During your time in Tokyo, if you want to experience fruit picking in Japan, there are a couple of good orchards in Tokorozawa. As the city is around a 30-minute train ride from Shinjuku, many people who live in Tokyo visit these orchards when the fruits they like are in season. After all, fruit picking is fun, and the fruits sold at the orchards are cheaper than those sold in the supermarket. As a tourist, you can spend a few hours picking up fresh fruits and the rest of the day exploring the attractions nearby!
Table of Contents
- Tokorozawa Vineyard (所沢ぶどう園)
- Tanaka Vineyard (田中ぶどう園)
- Kurihara Mushroom Farm (栗原しいたけ園)
- Tokorozawa Kitada Strawberry Farm (所沢北田農園いちごのマルシェ)
- Yōko Farm (陽子ファーム)
Tokorozawa Vineyard (所沢ぶどう園)
The first orchard we want to introduce is Tokorozawa Vineyard. As its name suggests, the vast ground is covered by various types of grapes. Grape picking is mainly from early August to late September. Obviously, the season varies depending on the variety.
The rules at Tokorozawa Vineyard are slightly different from those of other places. The admission fee is paid at the entrance before you enter the park. Once you are in the vineyard, you will be given a sample of grapes available on the day to know which type of grape you want to pick. Instead of the all-you-can-eat style, the grapes there are sold by weight. The grapes that you picked can be enjoyed at the resting area. You can always go back to pick more.
Tip: Free Sayama Tea (狭山茶) is available in the resting area. Grape juice and beer can also be purchased from the counter.
The vineyard also has a farmer’s market at the entrance. Besides seasonal grapes and grape products, freshly harvested vegetables are also on the shelf.
There is a direct sales stand at the entrance of the vineyard, which sells seasonal grapes, grape products, and vegetables picked in the morning. The reception desk for grape picking is also a direct sales office.
For the type of grapes available, refer to the Official Website. Translate the page using Google Chrome’s translation function located at the right of the address bar.
Tokorozawa Vineyard’s Business Hour, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- Tokorozawa Vineyard is open from 9 am to 4:30 pm during grape season.
- The admission fee is:
- 200 yen for adults
- 100 yen for elementary school students
- The vineyard is around a 25-minute walk from Seibu’s Higashi-Tokorozawa Station (東所沢駅).
- If you take a taxi from the station, it is a 5-minute drive.
Tanaka Vineyard (田中ぶどう園)
Another vineyard in Tokorozawa that you can consider visiting is Tanaka Vineyard. The mineral-rich soil grows a wide variety of grapes, including new varieties. Organic fertilizers are also used there so that the grapes aren’t just delicious but healthier.
Grape picking season is from mid-August to early October. You can also pick chestnuts if you visit Tanaka Vineyard on a weekend or a public holiday between mid-September and early October!
The rules there are the same as those at Tokorozawa Vineyard. The admission fee includes grape-tasting before fruit picking. The grapes you pick are sold according to their weight.
Tanaka Vineyard’s Business Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- Tanaka Vineyard is open from 10 am to 5 pm or until all ripped fruits are gone.
- The last admission is at 4 pm.
- The admission fee is 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children from 3 years old to elementary school students.
- From Seibu’s Shin-Tokorozawa Station (新所沢駅) east exit, take one of the below bus route:
- Take a bus bound for Tokorozawa New Town (所沢ニュータウン) and get off at the last stop. Tanaka Vineyard is then a 13-minute walk.
- Take a bus bound for Kōkūkōen Station (航空公園駅) and get off at Shiminbudōkan (市民武道館). Tanaka Vineyard is then an 8-minute walk.
- You can also take this bus route running in the opposite direction from Kōkūkōen Station.
- You can use one of Japan’s Transport Apps to plan your visit.
Kurihara Mushroom Farm (栗原しいたけ園)
Those who love shiitake mushrooms can visit Kurihara Mushroom Farm. The mushrooms there grow in Tokorozawa City’s famous Totoro Forest. The thick mushrooms cultivated from the logs’ nutrition taste exquisite!
