Grape-Picking & Overnight Stay

Staff Journal

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Yamanashi Prefecture is located just west of Tokyo and is often praised for its beautiful nature, welcoming residents, and delicious fruit and wine. Read on to hear about some of our top wine and fruit-picking destinations in the Koshu area!

Iwashita Onsen Ryokan

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In Yamanashi Prefecture’s very own Yamanashi City, there is a traditional inn called “Iwashita Onsen Ryokan,” where you can enjoy hot springs (onsens), Koshu-style kaiseki cuisine, and Yamanashi wine to your heart's content.

The natural hot springs that flow beneath this inn are the oldest in the nation! Although the inn itself was built in 1875, these waters sprang up over 1,300 years ago.

After enjoying a bath in the onsens, indulge yourself in the local fruits and delicacies.

Iwashita Onsen Ryokan features four different baths, in both their old and new building. Guests also have a chance to enjoy traditional Koshu-style “kaiseki” cuisine, which is a multi-course meal featuring local dishes and of course, the prefecture’s delicious local wine and fruit for dessert.

You will receive a map of the inn, featuring their kitty mascot character named “Mimi” who explains the walking course around the area. Depending on the season, you can see grape, peach, and even cherry fields. There is also a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine along the path—and if you're lucky, you can stop some stray kitties walking along the path as well!

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▲Map for the walking course

▲Post-harvest grape fields, a temple, and a shrine

Once our little walk was over, we decided it was the perfect time to enjoy a dip in the 1,300-year-old waters, located in the old building. This building is registered as a Tangible Cultural Property, existing from the 8th year of the Meiji Emperor (1875). The two baths it houses are to be entered in a special way and in a specified order. Don’t worry, you can reference the Mimi illustrations on the walls of the changing room to help guide you!

1) Drink one cup of water before entering the baths.
2) Enter the baths on the higher floor, and relax as long as you’d like.
3) Wrap your towel around you and make your way across the hallway to the lower baths.
4) Remove your towel, place your hands tight underneath your armpits, and sink into the colder bath.
5) Feel free to switch baths three to five times! Just putting your hands or legs in is super effective as well!

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▲Bathing directions on the changing room wall

In the newer building, you can enjoy an open-air bath! However, these are reserved for overnight guests only, unlike the old building baths which are open to day-trip guests as well.

After your bath, you should have plenty of room in your stomach for this healthy multi-course meal.

I’m usually not a big fan of kaiseki, but this particular kaiseki was one of the most delicious meals I have ever had: seasonal vegetables and savory meat paired with wine or grape juice, and of course—fruits for dessert.

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Although rates depend on your room, date, and course plan, their options are quite affordable.

To get to Iwashita Onsen Ryokan, from Shinjuku Station, take the JR Chuo Express Line Azusa to Kofu Station, then change to the Chuo Line (towards Takao) to either Yamanashi Station or Isawa Onsen Station. The Ryokan staff will pick you up from there!

Ichiko Orchards

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Ichiko Orchards in Koshu City invites you to rest, relax, and have a glass of wine along with some local meats and veggies while enjoying the countryside aesthetic. Private events, outdoor barbecues, group tours, gift shopping, and grape-picking are just a few of the many activities you can enjoy here. Family-owned and operated, Ichiko Orchards can comfortably accommodate up to 800 guests, although they are currently limiting their guests to ensure a pleasant and safe social-distancing environment. Reservations are recommended.

There are several entrances where you can come inside and try a tasting menu of different grape varieties. For my visit, they had the following options:

-Standard, all-you-can-eat grape-picking (choose your own grape variety)
-Standard, all-you-can-eat grape-picking (plus some to take home)
-Special, Shine Muscat all-you-can-eat grape-picking
-Special, all-you-can-eat Kyoho grape-picking (plus a sit-down grape-tasting of three varieties)
-Special, all-you-can-eat Kyoho grape-picking (plus a barbecue lunch)

My colleague and I were allowed to pick one bunch each as special guests. And let me tell you, the grapes were incredible! They were the biggest grapes I have ever seen in my life! Before we left, I made sure to pick some up at the gift shop to share some with my wife once I got home.

I also did a grape-tasting and tried three different grape varieties. The owner of Ichiko Orchards, Mr. Kazuo Furuya, explained about the different grapes and how they are sweet in different ways. I also learned he hand-selected the décor, including the antiques, and crafted the wooden benches and other décor himself. His gentle and kind manner humbled me, and I felt grateful that Mr. Furuya put so much special care into every inch of Ichiko Orchards.

Mr. Furuya knows just how much both children and adults love looking at the fish pond when they come for grape picking, and at the at lamps and lanterns, happy buddhas, and the sun sparkling through the sea of grapevines that makeup the ceiling.

To get to Ichiko Orchards, from Shinjuku Station, take the JR Chuo Express Line Azusa to Kofu Station, then change to the Chuo Line (towards Takao) to Katsunuma Budoukyou Station. Ichiko Orchards is a 20-minute walk from the station.