Mother Farm & Ichigo (Strawberry) Picking

by Brianin Chiba, Japan, Kanagawaon Posted on

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Hadano Ichigo (Strawberry) Picking

Mother Farm

Since I haven’t been many to places in Chiba, we decided to drive out for a quick day trip to Mother Farm.  A very family friendly place with various things to do, but as the name suggests, mostly farm and animal related.  

Drove across the aqua line (which is a short experience of its own) and arrived at the entrance. Great weather day. Ticket counter at front.
Main entrance. Smells heavily of farm.
First view of farm grounds, though it is spread across a good chunk of land.
Of course they go to the one who feeds them
Inside the petting area, so friendly this one. Me and Marie still debate about the sound a sheep makes in America vs. Japan hehe
Overlooking the farm grounds
The farm even has some amusement rides for the kids
They do some sheep dog demonstrations throughout the day
Some optional activities, we decided to make the leather key chains. You can put your own stamps on it, something different at least
Tomato picking hehe They have strawberry picking also but it's first come first serve and they close it as soon as that days limit is reached (which was in just a few hours after opening that day). Must go early for strawberry picking
Walking through the fields of.. yellow. lots of bees around though
Little piggy race for the kids can be amusing hehe
Sheesh
People lining up to milk the cows...
My turn! It was not what I expected... What did I expect? Cold, hard, rough.... but it was surprisingly warm, soft, squishy haha... it was a weird experience to me, don't know if I was more shocked or grossed out...
Squirt. I think they limit you to 2-3 pulls if I remember correctly.
I did feel bad for the cow.... all these strangers and cold hands...
You can also pay for a short tour of the far end of the farm... a little tractor car ride through the grounds... they have alpaca here woohoo
Don't see these everyday
The tour is only in Japanese obviously. You stop here to feed the sheep and can take photos of some alpaca.
"yo"
Towards the end you get a little demonstration of how they herd the sheep... such a smart dog... made me think of the movie "babe"
Wagyu beef
Made a stop at the rest area on the aqua line going home. Totally worth it if you're making the drive across anyway.
View from aqua line rest stop looking West
View looking East

Ichigo (Strawberry) Picking

Since it was the season for strawberry (ichigo) picking, we looked for some place to give it a try.  Marie found a reasonably priced place in Hadano that didn’t require reservations (though you could make one if you like).  Strawberry picking in Japan is a little different from my previous experience in South Korea.  In South Korea I paid one price and you can fill up a box with as many as you want to take with you.  In Japan, it’s more of a time limit (30 minute), all you can eat but take nothing home sort of deal.  There are quite a few farms in Kanagawa but usually they’re fully booked in advance or can be pretty pricey.  This one was just right for us.  See link below (from Google Maps).

ichigo-murakami.jimdo.com (村上いちご園)

Surrounding area near the farm
Not a huge place really but pretty clean feel overall
Somewhat of a pop-up feel to it
There were 4 different types of strawberries you could try, separated by sections
The biggest one of the day
You get a tray for your stems and condensed milk. Another thing they're big on in Japan is the condensed milk... me not so much.
Since the strawberry picking didn't take long, we drove to Hadano Togawa Park nearby
Just a nice weather day and good for short stroll
View from bridge
Hadano Prefectural Visitor Center. Apparently this area has some good hiking trails and mountains here are fairly popular
Several hiking options highlighted in the mountains in the background there
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