Chiba Nanohana News (January 2023)

 Index

I. Festivals and Events

I. Festivals and Events

1) Strawberry Picking/Strawberry Road（Sammu Naruto Strawberry Trust Association） 〔Sammu City〕

Chiba Prefecture is one of the leading producers of strawberries in Japan. The area around National Route 126 that runs through the Naruto district in Sammu City has many strawberry farms dotted along it, making it a top strawberry picking spot within the Kanto area. It is called “Strawberry Road” due to all the greenhouses and sales stalls that line it.

The Sammu Naruto Strawberry Trust Association, with its eye-catching yellow storefront curtains, red banners, and signs with the association’s mascot character Ichiko-chan, has had its farms certified as environmentally-friendly and is committed to growing fresh, safe-to-eat strawberries. Their farms also cultivate the Chiba Prefecture-original variety “CHI-BA+BERRY.” All of their strawberries have sweet, unrivaled flavor that is best enjoyed without the added flavor of condensed milk. Those who visit can also enjoy picking poppy flowers or purchase strawberry jam, ice cream, and sherbet at some of the farms.

※ CHI-BA+BERRY: an original strawberry variety developed by Chiba Prefecture over a number of years, characterized by its large size and sweet flavor enhanced by a perfect tartness

• Duration: January 5^th to mid-May
• List of Sammu Naruto Strawberry Trust Association Farms:

Name	Location	TEL
Midorikawa Strawberry Farm	273 Tomida, Sammu City	0475-82-4304
Junko Strawberry Farm	249-4-to Tomida, Sammu City	0475-82-5948
Akira Strawberry Farm	764-4 Tomida, Sammu City	0475-82-0938
Nagomi Strawberry Farm	757-2 Tomida, Sammu City	090-8779-7103
Ishibashi Strawberry Farm	1468 Hayafune, Sammu City	090-6149-4910
Uchiyama Strawberry Farm	1627 Tomida, Sammu City	090-5501-6082
Strawberry House Ote	1487 Hayafune, Sammu City	090-1803-3144
Hiroguchi Strawberry Farm	1584 Hayafune, Sammu City	0475-82-3553
Kaji Strawberry Farm	1482 Hayafune, Sammu City	0475-82-5758
Kawatsura Strawberry Farm	478 Hayafune, Sammu City	080-7704-4967
Sakuda Strawberry Farm	1250 Wada, Sammu City	0475-82-2343
Sugiya Strawberry Farm	450 Tonodai, Sammu City	0475-82-4416
Maruki Strawberry Farm	484 Tonodai, Sammu City	0475-82-4392
Kubohara Strawberry Farm	734-3 Naruto, Sammu City	0475-82-5717
Aiba Strawberry Farm	344 Yusaka, Sammu City	090-8046-0015
Koyasu Strawberry Farm	53-5 Itatsuki, Sammu City	0475-82-4493
Ishida Farm	354-1 Yabe, Sammu City	0475-88-2367
Koyama Farm	1912 Shimoyokoji, Sammu City	0475-84-4115
Arinomi Farm	224 Itanakashinden, Sammu City	0475-89-1719

 

• Admission: Varies by farm, so please inquire for details

• Strawberry Varieties: Akihime, Oi-C Berry, Kaorino, Tochi-otome, Fusa-no-Ka, Benihoppe, Yayoihime, CHI-BA+BERRY, etc.

• Access:【By Train】About a 5- to 40-minute walk from Naruto Station on the JR Sobu Main Line (please ask each farm for exact details）
  【By Car】Take Prefectural Road 76 towards Naruto from the Sammu・Naruto Interchange on the Ken-O Expressway
• Inquiries: Sammu Naruto Strawberry Trust Association TEL: 0475-82-2071

• Sammu Naruto Strawberry Trust Association Website

2) Early Spring Flowers〔Minamiboso Region〕

1.Nanabatake Road 2023／Fields near Kamogawa City Hall〔Kamogawa City〕

Nanabatake Road, with its abundance of yellow “nanohana” (rapeseed blossoms) in fields that are within walking distance from JR Awa-Kamogawa Station, is a sightseeing attraction unique to the Boso Peninsula, where spring arrives early.

Experience spring to the fullest surrounded by a sea of vivid yellow. Visitors can also pick flowers during the event period. In addition, the Dr. Yellow shinkansen mini train will be running within the flower fields on Sundays in February.

