[Yamagata City] Enjoy Seasonal Fruits such as Strawberries at "Experience Farm Mitoca"

This time we will introduce "Experience Farm Mitoca" which opened in February 2021 in Yamagata City, Gifu Prefecture.

This is one of the largest farms in Gifu prefecture where you can experience picking various fruits such as strawberries and blueberries. The farm has a café and direct sales store, and is popular with locals and young women.

The location is Yamagata City, which is about 30 minutes by car from Gifu City. The landmark is a red strawberry greenhouse that you can see while driving. Peaceful atmosphere surrounded by mountains and trees. It's a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the natural air and scents.

The landmark is the red vinyl house where strawberries are grown!

365 days a year, in any season
We want people from all walks of life to visit us

Employees working at Experience Farm Mitoca

We spoke to Mr. Wakahara, general manager of Atre Farm Japan Co., Ltd., which operates the "Experience Farm Mitoca".

– Tell us about the concept.

Mr. Wakahara: "Atre Farm Japan Co., Ltd. is a company that was created to revitalize the area by saying, 'Let's make this area a lively place by attracting many people!'

We want to have a variety of people come throughout the year. However, if we only have strawberries, we can only offer a six-month period, so by having blueberries, grapes, and sweet potatoes for the remainder of the year, we can offer a variety of crops for 365 days a year.

At "Experience Farm Mitoca", you can harvest four types of crops on a vast farmland with an area of approximately 3.5 hectares. Right now, I'm mainly picking strawberries, but I'm at the stage where I can enjoy picking blueberries, grapes, and sweet potatoes in the future.

Strawberry picking is available from December to June. After that, experience digging sweet potatoes and picking blueberries. In two to three years, we plan to harvest eight varieties of grapes, including Shai Muscat.

There are no goats at this time, but there are plans to have goats in the future. The goats will eat the many leaves from strawberry cultivation and will be environmentally friendly "cleaning duty" for Mitoka. Perhaps you will even have a chance to touch them!

The obsession of cultivation is "making soil"

– What is your commitment to cultivation?

Mr. Wakahara: "ATREFARM Japan K.K. was created by three companies, Dainichi Consultant Corporation, Seino Construction Company, and Taiga Corporation, to take advantage of their respective characteristics and specialties.

Among them, we are particular about soil preparation, taking advantage of Mr. Taiga's knowledge of soil and fertilizer production for many years. Under Mr. Taiga's supervision, we use a soil called 'Ichigo Meijin' (Strawberry Master) and apply a natural, human-friendly, safe fertilizer specially designed for strawberries, and we are committed to growing good soil."

As I thought, the special attention was paid to the soil. They use soil made for strawberries, made for strawberries.

blueberry farm

We also asked about your other preferences.

Mr. Wakahara: "We are aiming for 'smart agriculture,' where people do what people do and machines do what machines can handle. For example, blueberry and grape farms are automatically watered. For strawberries, the entire greenhouse is controlled by computer, so if it rains or if it is windy, the greenhouse will automatically close. We try to save as much labor as possible by making full use of computers."

"Experience Farm Mitoca'' operates the latest agriculture using various methods that are only possible in this day and age of advanced technology. I felt a new wind blowing in agriculture.

Eat and compare 4 types of strawberries
I experienced strawberry harvest!

This time we visited at the end of March, right in the middle of the strawberry season! So, I actually experienced strawberry picking. The noren at the entrance was so cute, so I took a picture to commemorate it!

First of all, alcohol disinfection and body temperature measurement at the entrance. You can enjoy picking strawberries with peace of mind, as they have taken thorough measures against infectious diseases.

You can get either condensed milk or chocolate sauce as a topping. Both go great with strawberries! It's kind of a bonus to get the sauce at no extra charge. (*One person is limited to one serving of sauce per person.)

Get a tray and go strawberry picking!

There are four types of strawberries that you can taste at "Experience Farm Mitoca": "Kaorino", "Benihoppe", "Akihime", and "Yotsuboshi".

It is very attractive to be able to try different varieties. In addition to strawberries, many varieties of blueberries, grapes, and sweet potatoes are scheduled to be harvested, so it is fun to visit each season to try different varieties!

Before we went strawberry picking, we learned how to choose and eat delicious strawberries.

Red to the tip
Deep red color
Bright red and shiny

Choose strawberries that meet these three conditions. Strawberries with their stems curled up are sweet and delicious. In addition, the strawberries with sore stems have completely absorbed the fertilizer and are fully ripe, so they are very sweet!

The best way to eat it is to start with the stalk instead of the tip so that you can feel the sweetness.

In order to enjoy the best strawberry picking, let's learn how to choose and eat delicious strawberries before taking on the challenge!

We will also teach you how to pick strawberries well!

From here, we will report on eating and comparing four types of strawberries. From an amateur's point of view, I will introduce the differences between the four types. The excitement will not stop in front of the strawberry fields lined up in a row!

