Information for the agritourism Genki farm in Konosu City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Genki Farm
Genki farm is a renowned agritourism fruit picking farm – with Gyoza – in Konosu! It is best known for its strawberries in winter and spring, but you can also pick blueberries and dig for sweet potatoes and onions at different times of the year. In addition, you can also purchase gyoza and shaved ice / snow cones! Furthermore, they also have seasonal flowers, such as tulips in spring and sunflowers in summer. The sunflowers are in bloom now.
Blueberry Picking
Blueberry picking season usually starts around the end of June and runs until mid August. However, this year the blueberries seem to have been a bit late to start (same at Hilltop Farm) and are thus expected to last until the end of August. However, it will really depend on how many people pick in the coming weeks! Please do check the official website for the most up to date information.
Blueberry picking is done differently to strawberry picking. You pay a fee into the farm and then you pay, by weight, for the amount of blueberries you pick (see cost in information section). Time is not strict; up to around 40 minutes is fine, if you can stand the heat! I would advise to book in advance. We took a chance and arrived without a booking and it was no problem, but I think we were lucky judging by the amount of people that were there.
Sunflowers
The sunflowers are currently in bloom at Genki farm. The farm is well known for its picturesque sunflowers and sunflower maze. They usually grow around 2000. However, in 2023, they have only grown a small portion of the sunflowers and there is no maze. They are beside the blueberry bushes. The sunflower photos in this post were all taken this week.
Sweet Potatoes
There is a sweet potato vending machine on the grounds too, where you can purchase either a hot or cold sweet potato for 500 yen! Which is quite cheap considering that in Kawagoe it costs 800 yen per potato from a similar vending machine. You can also dig sweet potatoes at the farm, but they don’t have a huge amount. Therefore, the sweet potato picking season is quite short – in 2023 they are planning to open from September 23rd to October 2nd. Furthermore, hours are quite short: from 10 am to noon, and it costs 500 yen for 2 potatoes. It is recommended you book in advance for the sweet potato digging experience.
Gyoza
Genki farm is part of the larger cooperation Genki Mura Group. One of their initiatives is a support center for people with disabilities, where they make gyoza. The shop is called Yume Kobo Shoyuen and the gyoza is called Genki Gyoza. You can buy frozen Gyoza at the center, but don’t worry if they are closed on your visit – you can pick some up from the vending machine outside! Subject to availability that is!
Kakigori
Three are three flavors of snow cones: mango, green tea and strawberry. The strawberry flavor is made from strawberries grown at the farm. They cost 600 yen. You can also pick strawberries at this farm. The season is from January to May. They have night time strawberry picking too, which is something you don’t see often. You can pick strawberries at night on select dates near the end of the season.
Information
Event: Blueberry and sunflower season
Season: Blueberry picking from end of June until around the end of August. Sunflowers are usually in bloom the first two weeks of August, but this year they are in bloom the middle two weeks.
Hours: generally from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm, last entry at 3.30 pm. But sometimes they close early. The hours on Google Maps seem to be kept up-to-date by the farmer. If so, please note, that the farm is closed tomorrow Saturday the 12th of August.
Cost: there is a base entry of 500 yen into the farm and then you pay for the blueberries you pick by weight. It cost 20 yen for 10 grams. (2023 prices)
Venue: Genki Farm, 41 Shimoya, Konosu, Saitama 365-0025. View on Google maps.
Access
By car the nearest highway interchange is Okegawa kano interchange of the Ken-o expressway. There is parking for ten cars.
Official website where you can also get the phone number, it is marked very clearly in a box on the right of the page.
the sunflowers are beautiful! Where’s Vincent when you need him?