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JAPAN IS HOME to many fruit farms and orchards as fruits are a popular treat in the country.
Japan claims ownership over square watermelons, which are basically watermelons grown into the shape of a cube.
Invented by graphic designer Tomoyuki Ono in 1978, the square watermelons were intended to fit more compactly in fridges and be able to cut more easily.
However, it is purely ornamental as square melons must be harvested before they are ripe, rendering them inedible.
The cube-shaped fruit, originally created with practicality in mind, comes with a hefty price tag – as high as US$100 per pop. Often, it is given away as a gift.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Fruits are a big deal in Japan, with large apples and pears fetching considerably high prices (up to US$21 per apple).
A common activity for the Japanese is to go out on a trip to a fruit farm to pick fruit and eat it right there and then. Otherwise, the fruits will be given away to extended family members, friends, or co-workers.
Now, fruit picking is becoming a thing even with foreigners and hordes of them have begun going on these tasty tours.
According to The Jakarta Post, between November 2017 and May 2018, about 4,200 foreign travelers, a 1.5-fold increase from two years earlier, visited the Chikushino strawberry farm.
Another fruit farm growing grapes and apples in Kumamoto attracts about 10,000 people a year from abroad.
Source: Shutterstock.
Interested visitors and solo travelers won’t have to worry about it being lonely affair either because jumping on the bandwagon are local companies which have been getting involved with farm tourism.
Farms usually charge a fee for the session but it depends on the fruit being pick. Peaches and cherries are usually more expensive while grapes and plums are a little cheaper.
Some farms will give you the opportunity to pick multiple fruits at once, depending on what’s in season. And some farms charge based on the weight of the fruits retrieved.
Just be prepared to fork out anywhere between JPY1,000 (US$8.89) to JPY3,000 (US$26.67).
Here are a couple of great places that you can visit to try your hand at fruit picking:
Peaches
Source: Shutterstock.
When to go: Mid-June till mid-September.
Where to go: Tomomien Fruit Farm in Okayama.
Apples
Source: Shutterstock.
When to go: Mid-September till mid December.
Where to go: Hirosaki Apple Park in Aomori.
Cherries
Source: Shutterstock.
When to go: May till July.
Where to go: Ohashi Cherry Farm in Hokkaido.
Blueberries
Source: Shutterstock.
When to go: July till August.
Where to go: Zao Blueberry Farm, Miyagi.
Grapes
Source: Shutterstock.
When to go: July till October.
Where to go: Maruhara Orchards in Fukushima.
Strawberries
Source: Shutterstock.
When to go: January till May.
Where to go: Ojimanoen Farm in Fukuoka.
The post The best times, places to go fruit picking in Japan appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com