Ichigo no Sato is a “roadside station” in the prefecture of Saitama, North west of Tokyo. A roadside station, michi no eki in Japanese, is a type of rest and service area with a large parking area. Roadside stations are those that are on national routes. The equivalent on highways are called parking and / or service areas. This post contains information for the roadside station as well as annual large events such as the Strawberry Festival in March.
Roadside Station Ichigo no Sato
At Ichigo no Sato there are the usual facilities present in all roadside station of toilets, benches and vending machines. That is the bare minimum at these type of places. But at roadside station Ichigo no Sato there is also a gift shop, a vegetable shop, a farmer’s market, a shop selling rice, a strawberry greenhouse, an ice-cream van and several other eateries As well as a really great playground.
Food at Ichigo no Sato
There is an udon restaurant in the main building. In the main car park there is a bakery cum coffee shop, Kitaoka bakery, with a small area to sit indoors and outdoor seating also. There are also some eateries in log cabins along one walkway.
We go for the ice-cream (and the playground)! One of the popular products on sale is “Ichigo Nama Dorayaki”, which is like a type of strawberry filled pancake. There is an information stand with information for Yoshimi in the building behind the ice-cream van, it also provides a list of all strawberry picking greenhouses in the area. Yoshimi is number one for strawberries in Saitama.
The Playground
The playground has a roller slide from a small hill and another roller slide within the main playground equipment. There is also a steep slide in the main piece of equipment. In 2016 they added a new colorful piece of equipment, picture below, that has tunnel slides too. Other equipment includes spring rides, climbing with ropes and a wooden bridge.
Cherry Blossoms
There are a few cherry blossoms around the playground and also on one side of the car park. However, just a 5 minute drive away, there is a beautiful avenue of cherry blossoms with rapeseed.
Events
They usually host a children’s festival with water fight in the summer. But it hasn’t been on during the pandemic. Moreover, and unfortunately, the cosmos festival they used to host was discontinued in 2022. But they still have an ‘Autumn Festival’. They now have a strawberry festival annually in March too:
Strawberry Festival
In 2023 for the 50 year anniversary of Yoshimi town they had a large strawberry festival at Fresa Yoshimi. It proved very popular so they had it again last year, and its on again this year, 2026, only smaller and at Ichigo no Sato. The Yoshimi Strawberry Festival is on Sunday March 15th from 9.30 am to 4 pm. You can pick up strawberry flavored food, including strawberry flavor tai-yaki and strawberry sandwiches, and strawberry themed handmade goods. They will have workshops too.
Roadside Station Ichigo no Sato Information
Address: 1737 Kubota, Yoshimi, Saitama 355-0137
Phone: 0493-53-1530
Access: approximately seven kilometres from Kanetsu Expressway’s Higashimatsuyama Interchange.
Hours: Playground is open all year round, but shops are open 9 am to 5 pm, restaurants are open 11 am to 3 pm on weekdays and until 4 pm on weekends.
Other attractions in Yoshimi
- Eat: Ghibli-esque Herbal House | YOSHIMI
- Eat: Natural Cafe Sora | YOSHIMI
- See: Hatchoko Park | YOSHIMI
- See: Off the beaten path spider lily viewing | YOSHIMI
- Play / see / do: Luminous Moss, Military Factory and the 100 Caves of Yoshimi
- See: Cherry blossoms and Rapeseed Yoshimi
- See: Children love the Fresa Yoshimi Night Illumination
- Do / eat: Strawberry Picking in Yoshimi, Saitama
- See: Anrakuji Yoshimi Kannon
- See: Iwamuro Kannon | YOSHIMI