Enjoy Fukushima’s seasonal fruits while surrounded by the gorgeous fresh verdure!

The fresh verdure will dazzle Fukushima prefecture after the cherry blossoms season ends. In May, the temperature will rise and fresh verdure will cover the trees and mountains in Fukushima. Here, you can enjoy the beauty scenery of the contrasting verdure woven by the nature. Summer will come after fresh verdure season ends, and a lot of fruits will be in season too. A lot of orchards in Fukushima offer fruit picking experience and sell scrumptious sweets made with seasonal fruits. Today we introduce several recommended spots for fresh verdure and excellent orchards for fruit picking in Fukushima!

3 recommended spots for fresh verdure!

1. Mount Azuma-kofuji

Mount Azuma-Kofuji is a 1707 meters high mountain located in Fukushima city, Fukushima Prefecture. It is called “Kofuji (small Fuji)” because it looks like a small Mount Fuji. The mountain looks gorgeous in not only in fall, but also during the fresh verdure season. If you want to enjoy seeing a large crater from up close, climb the mountain trail from Jododaira parking for about 10 minutes. After that, walk around the crater to enjoy the whole view of Jododaira and Fukushima city. It takes less than an hour to circle the crater, but please be careful when walking!

2. Tatsuzawafudo Falls

Tatsuzawafudo Fall is a waterfall in Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture. The waterfall is not only popular among the tourists, but also loved by waterfall enthusiasts and photographers. It is also known as a sacred place because a Fudoson (Buddhist deity) is enshrined at the foot of the waterfall. The atmosphere of this waterfall is always fantastic, but it looks especially beautiful during the fresh verdure season. The observation deck lets you capture the whole view of the waterfall, but you can always see it from up close by going near to its crest. You might see lovely rainbows forming at the falls when the sun shines brightly during the day. Let’s test your luck here!

3. Oguninuma Wetlands

Oguninuma is an untouched nature that is hardly found in Japan, and is designated as the nation’s special natural monument. Nearly 300 kinds of alpine plants bloom in the wetlands from June to October. The wetlands look more beautiful in June and July, when broad dwarf day lilies bloom all over, forming a bright yellow carpet. There will be a traffic restriction during the high season to protect this beautiful nature. Please follow the manners and rules when visiting in order to protect this precious natural monument. Visit Oguninuma Wetlands to enjoy the best view of dwarf day lilies in Japan!

The fruits season comes after the fresh verdure ends!

Fukushima Prefecture is known as the second largest peach producer in Japan, but it’s also known for its other sweet and juicy fruits. Also known as fruit kingdom, Fukushima produces various kinds of fruit including peaches, apples, pears, grapes, and cherries throughout the year. The prefecture has a favorable environment for producing fruits, including long hours of daylight and less rainfall amount.

The areas where you can enjoy those juicy fruits in Fukushima are called the Fruit Line and the Peach Line. The Route 5 (Fruit Line) and the Route 13 (Peach Line) are lined with a lot of orchards and shops offering fruit picking experience from mid June to early December. Today we introduce some wonderful orchards to visit, where you can try the peach parfait and peach pizza that are only available there!

1. Azuma Orchard

Azuma Orchard is located along Fruit Line in Fukushima. The facility here is barrier-free and has a wheelchair-accessible restroom. In addition to peaches, the orchard also grows other fruits like cherries, pears, and grapes. The soft serve ice creams sold at the shop, which made of different kinds of fruit harvested at the best time of the year are extremely popular. Grown with lots of love, make sure to try Azuma Orchard’s amazing fruits!

2. Marusei Orchard

Marusei Orchard is located along the Peach Line, not the Fruit Line. The orchard is as big as 2 Tokyo Domes and grows more than 50 kinds of fruit, including more than 10 different kinds of peach. Not only fruit picking, near the farmer’s store there is a farm café called Mori-No-Garden, which is known for its great sweets made of fresh fruits harvested directly from the farm. Most visitors come to this café to try the must-eat Peach Parfait. Mori-No-Garden also serves seasonal parfaits too, so why don’t you stop by this wonderful farm café when visiting Fukushima?

3. Ono Farm

The last spot to introduce is Ono Farm in Ishikawa-machi. In addition to fruit picking experience, this farm offers various kinds of event throughout the year, including cherry blossoms viewing in spring, beer garden in summer, cooking apples on a bonfire in winter. The farm’s café, Orageno, offers homemade juices and sweets that are only sold at this café limitedly. The must-try foods here are the pizzas, which are made of fresh fruits and vegetables harvested from this farm and other orchards in Fukushima. In addition, the café also sells fashionably packaged souvenirs like fruits-infused craft beers, sweets, juices, and jams, which are great for gifts. There are not so many farms offering activities throughout the year, so you should definitely give Ono Farm in Ishikawa-machi a go!

The seasons of fresh verdure and fruits will come after the cherry blossoms. You should never miss the great experiences these seasons are offering. On top of that, there is no doubt that you’ll feel overwhelmed by Fukushima’s rich and great nature! Enjoy yourself in the fresh verdure and try some delicious and fresh fruits that are only available in Fukushima!