• Duration: January 7^th to March 5^th

• Flower Picking: 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, 150 yen for 10 flowers
  ※ Staff will provide scissors for flower cutting and newspapers and rubber bands for taking flowers home
  ※ Boots are also available on request, so please ask the staff on location

• Dr. Yellow Operating Days: Sundays in February (200 yen per person)

• Location: Fields and areas along the road about 10 minutes on foot from Kamogawa City Hall (1450 Yokosuka, Kamogawa City)

• Access:【By Train】 About a 20-minute walk from Awa-Kamogawa Station on the JR Sotobo Line
• Inquiries：Nanabatake Kamogawa Executive Committee TEL: 04-7092-0086
• Official Website:Minamiboso-Kamogawa Nanabatake Road

2.Flower Fields in Chikuracho (Minamiboso City）

Due to the effects of the Kuroshio Ocean Current, it’s always springtime in the Shiramazu and Nanaura districts in Chikuracho, with no frost even in the middle of winter. Cultivated flowers thrive there in open fields, and numerous varieties such as rapeseed blossom, snapdragon, calendula, and stock flower are in bloom from late December to mid-March. The vast flower gardens envelop the road and extend along both mountain and ocean sides, creating a scene that spreads out before you like a carpet of flowers.

• Duration: January to mid-March

• Location: Shiramazu and Nanaura districts in Chikuracho, Minamiboso City

• Admission: Varies by garden

• Flower Varieties: stock flower, poppy, calendula, rapeseed blossom, chrysanthemum, snapdragon, cornflower, cape daisy

• Access:【By Train】From JR Chikura Station on the Uchibo Line, take the Tateyama Nitto Bus bound for Awa-Shirahama and get off at the Nanaura or Shiramazu Ohanabatake Bus Stops
• Inquiries: Minamiboso City Tourism Association, Chikura Office TEL: 0470-44-3581

3.Gancho-zakura Cherry Blossoms／Hokoen〔Minamiboso City〕

Called “gancho-zakura” because they bloom on the morning of Lunar New Year’s Day, about 60 winter-blooming cherry trees with a slighty deep pink color will be in full bloom at Hokoen.

Wadacho in Minamiboso City is famous nationwide as a flower-growing area. A long time ago, a pharmacist named Mamiya Shichirobei lived in the former Wada Town and was the first in the Awa Area to successfully cultivate flowers. Shichirobei hoped above all else that flower growing would benefit people’s livelihoods in the half-agricultural, half-fishing town of Wada. Having succeeded in flower farming, he then set his mind to clearing mountains and growing flower trees. Shichirobei himself took a hoe and cultivated the land around the dam on the mountain behind the Hanazono area, named it “Hokoen,” and planted flowering trees there.

As the best time to see the gancho-zakura blossoms and plum blossoms nears, guests will be able to enjoy a somewhat early “hanami,” or cherry blossom viewing.

• Peak Period: late January to late February

• Location: Hokoen／Hanazono, Wadacho, Minamiboso City

• Admission: Free

• Access:【By Train】 From Wadaura Station on the JR Uchibo Line, take the city bus to the Hanazono Bus Stop and walk 10 minutes
• Inquiries：Minamiboso City Tourism Association TEL: 0470-28-5307

4.Daffodils／Suisen Trail〔Minamiboso City〕

Minamiboso: a place brimming with early spring flowers. The Suisen Trail in Iwai is a promenade lined with lovely white “suisen,” or daffodils, blossoming in their full glory. The best time to view them is from late December to early February. The Tomiyama Suisen Trail is about 1 kilometer away from the roadside station Furari Tomiyama, and visitors can walk along the path while enjoying the fragrance of the approximately 50,000 daffodils which are grown there. First, be sure to stop by the Furari Tomiyama Information desk to get a trail map, then take your time to enjoy the 1 to 2-hour-long Suisen Trail (about 3.5 kilometers).

• Peak Period: late December to early February

• Location: Suisen Trail／Godo, Minamiboso City

• Admission: Free 

• Access:【By Car】From the Kyonan-Tomiyama Interchange on the Futtsu-Tateyama Expressway, drive about 1.5 kilometers to Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Station) Furari Tomiyama, then walk about 15 minutes

• Inquiries: Michi-no-Eki Furari Tomiyama TEL: 0470-57-2601

 

 

 

I. Festivals and Events