A family operates the mushroom farm. Visiting their farm is like visiting a friend who lives in the countryside. To make it more convenient for its guests, the logs with shiitake grown have been taken indoors. Thus, you can still enjoy picking up shiitake mushrooms even if the weather is bad. And because the logs are moved from the forest to a greenhouse, you can pick shiitake mushrooms from late August to late May.
Whether you like mushrooms or not, you will have a lot of fun finding the super-big shiitake mushroom. Some are almost half the size of an adult palm!
Please note that if a mushroom’s cap isn’t fully open yet, it should be left alone. Only the ones with caps fully open are ready to be eaten.
After you have your fill of mushroom-picking with your bare hands, the staff will weigh the mushrooms for you. The cost is 300 yen per 100g.
Tip: The cap of shiitake mushrooms tends to open towards midday, so we recommend picking them in the morning!
If picking the mushrooms one by one from the log sounds like too much work, you can directly purchase a bag from the farm’s shop.
Making Your Shiitake Mushroom Picking Reservation
While the farm might still allow you to pick mushrooms without a reservation, please make a booking with them by 6 pm by using one of the methods below:
- Give them a phone call at +81-90-1207-1006.
- By using Jaran (じゃらん)
Kurihara Mushroom Farm’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Kurihara Mushroom Farm is open from 10 am to 4 pm from Friday to Monday and on public holidays from late August to late May.
- The farm is a 17-minute walk from Seibu’s Seibu Kyūjō-mae Station (西武球場前駅).
- You can also take Seibu’s Yamaguchi Line (山口線) and get off at Seibu Yūenchinishi Station (西武遊園地西駅). The farm is then a 15-minute walk.
Tokorozawa Kitada Strawberry Farm (所沢北田農園いちごのマルシェ)
Lastly, for strawberry lovers, visit Tokorozawa Kitada Strawberry Farm. Unlike the other three orchards we have introduced, the farm operates on an all-you-can-pick style. As soon as you enter the greenhouse, the nice aroma of strawberries surrounds you.
During the strawberry-picking session, you can eat as many berries as you want. The best thing is that a few varieties of strawberries should be available on the day!
Refer to our Tokorozawa Kitada Strawberry Farm for more information!
Yōko Farm (陽子ファーム)
If you are after organic vegetables and blueberries, Yōko Farm is the best spot in Tokorozawa. For over 30 years, Yōko has cultivated more than 100 varieties of vegetables and blueberries on her farm. The compost used there is made from fallen leaves and rice bran. After leaving the compost in the nearby mountain for a year, this organic material has become the best fertilizer. The soil at the farm thus has a superb quality and is close to the soil found in wild nature.
The farmland that Yōko rented wasn’t nutritious in the beginning. In fact, the condition was poor, and the soil became stiff after rain. Much effort was put into making the field suitable for vegetable growing. To improve the soil quality, sorghum was grown in the fields for two years. The reason that Yōko is so particular about chemical-free soil is because such soil can cultivate vegetables with a rich original taste. Moreover, the vegetables are only harvested when they are ready to be consumed. This is why the taste is completely different from those sold in supermarkets.
Surprisingly, although the vegetables are organic, only a low percentage are damaged by insects. This is another key factor that attracts chefs’ orders.
The farm is open for blueberry picking from late June to early August. There are more than 10 different kinds of blueberries to pick from! The admission cost includes a punnet of berries. Please don’t overfill the punnet; otherwise, the berries at the bottom will get crushed when you close the lid.
Yōko Farm’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Yōko Farm is open from late June to early August for blue berry picking from:
- 9 am to 12 pm on weekdays
- 9 am to 4 pm on weekends and public holidays
- The cost is 1,200 yen.
- The farm is a 20-minute walk from JR’s Higashi-Tokorozawa Station (東所沢駅).
Explore Other Attractions in Tokorozawa
Tokorozawa City, next to Kawagoe, has a good mix of nature and urban elements. In particular, you will be amazed by the magnificence and uniqueness of the Kadokawa Musashino Museum’s building. The Bookshelf Theater inside the museum resembles the world of Harry Potter! In addition, you can enjoy fruit picking in Tokorozawa!
For more information, refer to our article on Tokorozawa!
