, so it's the perfect way to create memories of your trip to Aizu. (Reservations are required.)
Minamigaoka Ranch Summary
At Minamigaoka Ranch, you can interact with animals that you wouldn't normally experience in your daily life, and take a leisurely stroll around the spacious ranch in the midst of nature. You can also encounter many insects in the forests within the ranch. And the view of Mt. Bandai from the plaza in front of the lodge is spectacular. Adults and children alike are welcome to come and enjoy a relaxing nature experience without worrying about time.
Closed: No fixed holidays in summer (weekday holidays in winter. *Reservations accepted)
Access: 15 minutes from the Inawashiro-Bandaikogen IC on the Ban'etsu Expressway towards Aizuwakamatsu on National Route 49, or 10 minutes by car from Nagahama on the old Route 49. *Please note that the surrounding roads and parking lots are not paved with gravel.
A housewife writer born and raised in Fukushima. is Fukushima's freshly picked "hard peaches." Her hobbies are driving and gourmet food. She would be happy to share the charms of Tohoku.
