Makaino Ranch near Mt. Fuji
In June 2022, I visited Makaino Ranch (まかいの牧場) located in the city of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, which is located at the base of Mt. Fuji on the western slope. The ranch is a family-friendly and pet-friendly ranch/farm resort, that offers some fun and unique experiences for folks that might be living most of their daily lives in urban Japan.
Although the ranch (references also use the terms farm, park, and resort) primarily caters to families with children, there were many young couples on dates visiting the ranch as well. If you have a teenager in your family, they might not be terribly excited about visiting this ranch—but you can tell them there are several Instagrammable spots and activities they can post on TikTok if that is their thing.
My primary attraction to Makaino Ranch lies with the nostalgia of seeing a smelling farm animals after living in Japan for nearly 40 years. I was raised on a dairy farm, so my experience at the ranch brought back many childhood memories making the trip well worth my time and delightfully enjoyable.
I arrived with my border collie at around noon. It was only a two hour drive from Tokyo on the Tomei Expressway, and upon arrival, I had three large different parking lots to choose from—so parking does not seem to be an issue unless you try to visit late in the afternoon on a weekend or on a national holiday.
In conversations with the staff, the park was closed most of 2021 and has slowly opened up this year with guests asked to wear masks when indoors, sanitize your hands, maintain social distancing, and use designated mats at certain points to clean the soles of your shoes (this is standard practice to help prevent exposing the animals viruses and is not related to COVID-19).
Interactive activities include riding saddled horses, petting ponies, feeding calves with milk bottles, milking a cow, walking goats, and more. Note that milking cows and feeding calves cannot be done willy-nilly anytime a tourist wants to try. Cows and calves have a regular milking and feeding schedules, so be sure to check such schedules in advance if this is one of the activities that you would like to experience.
They also give visitors rides on trailers hitched to actual farm tractors that can take you on small tours of the ranch. There were a few modern and older tractors on display (deactivated for safety) where children were lining up to sit in the driver’s seat and pose for shots by mom and dad. For kids raised in the city, this must be an exciting activity on a par with sitting in the driver’s seat of a fire engine!
Since I visited with my border collie, I had to skip most of the interactions with the farm animals. Regardless, I was more than satisfied with just letting her see and smell farm animals for the first time in her life. Having spent her whole life in an urban setting, she showed very little interest in the sheep and was a bit scared of the cows, horses, and ponies! 😂
Whereas I visited on a weekday, not all of the facilities were open. But if you visit on the weekend, there are several buildings offering classes for both adults and children on various crafts using natural materials from the surrounding woods, tote bag decorating, spinning wool into yarn, and more. Be sure to check ahead before scheduling a visit if the crafting workshops are a part of your plans.
Other facilities provide the opportunity to make butter, sausage, and cookies using locally sourced ingredients— especially the milk and butter from the dairy cows on the ranch.
In addition there are several photo spots where you can take selfies for Instagram (here the teenagers might get excited) where you can have Mt. Fuji as your backdrop assuming the skies are clear. There are also wooded areas where you can take a nap on hammocks strung up between the trees, a day-glamping ground, a “sky-high” swing (use at your own risk), several flower gardens, and many spots where you can just sit and relax, have a picnic, or just take a break.
If you visit with young kids, they will likely have a blast especially if they have been raised in an urban setting. Teenagers can wander off by themselves for the all-important Instagram shots or TikTok videos, and adults, too, can just enjoy a break from the concrete jungle and cooler temperatures the park has to offer.
Before heading home, be sure to try out one of the cafes near the park entrance that offer locally produced ice cream. After the a long day walking throughout the entire ranch shooting photos and enjoying time with my dog, the ice cream was even more delicious than I could have anticipated!
Address:
1327-1 Utsuno, Fujinomiya-shi, Shizuoka-ken 418-0104
〒418-0104 静岡県富士宮市内野1327-1
Google Maps:
Website:
Sheep at Ranch Resort
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
105 mm ISO 200 for 1/250 sec. at ƒ/11
Shot of a flock (small herd) of sheep grazing at the Makaino Farm/Ranch Resort near the foot of Mt. Fuji in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture. A closer look reveals two rams (right) and a ewe (left).
The farm allows visitors to get up and close to goats, sheep, calves, cows, horses, and ponies. It was nice to relive the smells, sounds, and textures of my boyhood minus the chores and hay fever!
Located near the base of Mt. Fuji, the weather was sunny and relatively cooler making for a great getaway from the heat of Tokyo.
