One does not leave Fukuoka without having visited a strawberry farm! On this lovely and bright Sunday morning, we ventured to the western outskirts of the city, having made prior reservations to visit Akasha Strawberry Farm.
The farm is located in the Imazu district by the sea, a 10-minute taxi ride from the local JR Imajuku 今宿 station. Strawberries are of course a highly seasonal fruit, and picking season usually lasts approximately from mid-February to mid-May. On top of that, Akasha Farm is open on Saturdays and Sundays only from 10 am - 4 pm, and reservations are compulsory to ensure that there will be enough strawberries for visitors to pick. If you do not speak Japanese, get a friend or hotel concierge to call on your behalf.
For a flat 1,800 yen entry fee, you get to pick and eat all the strawberries you want with no time limit, which is a pretty good deal, considering how expensive even the most common Japanese strawberries are in posh supermarkets back home!
(Actually, there are also many other strawberry farms in the area with lower entry fees, and some bigger farms might open daily while the season lasts, but these usually either impose a time limit on visits, or restrict the amount you can pick, with extra strawberries to be charged by weight - so do weigh your options before deciding which one to visit.)
But here is the REAL reason why I chose to visit Akasha amidst the plethora of cheaper competitors - there are many strawberry cultivars in Japan (e.g. the popular Amaou, which is frequently exported overseas, and the one foreigners know best) but Akasha is the only farm in Japan to grow only the exclusive Kiyoka (清香) cultivar, which (as the Chinese characters suggest) are prized for their sweetness and aroma. This is a recent hybrid (developed right here on the grounds of Akasha in 1999) combining the best characteristics of the tangy Mitsuko and sweet Miharu cultivars, which had been held in similarly high regard by chefs in Kyoto and Tokyo respectively.
Currently, these Kiyoka strawberries are mostly sold to high-end restaurants in Tokyo and Kyoto, and select supermarkets in these cities, which in turn sell them for up to 20,000 yen per kilogram (!), according to farmer and owner Mr. Kinoshita. Now you know why Akasha opens only during the weekends and has a strict reservations policy!
I was really going to have my fill for the year!
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| Yes, all for the picking - the early bird gets the worm! |
Mr. Kinoshita also picks out the best of the best (before the hordes descend on his farm) for sale separately, at a dirt-cheap 250 yen per punnet. I'd have gladly paid for it anyway, but he kindly gave us one free-of-charge as a parting gift! Ahhh!
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| Yes, we took this one in the foreground with us! |
The ones we had already picked ourselves were lovely, but (unsurprisingly) these were even better! They were all firm and incredibly juicy in texture, and the balance of flavours was perfect - somewhat more tangy than sweet, and extremely refreshing to the palate. What was most impressive though was the lingering aroma of the fruit; as we continued our sightseeing plans elsewhere we caught sweet whiffs of strawberry every now and then emanating from the bag that contained them, and this potent fragrance lasted the whole day till we returned to our hotel after dinner to have them for dessert. I can totally see why Mr. Kinoshita is so proud of his 'babies', and why no other cultivar would please him now. A must try when you are in Fukuoka!
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