While Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Shizuoka, and Tochigi prefectures are famous for strawberries throughout Japan, Sapporo is certainly not to be outdone.

Sapporo boasts a wide variety of delicious strawberries, including the original "Kentarou" and "Satohoro." Furthermore, the strawberry picking season in Sapporo begins later than anywhere else in the country, in early summer.

This refreshing gift from the land comes at a time when its season has long since ended on Honshu. It's definitely something I want to savor.

But many people probably don't know where exactly they can go strawberry picking, right?

So this time, we're featuring strawberry picking and fruit picking in and around Sapporo.
Enjoy the short northern spring and summer seasons with their wonderful aromas and flavors, amidst the fresh air and clear blue skies.

Table of contents
Strawberry picking spots near Sapporo
1. Snowberry Farm
2. Yokoyama Farm
・3. flower tea farm
4. Kawakami Strawberry Picking Farm
5. Yamamoto Tourist Orchard
Final thoughts

1. Snowberry Farm

Toyotaki in Sapporo's Minami Ward is located along National Route 230, on the way from Sapporo to Jozankei. It's a spot where many tourist orchards are concentrated, and could be called a "Ginza of Orchards."

In addition to strawberries, you can enjoy seasonal fruits throughout the year, including cherries, peaches, plums, grapes, and pears.

Among them, Snowberry Farm's strawberry farm offers a very long period of enjoyment, starting in May and ending in October. However, it's already fully booked for Saturdays and Sundays in May, making it so popular that it's almost impossible to get in.

Grown in greenhouses in Toyotaki, Sapporo, surrounded by abundant nature, varieties such as Sagahonoka and Summer Ruby are allowed to fully ripen while still attached to the stem.

The finest aroma, the perfect sweetness, and the ultimate tartness. Every bite of these freshly picked grapes fills you with a feeling of pure bliss.

With Jozankei Onsen and Koganeyu Onsen just a short trip away, this tourist farm offers a variety of attractions to enjoy. Highly recommended.

Snowberry Farm
130 Toyotaki, Minami-ku, Sapporo City, Hokkaido
TEL 011-596-1514
Operating period: May to October
Opening hours: 9:00 AM onwards (until strawberries run out). Entry is limited to a certain number of people.
Closed on: Open every day during the period (occasional temporary closures may occur)
Children's rates: 700 yen for children aged 3 to preschool age, 1,200 yen for elementary school students.
Adult price: 1,800 yen

2. Yokoyama Farm

 

Ishikari City is located north of Sapporo. In recent years, it has become a popular commuter town for Sapporo, and industrial parks have been built there, but originally it was a town of fishing and agriculture.

In some areas, farmland stretches as far as the eye can see along the Ishikari River. Yokoyama Farm is located in one corner of this area.

While the base is open-field cultivation, there are also greenhouses, so you can enjoy strawberry picking even on rainy days. The strawberries, which are carefully grown without pesticides from spring onwards, are safe to eat raw.

Houkou Wase and Kentaro are common varieties in Hokkaido. While there aren't many varieties, you can enjoy the subtle differences in taste from plant to plant.

The shop is currently selling soft-serve ice cream topped with strawberry cream. It's delicious and very popular. The surrounding area is a peaceful rural landscape.

There's also Ban'ya no Yu, a hot spring resort where you can enjoy a day trip, so it would be nice to relax your mind and body after having fun strawberry picking.

Yokoyama Farm
Address: 865-1 Kita-Oiburi, Ishikari City, Hokkaido
Phone number 0133-66-3290
Operating period: Mid-June to mid-July
Opening hours: 9:00 AM onwards (until strawberries run out)
Closed on: Open every day during the period (occasional temporary closures may occur)
Children's fare: 500 yen for ages 3 to elementary school age.
Adult price: 800 yen

3. Kacha Farm

This strawberry farm is located next to a cafe and restaurant in Chitose City. The strawberries are grown entirely outdoors, and the best time for strawberry picking is from mid-June, allowing you to enjoy a true taste of early summer in Hokkaido.

The main varieties are Hokou Wase and Kentaro. These strawberries, which ripen vigorously under strong sunlight, are incredibly delicious, filling your mouth with a sweet and sour flavor.

The realization that strawberries can be this sweet and juicy is something you can only experience by picking and eating them right there. Hanacha is also a familiar name to locals as an ice cream shop.

