Come meet the animals at Dongurimura. Your children will love it.

Nestled in the mountains between Saga and Fukuoka, near the town of Mitsuze, is a lovely little farm park called Dongurimura. This picturesque park was created in the image of a rural French village and its meadows cover an impressive 750,000 m².

It is home to various livestock including cows, ponies, goats, rabbits and pigs. Even in rural Saga, you rarely see farm animals so it’s nice to give your children the opportunity to meet some real animals up close.

If you take a right after the entrance and walk up the hill, the first animals you will encounter are the goats.

They are tame enough to pet and you can buy small containers of pellets or vegetables to feed to them.

If you visit in spring you are likely to see some new additions. The goat kids were adorable!

Right next door are the ponies which you can also pet and feed.

You can even take a short pony ride.

Continuing up the road you’ll come to the animal house. Admission is an extra 300 yen per family but we received a coupon to redeem for an ice cream, yogurt or pudding so I didn’t mind the extra cost. Inside you can pet rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats and pigs.

For an additional 300 yen you can take one of the goats for a walk!

Don’t forget to cash in your free ticket at the milk factory before you continue your journey. We received a free ice cream and bought an extra chocolate ice cream, yogurt and pudding which were all sumptuous!

The cattle enclosure, home to a herd of Jersey cattle, is located even further up the hill. Since the park is modeled on a French village, the choice of Jersey cattle is rather odd! But then if you don’t know much about cattle it really doesn’t matter! The Jersey cows are well known for their delicious creamy milk so I am willing to overlook it! If you’d like to try your hand at milking one of the cows, make sure you reserve a spot at the entrance of the park as you go in. Numbers are limited to 50 per day so try to get there early at weekends.

Dongurimura cows

If you still have some energy, I‘d recommend continuing along the road instead of heading back the same way. This takes you the whole way around the park and back to the entrance. It is quite a trek, but it’s peaceful and pretty.

Information
Donguri mura (どんぐり村)
Address:　2234-67 Yuzuriha, Mitsusemura, Saga-shi, Saga-ken 842-0303
Telephone: 0952-56-2141
Access 1: 45 minute drive from JR Saga station or 30 minute drive from Saga Yamato IC (Nagasaki Expressway)
Distance to airport: About 30km from Saga Airport, about 35km from Fukuoka Airport
HP:　http://www.dongurimura.com/main/13.html