Ichigo gari: Strawberry picking as many as you like!

In Japan, when we say "winter comes", it means that the season of strawberry is started! It is such a joy to taste a bowl of strawberries in spring time.... Especially, the most sweet are the ones that you have just picked up by yourself! In Japan, there are many chances that the farms open for the ichigo gari : picking strawberries.  

The rule is simple: In 30 minutes (or it depends on the each management), you can pick up the strawberries freely., and you eat them on the spot. It means that the limit is your stomac's limit! This concept became very popular since several years, and many farms provide this activity and it is not difficult to find where we can do it in Japan. It depends on the area, the strawberry season in Japan is from end January to the Golden Week, which is the first week of May.

In the green houses, in general, there are different varaieties of strawberries, in different sizes, in different shapes and tastes (sweetness is different). We can ask for the cream or chocolate with them.
After the picking, we can buy some foods made by strawberries, and taste sweets or drinks made by strawberries or you can buy more strawberries for making your own jam.

Those establishments use the eco-friendly agriculture method and they use the hives for pollination.
So it is a pleasant activity and it does not harm the environment!

Moreover, the strawberries are not grown on the soil, it is cultivated around on the 1 m height, so that it is accesible for the people using wheelchair or aged persons.
The participation fee is around 2000 yen per adult (approx. 16 euros) and 1000 yen per child (approx. 8 euros), but it depends on the each management.

Recommandations:

Tokyo Strawberry Park - Ichigo Lab

Kanagawa prefecture
A environ trente kilomètres de Tokyo (une heure environ), c’est l’une des fermes à ichigo gari les plus populaires. La confiserie typique  y est au goût de fraise et de cacao du Vietnam.
Around 30 km from Tokyo (around 1 hour), it is one of the popular ichigo gari farms. The typical sweet here is strawberry taste and chocolate from Vietnam.

Kawatsura Strawberry Farm
Chiba prefecture, Sanmu city
Around 70km (1.5 hour) from Tokyo, this farm provides not only the strawberry picking but also poppies in different colours and you can take away your own bouquet!

Midori Farm

Kyoto prefecture, Ide city
Special mention for this farm located in 30 km from the centre of Kyoto, you can pick up not only the strawberries but also the clementine, sweet potatoes, chestnuts and grapes depending on the season.