Sweet scent and juicy "Kaorino"

The first one is “Kaorino,” which, as the name suggests, has a sweet strawberry scent.

The pulp is tightly packed, but it contains plenty of water, so the moment you bite into it, the strawberry juice spreads in your mouth. It is the most fragrant of the four types of strawberries, and is very tasty and watery.

“Beni Hoppe” with a perfect balance of sweetness and sourness

The second strawberry is Beni Hoppe, which has a perfect balance of sweetness and sourness.

It is a cute strawberry with a glossy bright red color and a slightly red flesh inside. It has a strong sweetness, but it also has a strong acidity, so you can feel the sweet and sour taste of strawberries. The pulp is a little hard and filling, and the flavor is rich. Feeling like a royal strawberry!

Soft and sweet "Akihime"

"Akihime" is characterized by its elongated conical shape, which makes it easy to identify the variety at a glance.

The surface luster and size are splendid, and they look luxurious. The taste is sweet with little acidity, so it is delicious to eat it as it is without any dipping sauce! The sweetness of the strawberry spreads in your mouth until the very end, so you can finish eating it with a happy feeling.

Yotsuboshi, a new strawberry that has just been born

The last strawberry is "Yotsuboshi" with a cute shape.

This is a new variety that was just born in 2017! The flesh is neither too hard nor too soft. A flavorful strawberry with sweetness and sourness tightly closed. Of course it's delicious to eat as it is, but it's also great to put on cakes and parfaits because it looks good.

What did you think of the four types of strawberries? I was surprised to find that the shape, taste, and aroma of each variety were completely different from the others. By the way, the strawberry recommended by the author is "Kaorino". It is fun to find your favorite variety!

Strawberry picking is also open at night! You can enjoy picking strawberries while enjoying the different atmosphere at night. Reservations are required, so please check the website for details.

The house is fully equipped with tables and chairs, so you can enjoy the strawberries at your leisure.

Enjoy seasonal sweets that make a girl's heart flutter
"mitocafe"

The charm of "Experience Farm Mitoca" is not just the harvest experience.

The adjoining café "mitocafe" serves desserts and drinks made with freshly picked strawberries and seasonal crops.

The store is wooden and has a warm design. The day we visited was a weekday, but there were many customers, mainly women, including families with children, students, and couples! Many people use only the cafe, and it is a place of relaxation loved by locals.

The clocks inside mitocafe have strawberry designs on the numbers 1 and 5!

This time, we had two popular menus at "mitocafe"!

Fluffy Taiwanese castella-style cake with 3 kinds of ripe strawberry sauce 900 yen (tax included)

This enchanting visual is sure to tickle the fancy of any girl! When it was brought to me, I couldn't help but exclaim, "Cute!" This is the trendy fluffy Taiwanese sponge cake with ripe strawberry sauce.

There are 3 types of strawberry sauce. Comes with a ripe sauce of "Beni Hoppe", "Kaorino", and "Akihime" that were compared while picking strawberries. A soft and sweet Taiwanese castella-style cake is topped with fluffy whipped cream and topped with plenty of strawberry sauce.

The sweet and sour strawberry sauce complements the mildly sweet cake and whipped cream. The three types of sauce also have different tastes, so you can eat and compare strawberries here as well!

Strawberry parfait 900 yen (tax included)

This is the "Strawberry Parfait" using an abundance of strawberries. The cute and adorable appearance is sure to make you swoon! The strawberry parfait is made with strawberries, vanilla ice cream, fresh cream, strawberry sauce, and cookies. Not only the strawberries, but also the vanilla ice cream, cream, strawberry sauce, and cookies are all so delicious that you can't help but fall in love with them!

Other attractive menu items include the "Strawberry Parfait with unlimited strawberries" with 22 strawberries in limited quantities, "Strawberry Covered Ice Cream," "Tsuboyaki Imo-san Ice Cream" made with sweet potatoes, and fruit sandwiches.

The box that holds the strawberry pack is also carefully designed.

The "Experience Farm Mitaka" also has a market (direct sales) for harvested fruits and other products. During the current season, fresh strawberries picked in the morning are available for purchase. You can also buy "white strawberries," which are not available during strawberry picking.

Since they only have a limited number of items available, they are usually sold out in the morning. Since we visited in the afternoon on the day of the interview, the shop was sold out. If you want to buy some strawberries to take home as souvenirs, we recommend that you visit the store early!

Finally, we asked about future developments.

Mr. Wakahara: "We have just started with strawberry picking. We will be growing sweet potatoes in the future, and blueberries and grapes after next year, so we hope to make the farm such that many people can come all year round."

Experience Farm Mitoca is a new type of fruit farm that is not yet available anywhere else. Come visit us and enjoy the delicious fruits that are in season throughout the year.