Ever since I came to Japan a several years ago, I've been amazed at how rarely I come across any animals here in the country. Every now and then you can find stories about bears, wild boars and other wild animals in the news and media, but you don't hear much about farm animals here in the land of the rising sun. Sometimes you do hear something about chickens, but that is when the next bird flu outbreak has just occurred and the chicken farms are once again going into emergency slaughter.

But where are all the other farm animals? Where are the cattle or pigs? Well, in my home country in the big city I don't come across them all the time either, but at least in the countryside you can see and find them quite quickly and easily.

It's different here in Japan, where I have been to a cattle farm once, but this was an absolute exception. The farm animals seem to be very well hidden here.

So I was all the more surprised when I came across a few goats on a recent trip. Well, they were positioned in such a way that you couldn't miss them and were clearly there for demonstration and educational purposes. But that's already a start. I think most Japanese people only know goats and cows from books and have never seen them up close.

But anyway, I was delighted, and I wasn't alone in my delight. It wasn't just our little ones who were thrilled by the two goats, who despite their popularity remained extremely cool that day. One of the two goats came curiously to the gate and let herself be fed with the carrot sticks provided, but the other of the two stayed on her little throne the whole time and preferred to watch the action from a slightly more elevated position. I don't think either goat was really hungry, so it's not difficult to keep your temper when tempted.

Probably further up north, on the island of Hokkaido, there could be a few more pastures. At least the milk in the supermarket often comes from there, so the chance of seeing a few cows grazing further up north might be significantly greater.

But anyway, I'm always happy when I come across a few members of the animal world. Whether wild or farm animals, I'm just happy to see them. And I also felt this joy that day. Sometimes it doesn't take much to make us feel better. All it takes is two goats in a fence somewhere near the Sea of Japan. Life can sometimes be quite simple....