Activities - Farms & Orchards

Fruit Picking at Kamiyamada's Crown Farm
Crown Farm : クラウン農園

Eat Fresh Grapes and Apples You Pick Yourself at this Foreigner-friendly, Family-run Orchard in Kamiyamada.

Northern Nagano

Description

Crown Farm is a short distance from Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen. The owners have lived abroad and speak English (Mr. Tobita) and German (Mrs. Tobita), and are happy to share their enthusiasm for growing grapes and apples with visitors from overseas. They pride themselves on using natural alternatives to keep chemical pesticides to a minimum.

Recommendation

Nagano is one of Japan's top apple-producing prefectures. Besides the mainstay Fuji, several new varieties of apples have been developed in Nagano, primarily Akibae (deep red color -- think of the poison apple from Snow White), Shinano Sweet (red apple, sweeter than a Fuji), and Shinano Gold (similar to Golden Delicious). (Note: Shinano is the old name for Nagano.) Along with the new varieties, most orchards also have heritage varieties such as the tart "Kogyoku". If you visit an orchard, you will likely be surprised at how intensive the growing process here is. Can you imagine turning each individual apple 90-degrees so all sides get sun? Come see -- and taste -- for your self the care put into growing apples in Nagano.
Grapes are also an increasingly major crop in Nagano, again with many varieties unique to the prefecture such as "Nagano Purple".

Details

  • 10
  • 1 (Across from Chishikiji Temple, on the side of the street.)
  • 20 people
Hours
8:00-17:00
Date(s)
Open daily late Sep. to early Dec.
Cost / Price of Admission
500 per person for a tour of the orchard and tasting the fruit.
Time Required
30 min
Reservations
Required(Recommended for groups. By e-mail or telephone call.)
Foreign Languages
English, German
Luggage Storage
Not Available

Notes

Grape season is from early September to early October. Apple season is from late September to early December. Even outside the picking season you can still visit the orchard and see how they grow the apples. Mr. Tobita speaks some English and Mrs. Tobita speaks German.

Contact

tel : +81(0)26-275-0929Official site

Access / Location

By Train
From Togura Station (Shinano Railway),  from Togura Station on the Shinano Railway line, take the #9 Bus to Chishiki-ji (approx. 12 min.) Orchard office just to the west.
By Car
From Sakaki IC, Proceed down from exit 1.4km to Route 18 and turn right. Go north 5.5km to Route 498 (Togura Kamiyamada Onsen signal) and turn left. Proceed 1.3km across the Chikuma River to Route 77 and turn left. Go 950m to the 2nd light ("Mezawa Bridge") and turn right on to Route 55. Orchard office will be on the right in 1km.
Address
1240 Kamiyamada , Chikuma 389-0822

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