Strawberry Feast @ Ike Ichigoen, Imazu, Fukuoka

 

With spring fast approaching, the warmer climate has made it more conducive for the cultivation of fruits. And as such, there is no better time to visit a strawberry farm, especially during this time of the year. 

One of the greenhouses, that is also the main reception of the premises. 

Ike Ichigoen (池いちご園) or Strawberry Farm Ike,  is a local strawberry farm tucked in the more rural side of Fukuoka. Specialising in strawberries, obviously, they organise visits to the greenhouses where the fruits are cultivated. Each visit is set for a 90 minute block, whereby you can eat all the strawberries you want. Yes, this is a strawberry buffet, and from farm to mouth. 

Inside one of the many greenhouses

This does not even go to the table, as you can pluck it yourself and enjoy the fruits of your labour on the spot. Pun intended. And my team of 4 booked the 10.30 am morning slot. It should be noted that there are limited spaces for each block and as such, a reservation is best made to avoid any disappointment. 

Ruby scarlet terror!

Once all the participants have arrived, the owner of the farm will then provide instructions to visitors on dos and dont's. It was very simple, treat the plants with care and do not throw any stems onto the ground. With that, a paper cup is given to each visitor so they can get rid of the stems easily. And if you are a fan of strawberries, or fruits in general then you would love this place. 

Self for scale. They are pretty big!

There are several acres worth of greenhouses on the farm grounds. Each greenhouse has rows and rows of strawberries, ready to be plucked and bitten into. This was an interesting experience indeed. The last time I had a buffet of fruits of sorts was in Hokkaido in 2013. The blog was not around then, so I was not able to document it the way I would have set myself nowadays. Well, that is in the past now and lets focus on the strawberries.

Cute

Most of the strawberries were juicy and plump. They are all generally pretty sweet and had that trademark floral taste strawberries usually have. However, it should be noted that the bigger strawberries do carry more water. And as such, it may dilute the overall flavour of the fruit. So it is a good idea to shuffle between small ones, big ones and everything in between. Despite that, the big ones do still taste pretty good. Some of them are so big, that they can cover my palm. 

Not ready yet. They still look great though. 

One note of caution though, try to avoid the white unripe ones. They are edible, but they do not provide for a great eating experience. If you had green papaya before you know what I mean. Be that as it may, the visit overall was great. I did become pretty full of strawberries in the last few minutes. Death by fruit? Now, this is something I have not thought of ever. Then again, fruits are very expensive in Japan in general. So if you would fancy a fruit fest, visits like these are a must-visit. 

Huge!

The farm is located more closely to the western coasts of the prefecture and can be a little inconvenient to get to. However, the effort is definitely worth it. Having said that, I would like to say my thanks to Khadijah, another fellow Malaysian who organised this event.  So if you would like to hop by and see what Ike Ichigoen has in store, then the address is as follows: 

2032 Imazu, Nishi Ward, Fukuoka, 819-0165

It started to rain heavily once we were done. But it was great nonetheless. 
Thanks to Imann for this picture.