DO THESE THINGS DURING SAKURA SEASON

We all know that sakura season is the best time to enjoy Japan. Despite it'll be way more crowded than usual, you can actually get the best of sakura in Japan, do these things for more memorable, fun and also great photo album to keep for your future memories!

HANAMI

Piknik, makan minum dan bercanda, menikmati waktu saat suhu menghangat dan indahnya warna sakura memenuhi taman-taman yang ada di Jepang. Sakura season is surely best to spend in the park, complete your experience by doing what Japanese do, hanami!

For more about hanami in Japan, also what to prepare, check out my previous post here

Tips: Cari taman-taman yang tidak begitu populer untuk turis, taman-taman ini jauh lebih sepi dengan banyak ruang untuk kita menikmati taman. I suggest Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden yang berada persis di sebelah Hamammatsucho Station di Tokyo

RENT A KIMONO!

Strolling the roads and gardens filled with sakura view is even better when you do it in a traditional way, wearing colorful kimono! Cherish the spring color is a fun way! Selain menyenangkan, hangat (yes, bahkan di awal spring yang masih cukup dingin, kimono sangat menjaga suhu tubuh), you'll get many smiles from people around, we got so many compliments from old ladies in Tokyo, probably because there isn't so many people wearing kimono in Tokyo these days :)

Where to rent: Birei Tokyo

Price: 3000 yen/ 2 hours or 5000 yen for a whole day (return at 4 PM)

Check out thispost for more detail info

FIND A SAKURA-SEASON-SPECIAL DELICACY

Setiap musim sakura, berbagai brand selalu mengeluarkan produk-produk edisi sakura, termasuk cemilan seperti cokelat, kue-kue, hingga minuman yang khusus dijual hanya di musim sakura seperti sakura Mcfizz yang sangat menarik ini, don't forget to snap also :)

STROLL AND BIKE

Bersepeda di musim sakura benar-benar pengalaman menyenangkan. Bayangkan menyusuri jalanan yang dipenuhi warna pink di kanan dan kiri, pemandangan yang tentunya sangat menenangkan, everything is beautiful during sakura season and biking around is surely extra fun!

STOP AND SNAP

Kalau foto saat musim sakura biasanya kita akan mencari taman, shrine dan temple yang dikelilingi pohon sakura, namun saat inilah kita dapat berhenti dan menikmati atmosfir di mana saja! We stop at this baseball court that turned so beautiful during sakura season!

There are so many other things to do during sakura season, but most importantly: just enjoy, don't rush things and tried to get too many places. See, breathe, enjoy and make the most experience from each place you visited.

@marischkaprue - planning for more sakura season experience

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CUTENESS OVERLOAD AT FOX VILLAGE, JAPAN

We all know fox, the animal that became mozilla's icon, the creature with soft furry tail and appear on lots of stories, but I never seen one, before I went to this place, a place where more than hundred fox roaming around! Cuteness everywhere!

Saya pertama kali melihat foto-foto fox village dari Instagram, sebuah foto yang menggambarkan lebih dari sepuluh rubah berkumpul dan sangat menggemaskan. Setelah googling, I found out that it's in Japan! another cute place in Japan, selain Bunny Island dan Cat Island yang memang sudah terkenal (meski saya belum pernah berkunjung ke sana juga).
 

I first saw pictures of fox village on Instagram, a photo that illustrates more than ten foxes gather and are very adorable. After googling, I found out that it's in Japan! Another cute place in Japan, in addition to Bunny Island and Cat Island which are famous already (although I've never been there too).

Berada di Prefektur Miyagi, tepatnya di Shiroishi, perlu ekstra effort untuk datang ke fox village. Dari Tokyo saya mesti naik shinkansen ke Stasiun Shiroishizao di Miyagi, dan kemudian naik taksi sekitar 30 menit. Kami menyusuri jalanan di Shiroishi yang dihiasi bunga di kiri-kanan jalan, saat itu musim panas sehingga pemandangan dipenuhi kehijauan.

Located in Miyagi Prefecture, precisely in Shiroishi, need an extra effort to come to the fox village. From Tokyo I had to ride the shinkansen to Shiroishizao Station in Miyagi, and then take a taxi about 30 minutes. We walked the streets in Shiroishi decorated with flowers on the sides of the road, it was summer so the scenery was filled with greenery.

 

Kami tiba di satu tempat dengan gerbang kecil dan (err) patung gorilla persis di sisi gerbang, cukup absurd untuk lokasi yang dipenuhi dengan rubah.

We arrived at a place with a small gate and (err) gorilla statue in right side of the gate, quite absurd for a location filled with foxes.

"Patung itu hadiah dari salah satu tamu," ujar supir taksi kami

"Oooh," saya bergumam, kemudian kami segera turun dan memasuki gerbang

"The statue was a gift from one of the guests," said our taxi driver

"Oooh," I muttered, then we immediately got off and entered the gate

Fox Village bukan desa seperti bayangan saya, dengan rumah-rumah penduduk dan rubah berkeliaran, namun area ini lebih seperti kebun binatang, namun khusus untuk rubah (fox). Oh well, tapi ada juga kambing dan kelinci di area depan :)

Fox Village is not a village like I had imagined, with citizens' houses and foxes roaming, since this area is more like a zoo, but specifically for fox. Oh well, but there are also goats and rabbits in the front area :)

Saat masuk pertama kali kita akan melihat berbagai jenis rubah di kandang, sebagian besar adalah rubah yang masih kecil, serta yang perlu dipisahkan dari kawanannya. Nah, dari sini kita akan melihat papan peringatan yang menganjurkan kita untuk tidak memegang rubah yang ada di balik pintu, di mana rubah-rubah ini bebas berkeliaran!

