Higashimatsuyama is famous for pear picking. There are about 20 tourist pear farms in Higashimatsuyama City, Saitama Prefecture. However, in 2022 only three of them will offer picking. I am quite surprised by this as even last year, 2021, when things were stricter, there were 8 places you could pick. There are actually 19 pear orchards in total. All other orchards are only selling pears this year.
Pear picking in Higashimatsuyama
Pear picking season starts in early September in Higashimatsuyama (Saitama, Japan). However, due to the weather some of the farms are expected to be ready for picking the last week in August. Higashimatsuyama City highly recommends ringing each farm to see when their season will be. Generally the season lasts until at least early October, often mid October. But due to the earlier start for some, they may have an earlier finish too. The standard price is 500 yen admission fee to the pear farms and 500 yen per kilo of pears. Varieties include Kousui, Chojuro, Housui and Niitaka.
Pear Orchards
Most of the 19 pear farms are located in the Higashidaira area of Higashimatsuyama, which is located close to main route 407 and commutable from the Tobu Tojo line Higashimatsuyama station too. A couple of the pear orchards are also close to Shinrinkoen station, also on the Tobu Tojo line.
The below map is of the pear orchards that had picking in 2021, but as I said this year there are only 3 orchards offering picking due to the pandemic. Most of the pear orchards not only have no website, they weren’t on Google maps either! I added them by their co-ordinates on the map below.
Picking in 2022
①Yanagisawa Kyo Pear Orchard – phone: +81493230320
②Ueda Pear Orchard – phone: 0493-22-2591
③Nashiyasan B – phone: 090-4089-2681
Selling in 2022
A selection of the orchards that will sell pears in 2022.
Nashikko Farm – phone: 090-4810-1374
Waku Waku Farm – phone: 0493-24-1131
Yanagisawari Farm – phone: 090-9144-4551
Kato farm – phone: 0493-22-4277
Kato pear orchard – phone: 0493-24-0567
With the Coronavirus situation, many things have changed. Please do phone in advance to make sure the farm is open the day you want to go and to get more specific directions to the orchard you want to go to. Especially if you want to pick. The Higashimatsuyama city official website also has the farms (and pear selling shops) mapped out here (click) or:
Things to do in Higashimatsuyama
How about a riverside barbecue after you pick your own pears? Kurakake BBQ area in Higashimatsuyama is a lovely place for river play and riverside barbecuing. Saitama Children’s Zoo is without doubt Higashimatsuyama City’s top attraction, but you will also find dozens of other things to do in Higashimatsuyama on this blog, a small sample:
- Higashimatsuyama Agriculture Park and Heuvel Cafe
- Peace Museum of Saitama
- Garden and Cafe Prunus
- Yakyu Inari Shrine, the Baseball Shrine
- Botanen Playground
September is also grape picking season in Saitama. Some of the vineyards didn’t open this year on account of the Coronavirus, but one of the most famous – in Tokorozawa – is open and season has began.