Sip coffee beside grazing goats and alpacas
On some farms in Japan the cafe sits right beside the animals, so you can drink coffee or fresh farm milk while goats or alpacas wander a few steps away. A few let you feed the goats as well. Most are in the countryside, and opening days and winter closures vary, so check each one before you go.
Nasu Animal Kingdom is a large animal park in the Nasu highlands of Tochigi, north of Tokyo, and its open-air restaurant BOCCA sits on a terrace next to the alpaca hill. Sit outside with coffee, tea or soft-serve ice cream while alpacas, fluffy cousins of the llama, graze close by. The restaurant closes in winter, so check the park's site before you go.
A cafe in the middle of a dairy farm on the Tokachi plains of eastern Hokkaido, where the cows graze outdoors. You taste drinks and sweets made with the farm's own milk while goats nibble grass in the pasture outside. The cafe is closed from January to March and is easiest to reach by car.
A small farm cafe in Fukui city that serves drinks and sweets made with blueberries grown on the farm. You watch the goats from your seat, and you can also feed them and see them up close. It is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
A tiny coffee stand in the hills of Iyo, Ehime, south of Matsuyama, at the foot of a slope known locally as the Yellow Hill. The owner brews coffee roasted in-house, and a friendly goat named Tipica wanders nearby while you drink. It closes on irregular days, so check the shop's Instagram before you go.