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[Inawashiro Town, Fukushima Prefecture] Get in touch with nature at Bandai Plateau Minamigaoka Farm

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 Lake Inawashiro and Mount Bandai, the town's symbols, is known as a leading resort and hot spring area
It is one of the prefecture's leading tourist destinations, with many recreational opportunities, including nature exploration at the Noguchi Hideyo Memorial Museum and Mount Bandai Geopark, and 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

Minamioka Ranch is open to the public with free admission and free parking, symbolizing the words of the first owner: "Why should we charge admission fees from people who visit our home?"
Leisure facilities can be surprisingly expensive, so it's great to be able to enter for free

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 Fureai Square is 300 yen per personThere is no time limit, so you can feed and interact with the animals until you are satisfied

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, there is a course where you can experience horseback riding
Horse riding for those 6 years old and above costs 850 yen per course. Donkey riding for children aged 3 to 6 is 850 yen for 3 minutesIt costs 1,000 yen. You can enjoy a leisurely and elegant horse riding experience

Putting golf costs 800 yen per courseThe 18-hole course is quite challenging, with lots of ups and downs. The course takes advantage of the shape of the forest, so on courses where the cup is at the top of a hill, the ball just keeps rolling no matter how many times you play... On the other hand, on courses where the cup is at the bottom of a hill, it goes off the course in one shot! But the kids didn't give up, and instead enjoyed themselves

Archery is something that adults are more fascinated with than children12 bottles for 800 yenYou can experience it here
Archery is a serious sport, so it may be difficult for small children. Adults are more into it, because if you hit the target, you get a free soft serve ice cream!
In the end, I ended up buying it with my own money, but it brought back the joy of being a child again

Minamioka Ranch also offers a wide range of activities that take advantage of Aizu's winter climateDuring the winter, you can also try banana boating and snowmobiling on the snowIt's also fun to try out some winter activities (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.

INFORMATION

  • Name: Bandai Kogen Minamigaoka Ranch
  • Address: 1039-38 Toyama, Iwane, Inawashiro-machi, Yama-gun
  • Phone number: 0242-65-2707
  • Business hours: 9:00-16:30
  • 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.
  • Price: Free

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