Kawatsura Strawberry Farm

Kawatsura Strawberry Farm (Kawatsura Ichigo-en) is a strawberry picking farm in Sanmu, a city in the Kujukuri area of eastern Chiba Prefecture. It sits near National Route 126, the stretch known as Strawberry Road for the many picking farms along it. You pick inside greenhouses, so a visit works in rain or cold.

The farm grows as many varieties as it can so that every visitor can compare them side by side. It says the flavor of each variety changes a lot between January and May, so the best strawberry depends on when you go. Poppy picking is also offered.

Strawberry picking season

Kawatsura opens for picking from about mid-December to mid-May, and the farm closes from June to November. The farm can close early on weekends and holidays once the ripe fruit runs out, so morning visits are safer.

At farms in the Naruto strawberry area, a picking session usually lasts 40 minutes. Ask for the current fee and time limit when you book. The farm also has a direct sales shop on Route 126 and has added greenhouses that grow strawberries for sale.

For other farms worth a trip, see our list of top strawberry picking spots in Japan.

How to get to Kawatsura Strawberry Farm

The nearest station is Naruto Station on the JR Sobu Main Line.

• From Tokyo: the Shiosai limited express from Tokyo Station reaches Naruto in about 65 minutes.

• From Chiba Station: the Sobu Main Line takes a little under 50 minutes to Naruto. Another route is the Sotobo Line from Soga, changing at Oami for the Togane Line.

• From Naruto Station: take a taxi for about 10 minutes (around 1,200 yen one way). If the timing works, the farm can drive you back to the station; ask on the day.

• By car: about 10 minutes (6.6 km) from Sanbu-Naruto IC on the Togane toll road. Free parking holds 30 cars, and tour buses can park.

The Chiba Prefecture tourism listing has the farm's contact details in Japanese.

Our Chiba travel guide covers the coast and towns nearby.

If you would rather pick tea than fruit, a green tea farm bike tour in Shizuoka is a guided outing to a working tea farm.