When first entering, we will see different types of fox in cages, mostly the small foxes which need to be separated from the herd. Well, from here we will see the warning signs that encourage us not to hold or touch the foxes that are behind the door, where the foxes are free to roam!

Saya dan Reni langsung masuk dan menemukan rubah-rubah yang asik tidur di siang hari, sebagian tidur dengan posisi melingkar, persis seperti logo Mozilla Firefox! :D

Reni and I walked straight in and found foxes sleeping soundly during the day, some sleep with a circular position, just like the Mozilla Firefox logo! :D

Kami menyusuri jalanan setapak dan menemukan lebih banyak rubah lainnya yang berkeliaran. Saat musim panas, bulu mereka rontok, sebagian bahkan terlihat masih terus rontok bulunya dan membuat mereka terlihat "kurus," namun buntut rubah ini tetap fluffy dan menggemaskan!

We walked the footpath and find more other foxes wandering around. In the summer, their fur loss, even some of them still continue to fall feathers and make them look "skinny," but foxtail remains fluffy and adorable!

Di area dekat bangunan kayu, ada puluhan rubah berkumpul. Rupanya pengunjung dapat memberi makan dari "bale-bale" ini supaya aman. Melihat rubah-rubah ini menanti makanan sangat menggemaskan, mereka duduk dan sabar menunggu kami membagikan makanan mereka, ada satu rubah yang sepertinya tidak sabar menunggu, sangat menggemaskan!

In the area near the wooden building, there are dozens of foxes gather. Apparently, visitors can feed from the "bench" to make it safe. Seeing these foxes waiting for food is so adorable, they sit and wait for us to feed them food, there is one fox that seemed impatient to wait, so adorable!

Fox Village Fight Arena

Satu hal lagi yang unik, ternyata suara rubah sangat cempreng! Mereka sangat noisy, selalu berisik dan sering berkelahi karena urusan apapun, makanan, teritori, namun suaranya lebih besar dari pertengkarannya, mereka sama sekali tidak saling gigit saat berkelahi, hanya saling mendorong dan mengancam dengan suara keras, see them on this video:

One more thing that is unique, is that fox's voice is very shrill! They are very noisy, always noisy and often fight for any kind of business, food, territory, but its voice is bigger than the fight, they do not bite each other during a fight, just pushing and threatening with a loud voice, see them on this video:

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY? :)) *singing*

We can hold them, only on specific area

Anyway, fox village benar-benar memberikan doze of cuteness! I'll surely visit this place again during falls or winter; want to see them in their best fluffy moment during cold season! Amen to THAT!

@marischkaprue - she still don't understand what does the fox said

NOTES

ZAO FOX VILLAGE

Kawarago 11-3 Fukuokayatsumiya, Shiroishi

Miyagi Prefecture

Japan

OPENING HOURS

9 AM - 5 PM

GETTING THERE

From TOKYO

Tokyo to Shiroishizao Station by Shinkansen Yamabiko (Dari Tokyo Station di platform No. 20/ 21/ 23, cek jadwal dan platform terlebih dahulu), lama perjalanan hampir 2 jam, one way shinkansen ticket ¥ 9.830

Tokyo to Shiroishizao Station by Shinkansen Yamabiko (From Tokyo Station at platform No. 20/21/23, check the schedule and platform in advance), almost 2 hours trip, one way shinkansen ticket ¥ 9,830

Tips: Untuk menghemat biaya, gunakan JR East Pass (¥ 20.000), namun dapat digunakan selama 5 hari ke berbagai area

Tip: To save costs, use JR East Pass (¥ 20,000), but can be used for 5 days to various areas

 

From Shiroishizao Station

- Taxi menuju Fox Village (¥ 4.000) one way, tips: sharing dengan pengunjung lain, jika melihat turis asing di Shiroishizao Station, kemungkinan besar mereka menuju Fox Village, bisa sharing 4 orang di satu taksi.

- Bus (hanya ada 2x di hari Selasa: jam 7 pagi dari Shiroishi Station -- berbeda dengan Shiroishizao -- dan jam 2 siang dari Fox Village menuju Shiroishi Station)

From Shiroishizao Station

- Taxi to the Fox Village (¥ 4,000) one way, tips: sharing with other visitors, if you see foreign tourists in Shiroishizao Station, chances are they headed Fox Village, 4 people can share in one taxi.

- Bus (only 2 times on Tuesday: 7 am from Shiroishi Station - unlike with Shiroishizao - and at 2 pm on Fox Village towards Shiroishi Station)

Opsi: Datang dengan taksi, dan pulang dengan bus sehingga menghemat biaya taksi

Option: Comes with a taxi and go home by bus thus saving the cost of taxis

 

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