In spring, you'll find flavors like cherry blossoms and butterbur sprouts. In summer, you'll find strawberries, of course, but also tomatoes and lettuce—flavors that symbolize the northern lands.

Eating ice cream, picking strawberries, and playing with rabbits – this strawberry picking experience is sure to be a huge hit with kids.

flower tea farm
Address: 479 Izumigo, Chitose City, Hokkaido
Phone number 0123-29-2888
Opening hours (summer): 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
(Winter) 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Sundays and public holidays 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM)
Closed every Tuesday (Open every day from May to August)
Children's fare: 400 yen
Adult price: 800 yen

 

4. Kawakami Strawberry Picking Farm

 

Kitahiroshima City, located in southern Sapporo, derives its name from the large number of settlers who came from Hiroshima. While it's well-known throughout Hokkaido for its exceptionally high support for the Hiroshima Carp baseball team, it's less known that the city actively promotes strawberry picking.

Even today, you can pick strawberries at seven different strawberry farms, all at a uniform price of ¥700. The facilities are simple and unpretentious. Visitors are simply given a paper cup.

Lose yourself in the wild and pure joy of picking strawberries in a vast, free-roaming farm.

I especially recommend Kawakami Strawberry Farm. There's a free BBQ area, and a river within the farm where you can play in the water.

June and July, when the weather starts to get warm, are the season for open-field grown Sapporo strawberries. Once you've had your fill of strawberry picking, you can enjoy a BBQ and some water play. It's a place where you can have fun all day long.

The varieties are the classic Hokou Wase and Kentaro. Their sweet and sour taste is addictive once you try it.

There's a Mitsui Outlet Park, a large supermarket, and a home improvement store nearby, so you won't have any trouble with shopping.

Kawakami Strawberry Picking Farm
Address: 424 Shimamatsu, Kitahiroshima City, Hokkaido
Phone: 011-376-3419
Opening Hours <Operating Period> Mid-June to Mid-July
Starting at 9:00 AM (ends when strawberries run out)
Closed on: Open every day during the period (occasional temporary closures may occur)
Children's rates: Preschool children are free.
Elementary school student 400 yen
Adult price: 700 yen

5. Yamamoto Tourist Orchard

Located in Yoichi Town, about an hour and a half's drive from Sapporo, and famous for both Nikka Whisky and its fruit production, is Yamamoto Tourist Farm.

While the farm primarily focuses on fruit cultivation, including cherries and apples, you can also enjoy strawberry picking from June to early July.

This time of year is also cherry season, and you can enjoy two kinds of fruit in one place—not just two delicious things in one, but two delicious things in one place—a situation so delightful it makes you want to scream with joy.

The well-maintained farm also boasts a direct sales shop and a cafe. If you have the opportunity to travel to Yoichi, this is definitely a place you should visit.

Yamamoto Tourist Orchard
1102-5 Nobori-cho, Yoichi-cho, Hokkaido
TEL: 0135-23-6251
Opening hours: 9:00 AM - 17:00 PM
Free parking available
Price: Adults 1,100 yen, Children 880 yen (all-you-can-eat)
Adults: 1,850 yen / Children: 1,630 yen (if taking food home)

Final thoughts

So, what did you think? These strawberries from the Sapporo area aren't produced in large quantities and don't make it to the market. For Hokkaido residents in early summer, strawberries are probably not something you buy, but something you pick, or even grow.

Popular farms are so crowded on weekends that you can't get in without a reservation, and they're packed everywhere you go. It seems everyone understands that picking strawberries is more economical and tastier than buying them.

And in June, Jozankei Farm will open just a 5-minute drive from Jozankei. This will be a renovation of the Jozankei Waiwai Farm that was open until last year.

It originally operated under the name Sasaki Tourist Orchard. It was well-known for its wide variety of strawberries, and it was a spot where you could enjoy eight different types of strawberries depending on the season, so expectations are very high for this place as well.

Please enjoy early summer in Hokkaido by going strawberry picking.

・If you're unsure what to do, try these! 3 recommended day trips departing from Sapporo!
・If you're looking for cherry blossom viewing spots in Sapporo this spring, check out these 7 must-see locations, from classic spots to hidden gems!
Love & Healing | 9 Recommended Power Spots in Hokkaido for Women
・Golden Week in Hokkaido! A roundup of recommended tourist spots!
・Five Sapporo soft serve ice creams you'll want to go out of your way to eat!

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