Hidden Wonders | Cows at the Foot of Mount Fuji

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At the foot of Mount Fuji, lightly dusted with snow, dairy cows graze peacefully on open grass. At Nakatomi Ranch on the Asagiri Plateau in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, the scene looks straight out of a picture book.

Postwar Beginnings

In January 1946, shortly after the war, Tomiji Nakajima came here from Nagano Prefecture as deputy leader of a settlement group and made it his home. The land was barren, covered in volcanic gravel. With government support, he set about leveling the uneven terrain.

The region drained poorly and was ill-suited for agriculture, but Tomiji had an inventive streak. He visited farms across the country and eventually made up his mind: dairy farming could work here. Starting from scratch by sowing grass seeds, he built the farm through years of trial and error.

*Dairy cows graze leisurely on the grass. Some cattle even approach visitors who come to observe them.*

*Among the roughly 110 dairy cows, some have distinctive markings, including one with a heart-shaped pattern on its forehead.*

A Family-Run Ranch

Today, his granddaughter Yumiko, 58, and her husband Takao, 55, carry on the family business, running the dairy farm with a single focus on milk production. Fujinomiya City has more than 50 farms, but only a handful still practice open grazing.

"It may not be the most efficient method," Takao says, "but we want to raise cows in a low-stress environment and produce delicious milk."

*Dairy cows grazing at the foot of Mount Fuji on April 29.*

After the morning milking, the cows head out to pasture, where they lie down or wander freely, grazing on whichever grass they prefer. Along National Route 139, patches of untouched grass grow near the electric fences, and the cows often gravitate toward them, bringing the animals right up to the roadside. Visitors can watch them graze from just a few feet away.

Watch scenes from the ranch.

Challenges and Preservation

However, the farm's growing popularity comes with complications. Nakatomi Ranch is not a tourist facility and doesn't sell food or drinks, yet the influx of visitors has created issues: cars parked along the road cause traffic jams, and some visitors stray onto the property.

*A free public parking lot is located a few hundred meters from Nakatomi Ranch, helping discourage roadside parking along the national highway.*

*A 21-year-old couple from Chiba Prefecture visited to celebrate the woman's 21st birthday.*

For Takao, preserving the landscape comes down to two things: keeping as many dairy farmers as possible operating on the Asagiri Plateau, and ensuring visitors behave respectfully when they come to see it. Rising material costs amid ongoing inflation are also putting pressure on the business.

His wife Yumiko added, "I love this view of Mount Fuji from the place where I was born and raised, on the land my ancestors cleared. I want to protect it forever."