Orchards and Fruit Picking in Tokyo – How to Make a Reservation and Key Vocabulary

Are you planning a family outing in Tokyo? Or maybe even a romantic date! In any case, fruit picking in Tokyo is a fantastic excursion idea! Japan has orchards and fruit picking locations all over – and the greater Tokyo area is no exception!
In this article we will be looking at orchards and fruit picking in Tokyo, as well as how to make reservations in Japanese and key related vocabulary!
Contents:

• Fruit Picking in Japan
• Making a Reservation in Japanese
• Related Key Vocabulary
• Locations and Orchards in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa

Orchards and Fruit Picking in Tokyo

The first thing to note about fruit picking in Japan is that different seasons yield different fruits. In other words, the type of orchard you can visit will depend on where in the year it is.

Fruit Picking Seasons in Japan: What is in Season?

Below is a quick breakdown of the different seasons and some of their fruits.

Fall – 秋

In fall season in Japan, apples (りんご), persimmon (柿) and Japanese nashi (梨) are ripe and ready to go! There are orchards around the greater Tokyo are such as Chiba and Kanagawa where you can visit.
Mikan (みかん) and yuzu (柚子) are also in season around this time, making fall one of the best seasons for fruit picking in Japan!

Winter – 冬

In winter many fruits may be out of season. However, strawberries (苺) are in season at many indoor strawberry picking locations, and citrus fruits like mikan and yuzu are fresh and ready for picking as well.

Spring – 春

Strawberries are still good for Spring until early May or so when it starts to get hot.

Summer – 夏

The most notable fruits in season during the summer are cherries (チェリー) and peaches (桃). Cherries usually riped earlier than peaches in Japan (typically June or so), while peaches are available until late summer.
Grapes (葡萄) and blueberries (ブルーベリー) also become available in mid-to-late summer as well!

How to Make a Reservation in Japanese

You can make a reservation (ご予約 – “go-yoyaku”) in Japanese at an orchard or fruit picking spot by phone – and sometimes online as well. Some websites have English translations, but for this article we will assume they don’t – and look at how you can make a reservation both online and on the phone in Japanese.

Making a Reservation Online

To make a reservation online, first locate the 予約/ご予約 (yoyaku/go-yoyaku) menu option or button.
You will likely be prompted to a page asking for the following information:

• Name of the person reserving
  名前(namae) – your name
• Time and date of desired reservation
  日付／時間 – date/time
• Number of people
  This includes kids too, as many locations offer a discount for families! So be sure to tell them how many 子ども (kodomo) – kids you are bringing along with you!

Making a Reservation by Phone

To make a reservation by phone you will have to provide them the same information as with online.
Here are some example sentences for making a reservation:
– もしもし、丸々フルーツファームでございます / Hello, this is Marumaru Fruits Farm
– はい、もしもし、予約したいんですが、、、/ Yes, hi, I would like to make a reservation…
– はい、かしこまりました。いつ希望されていますか？/ Yes, absolutely. When would you like to schedule it for?
– 12月3日、朝の9時から / December 3, from 9 am.
– はい。何名様ですか？ / Got it, how many people?
– 二人、あと子ども一人 / 2 adults, and 1 child.
– はい、合わせて3人で間違いないでしょうか？/ Altogether 3 people?
– はい。/ Yes
– お名前は？/ And may I have your name?
– ジョンです / John
Then just confirm and you should be all ready to go!

Related Key Vocabulary for Fruit Picking

Making the Reservation

• I want to make a reservation – (ご)予約したいんです ／ (go-)yoyaku shitain desu
• How many people? – 何名様ですか？／ nanmei sama desu ka?
• 2 people – 二人 ／ futari
• 3 people – 三人／san’nin
• 4 people – 四人／yonin

How to Say Types of Fruits

• Persimmon – 柿／かき／kaki
• Apple – りんご／ringo
• Nashi (Japanese pear) – 梨／なし／nashi
• Mikan (Japanese tangerine) – みかん／mikan
• Yuzu – 柚子／ゆず／yuzu
• Strawberries – 苺／いちご／ichigo
• Cherries – 桜んぼ／さくらんぼ／チェリー／sakuranbo – cheri-
• Peaches – 桃／もも／momo
• Grapes – 葡萄／ぶどう／budō
• Blueberries – ブルーベリー／burūberi-

Orchards, Farms and Locations for Fruit Picking in Tokyo

There are many different orchards and locations for fruit picking in and around the greater Tokyo area. We can’t fit them all into this web post, but we can give you a few places to start!

Nakagomi Orchard – Various Fruits

Nakagomi Orchard has numerous different fruits to choose from depending on the season. You can view what they have in season when on this page.
They have cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears, grapes, apples, prunes, and persimmons. They also have an English site (linked above) and you can make a reservation online from the website.

Dragon Farm – Blueberries and Strawberries

This strawberry and blueberry picking farm is in Chiba: Dragon Farm. The site is in all Japanese and there is currently not an option to make a reservation online as of writing this post.

Sayama Berryland – Blueberries and Strawberries

Sayama Berryland is another blueberry and strawberry farm, and they do have an english website. They also allow you to make reservations by email from the website.
They boast to be “one of the largest”, and they have shiitake mushrooms in addition to berries!

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