The Alpaca Farm in Nasu (and How to Get There)

I'd actually never heard of alpacas until the Japanese fiber company Kuraray made a series of commercials featuring a fluffy white alpaca. I wasn't too sure what this commercial was actually promoting (...and still don't really) but it made a pretty big impression in Japan and alpacas became well known around 2009.

Obviously it's been a while since then but when my friend mentioned that there was an alpaca farm in Nasu, I had to go and see what these alpacas were all about! And lucky for us, we bumped into a Peruvian alpaca expert while we were there, who was kind enough to show us around and answer all our questions.

He explained that at this farm the alpacas get a haircut every two years. We were there a week ahead of their shearing season so they were at their peak fluffiness! We also learned that alpacas are native to the Andes region. When I asked about the alpacas in the wild, he surprised me by mentioning that currently all the alpacas are domesticated and have been that way for a while now. Who knew?

I'm so glad we bumped into our "guide" because we had an amazing time learning about alpacas. He introduced us to the famous alpaca from the Kuraray commercials with the same amount of enthusiasm as when he introduced us to a blind alpaca. He said that sometimes they are born blind and/or deaf but receive the same amount of care and friendship from both the staff and the other alpacas. And I believe him because the minute he started talking, the blind alpaca perked up its ear and moseyed on over to be pet by him. It completely warmed my heart.

Have you ever spent time with alpacas? They are the sweetest animals ever. If you're ever in Nasu, you may enjoy an afternoon with an alpaca or two! x

Here are some photos:

I've gotten quite a few inquiries regarding how to get to the Alpaca Farm so I thought I'd add a little bit more information on that here.

So the bad news is, there is no public transportation from the nearest station to the Alpaca Farm on a daily basis.

The closest train station is Shin-Shirakawa Station on the JR Line. Both the Tohoku Shinkansen and local trains stop here and the station is approximately 15km away from the Alpaca Farm. Your choice is to rent a car (6,000-12,000yen for 12 hours, depending on the car) or to take a taxi (approximately 8,000yen one way).

Obviously this is quite a hassle for many, not to mention expensive. For those who do not have a drivers license or deep pockets to hire a taxi (like me!), you have two other choices.

1. TAKE THE BUS
I previously mentioned that there is no public transportation to the Alpaca Farm. But there IS a bus that operates for a limited time during certain times of the year, which is what we used as transportation in my post above. The bus operation varies from year to year, but I believe they operate both in the spring and fall. We were luckily traveling during the spring period and this bus is what we took to get to the Alpaca Farm.

Tsutsuji-go: The bus that operates during the spring season is called Tsutsuji-go (i.e. Azalea bus), probably because it coincides with the azalea season in the Nasu highlands. From the past couple of years, it seems that Tsutsuji-go operates from end of April/early May to mid to late June, depending on the year.

Momiji-go: The other bus that operates in the fall is called Momiji-go (i.e. Japanese Maple bus), again probably because it coincides with the fall foliage season when trees change color. This period seems to vary by year but basically Momiji-go runs from mid to late September to late October/early November.

The operating season for both of these buses seem to be announced within a month prior so it can be nerve-wrecking for people who want to plan ahead. But if you are lucky to be traveling during that season, you can get on the bus at Nasu Yumoto (in front of the Nasu-cho Kanko Kyokai-mae, i.e. Nasu Tourism Assosication) and they will drop you off at Nasu Alpaca Farm.

You may have already noticed that Nasu Yumoto is quite far from the nearest train station. So what we did is, took the local bus (Toya Transportation Bus) from Nasu Shiobara JR Station (you can also get on at the neighboring Kuro-iso JR Station) to Nasu Yumoto (approx. 50-60min), then changed onto the Tsutsuji-go bus all the way to the Alpaca Farm (approx. 30min).

Both the Tsutsuji-go and Momiji-go operate three round trips, meaning 3 buses to go and 3 buses to get back, so make sure you check the time schedule so you don't miss the last bus. When we went, we took the 11:40am bus and got there a little past noon. Then we took the 3pm bus back to Nasu Yumoto and got there around 3:30pm.

For your reference, here is when the bus was operating from previous years:
2017  Spring: Apr 29 - Jun 4  /  Fall: TBD
2016  Spring: Apr 29 - Jun 5  /  Fall: Sep 17 - Oct 23
2015  Spring: May 2 - Jun 14  /  Fall: Sep 19 - Oct 25
2014  Spring: Apr 26 - Jun 29  /  Fall: Oct 11 - Nov 3
*For up-to-date details on Tsutsuji-go/Momiji-go bus schedules, please contact Nasu Tourism Association at +81 (0)287 76 2619.

2. TAKE A BUS TOUR FROM TOKYO
There are bus tours from Tokyo that will take you to and from the Alpaca Farm. You can book through travel agencies such as H.I.S. or Hato Bus, and you won't have to worry about any of the transportation logistics in between. The price is also quite reasonable, somewhere in the range of 7,000 to 9,000yen.

Of course, there is always a down-side to tours, such as not being able to spend as much time as you would like at the Alpaca Farm, due to the tour schedule, which will most likely include other stops along the way. But on the other hand, you'll get to see other places in the Nasu area, which are likely difficult to access without a car, so depending on the itinerary it could end up being a win-win situation.

For your reference, here are some bus tours:
H.I.S. Tour: Alpaca Farm - Nasu Beer Garden - Strawberry Picking from Shinjuku
Hato Bus Tour: Strawberry Picking - Nasu Beer Garden - Alpaca Farm from Ikebukuro
*These tours are as of April 2017 and may not be current.

I hope this helps! x