Experience the joy of harvesting through “fruit picking” in Sobetsu Fruit Village!
Sobetsu Fruit Village is an association operated by 18 fruit farms, offering a variety of seasonal fruit picking activities for tourists. You can harvest with your own hands, and taste the freshly picked fruits on the spot! See the following chart for approximate seasons of harvesting local fruits:
• Spring (from mid/late May): strawberries
• Early Summer (early July thru late July) cherries
• Late Summer (between July-September): plums
• Autumn (from early September): grapes, apples, prunes
• Late Autumn (until early November): apples
Ultimate Freshness!
Tour the local flavors – Sobetsu’s Direct Local Produce!
Through the region’s volcanic activities, Sobetsu’s soil is extremely fertile and rich in minerals, a quality that lets vegetables as well as fruit thrive to perfection, a blessing that we can experience through its full and rich tastes.
Sobetsu is especially known for its fruit production. In autumn you can enjoy Sobetsu’s brand apple and rice, both very popular items.
More taste blessings are discovered on touring direct farm sale locations: driving along National Highway 453 or National Route 2, and along National Route 132 connecting the town’s center Takinomachi to the Kunobai area, you can find places with direct sales of freshly picked corn (boiled to point for an immediate snack!), water melons, muskmelons etc. throughout the Summer time.
Clean! 30 years+ Experience in Vegetable Cultivation using Heat from Hot Springs!
In Sobetsu, not only apples, rice and meat are produced, but also beans as well as sugar beet is cultivated. Among the various cultivation procedures, Sobetsu has set value to its volcanic surrounding and started to explore the possibilities of geothermal cultivation, making use of the hot springs’ heat for growing tomatoes, and that since more than 30 years. The “Orofure Tomatoes” can be tasted in its harvest that takes place between February to July.
Fruit Preserves, Sweets, Okutoya Cattle…Get your tasty souvenir of Sobetsu!
Not only fresh fruit and vegetables, but also a variety of processed produce is available in Sobetsu: juice, jam, cider, wine, beef stew, sweets and more, perfect for a souvenir to take home. Cider made from Sobetsu apples, as well as sweets made from pumpkin are popular items. Be sure to not miss tasting some produce directly on the spot!