Mt. Fuji Towering above Grazing Sheep
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
45 mm ISO 200 for 1/125 sec. at ƒ/11
Shot of Mt. Fuji towering over some sheep grazing at the Makaino Ranch Resort in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture. The peak looks so bleak with all the snow melted off of her peak.
Grazing Sheep at Ranch
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
105 mm ISO 200 for 1/400 sec. at ƒ/5.6
The Makaino Ranch is a part of the Asagari Highlands near the base of Mt. Fuji. This area was where vassals to the shogun would raise war horses. The shogun, Minamot-no-Yoritomo, was the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate ruling Japan from 1192 until 1199. The surname of one of the vassals was “Makaino”—which explains why this farm is called Makaino Ranch.
Grazing Ewe at Ranch near Mt. Fuji
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
105 mm ISO 200 for 1/320 sec. at ƒ/6.3
The Makaino Ranch is a part of the Asagari Highlands near the base of Mt. Fuji. This area was where vassals to the shogun would raise war horses by order of the shogun Minamot-no-Yoritomo, who was the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate ruling Japan from 1192 until 1199. The surname of one of the vassals was “Makaino”—which explains why this farm is called Makaino Ranch. Nowadays, the ranch is a family-friendly park where families can get up close to domesticated animals.
Border Collie Chilling at Ranch
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
105 mm ISO 200 for 1/125 sec. at ƒ/6.3
Although border collies are a working breed used primarily for herding sheep, she was raised in an urban environment as a pet with no training beyond typical dog tricks, catching balls, and catching Frisbees. On this photo shoot, it was her first opportunity to interact with cows, horses, sheep, and goats. Sadly, she showed zero interest in farm animals and just wanted to chill in the shade. 😅
Up Close with Grazing Ewe
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
48 mm ISO 200 for 1/250 sec. at ƒ/5.0
Up Close with Grazing Ewe
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
68 mm ISO 200 for 1/200 sec. at ƒ/5.0
The Makaino Ranch near the base of Mt. Fuji has a pasture where you can get up close to grazing sheep. Although I was raised on a farm, I have never been this close to a farm animal with a camera in hand. Keeping a sharp focus on this ewe while maintaining a narrow depth of field was very challenging since she kept inching forward while grazing and ended up slowly slipping outside of my focal range! I am not a spray-and-pray type of photographer, so my normal approach to these shots was a bit of a challenge but thoroughly enjoyable.
Flowers and Grazing Ewe
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
105 mm ISO 100 for 1/250 sec. at ƒ/7.1
Vintage John Deere Model 40T Tractor
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
63 mm ISO 100 for 1/200 sec. at ƒ/11
Vintage John Deere Model 40T Tractor
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
45 mm ISO 100 for 1/250 sec. at ƒ/4.5
One of my favorite parts of the Makaino Ranch (Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan) is the display of old tractors.
In these shots, we have a 1954 John Deere Model 40T. This model of tractor was available with a standard wide front end or narrow front end (with one wheel or standard two wheels). The headlights were optional on this model.
After the war, Japan imported tractors for use in the cultivation of crops including wheat, barley, corn, and alfalfa. Nowadays, farmers prefer to use Japanese tractors which are more compact, smaller, and more suited to the smaller fields found throughout Japan, with the exception of Hokkaido.
Rusty Old John Deere Model 40T Tractor
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
88 mm ISO 100 for 1/200 sec. at ƒ5.6
I took this shot because the throttle control for engine rpm (and thus the PTO) reminded me of tractors I grew up with including an International Harvester, a smaller Massey Ferguson, and a yellow front loader (Case?).
Broken Headlight
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
68 mm ISO 100 for 1/200 sec. at ƒ5.6
Headlights came as an option on John Deere Model 40T tractors from the mid-1950s. Don’t know if this shot would be categorized as an abstract shot, still-life shot, or automotive shot. Regardless, I was enamored with the contrast in lines and shapes while the painted-over rust on the headlight and the radiator make the two subjects cohesive.
Ranch Windpump near Mt. Fujji in Japan
Pentax K-1 II + D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
105 mm ISO 100 for 1/200 sec. at ƒ5.6
The Makaino Ranch uses this windpump to pump water for the horses they have in a small corral used for tourists who want to experience riding a horse. The windpump is fully functional and is actually used to water the horses and parts of the pasture where the horses graze.
If you look closely, you can see the outline of Mt. Fuji in the background. I want to come back in winter when the view of Mt. Fuji will be clearer and more prominent with snow on the peak.
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