Why You Absolutely MUST Visit Shaun the Sheep Farm Garden in Tawada, Japan
Want to visit the coolest “undiscovered” gem in the Shiga Prefecture, Japan? Then you definitely need to visit Shaun the Sheep farm, located at Rosa & Berry English Gardens. We were staying in Otsu on Lake Biwa for a couple days and saw a Shaun the Sheep farm brochure at the tourist information center. We immediately changed our plans so that we could go check it out. If you don’t have a car, you’ll have to do like us and take the train and a bus, but it’s completely doable. From Otsu, it was bout 2 hours one way and 100% worth it.
From Otsu station we jumped on a train to start our journey out to the gardens after the train had made a few stops we realized something was up, we did not get on the rapid train but the local. At the next stop we got off the train and hopped on a rapid train.
Once we were on the right train we took it to Sakata Station (heads up, on some of the trains the doors don’t automatically open, if this happens push the button next to the door and it will open). After exiting Sakata Station, we went to the bus stop, right outside the train station, for Rosa & Berry. We rode the bus for about 20 minutes before we arrived at the farm.
Fun fact: The train ride provides some beautiful countryside scenery.
Buying Your Rosa & Berry English Garden/Shaun the Sheep Farm Ticket
Once you get off the bus you cross the parking lot and head to the right to the main building. When you arrive at the building, they have kiosks outside where you purchase your tickets or to print your tickets if you bought them in advance, the kiosk also has multiple language to pick from so you can easily use their system. For two adults it cost 3,800 yen (approx. $26USD) to enter the gardens. To the right of the kiosk, they have a few coin lockers if you want to store any items.
Fun fact: You’ll find lots of lockers throughout Japan that are affordable and easy to use. It’s a great way to explore an area without the extra weight of your backpack.
We entered through the gift shop to get a little ac break the temp this day was 105 F with humidity, it was HOT! You walk straight through the store to the back and exit through those doors, you’ll walk through a cute little plant shop and then you’ll come to the ticket booth where you hand them your tickets, and they will stamp your hand and give you a map of the grounds.
Top 12 Things To Do At Rose & Berry English Garden/Shaun the Sheep Farm
- Walk through the English Gardens
- Sit in hammock chairs with a crazy cool view
- Take a craft class
- Have tea and sweets
- Make Shaun the Sheep bread during a baking class
- Pet the animals
- Shop at the adorable stores
- Eat
- Ride a train from the bottom of the hill to the Shaun the Sheep farm at the top
- Walk through a vineyard greenhouse with grapes draping down
- See the Candyland Area
- Take tons of photos at Shaun the Sheep Farm
English Gardens
They are so beautiful and fun to walk through and take photos. We only walked through a small portion of the gardens. Definitely didn’t see the whole thing, the gardens make a u-shape around a small lake.
Hammock Chairs with a Crazy View
Off the path up some steps you’ll find these chairs for adults only, I believe there is about six of them up there. Covered in some shade a perfect spot to take a break with an amazing view. I honestly can’t get over how beautiful the countryside of Japan is.
Take a Craft Class
The gardens offer multiple classes you can take, and I don’t think you need to pre-register. Some of the classes they offer are Shaun the Sheep Themed or Seasonal.
Tea & Sweets
At the bottom of the hill with the Hammock Chairs you’ll find a little tea cafe that has the iconic London double decker bus that you can go into. We didn’t go into the tea shop because they were closed when we went by, but they looked to have a good selection of teas and desserts.
Shaun the Sheep Bread Baking Class
Ok, I’m a little sad we didn’t sign up for the class where you can make Shaun the Sheep bread! Ahhhh, how cute! For this class I believe you should make a reservation in advance but double check.
See The Animals
Who can say no to petting sheep! At the petting farm they have 3 different types of sheep you can pet, you can also feed them. They also have ponies, and goats.
Shop
At the front of the gardens, you can find a gift shop but also on your way to the Shaun the Sheep, at the bottom of the hill, you’ll find a gift shop that just has Shaun the Sheep items. We ended up buying some of these noodle chips that we fell in love with on our first trip to Japan, post cards, and clips for our junk journals.
Eat
In the gardens they have Hillside Cafe, a Barbecue Site, Tea Pastries, but they also have restaurants you can enjoy without needing an entry ticket to the gardens and those include Sweet Stand, Cafe Easy Time, and Chef’s. We enjoyed an afternoon snack at Hillside Cafe.
Take a Train Ride
You can take the Lausan Railway Milky Way for 500 yen, one way. It takes you halfway up the hill where Shaun the Sheep Farm is located. Honestly, we didn’t even try to take this train as we assumed we wouldn’t fit lol.
Walk Through a Grape Greenhouse
On your way to the Shaun the Sheep area you’ll end up walking through a grape greenhouse which was really cool but also funny because I had to slouch through the whole thing because I was too tall (I’m about 5’9) lol. If you take the train, you’ll walk through on the way back to the front of the gardens.
Candyland Area
Definitely made for kids but still cute to see. You can walk around the path and take photos, and you might be able to go in the buildings but I’m not sure.
Shaun The Sheep Farm
You finally made it! Once you get to the area, you’ll pass the hillside cafe and make your way to the left to start your walkthrough. You’ll first come upon a photo op spot that has a phone stand that you can use to take a photo.
Walk through the Ranchers House, Sheeps Hut, FARMAGEDDON Tower & Stage, and Rosanne House. Throughout this area there are lots of photo ops, so make sure you take your time and be sure to look at all the fun details you can find .
Fun tip: Check out what’s in the fridge in the Ranchers House.
After we were done exploring, we went to the hillside cafe for an ac/snack break. When you enter find a spot to sit than place your order, you order/ pay at a kiosk. We both got a soda float and some curly fries to share, all of it was good. The cafe is all themed, so it was fun to sit and eat at. They also had gachapon which we of course did, we got two keychains (we did it 2x) I believe it was 300 yen each time. They also had multiple little crane machines, which I also tried to win because they had cute items in there sadly to say I did not win each play is 100 yen.
Helpful Tip: Like most SelfServe/ Fast Food restaurants in Japan you clean your own table after you are done eating so take care of your dishes.
Additional Helpful Tips For Your Visit
- It’s definitely worth the trip out and 100% recommend visiting.
- There are plenty of restrooms available.
- There are vending machines along the path, so you stay hydrated.
- You could easily spend a full day here if you were to explore everything and take classes. In fact, I highly recommend making it a full-day trip.
- You can get to the garden with public transportation, but be aware of the bus timing as it doesn’t run frequently and ubers/taxi didn’t seem to be an option during our visit.
- It’s easy to visit even if you don’t speak Japanese.
Address: 605-10 Tawada, Maibara, Shiga 521-0081, Japan
Website: https://www.rb-tawada.com/
