Asakura is well known for their persimmons – a premier product, even on a national level.
It would be an easy enough task for me to just go to the local supermarket and buy a persimmon to prove how good it tastes, so I decided to straight to the source and sample the fruit at the orchard instead. Adachi Fruit Farm is 3 hectares of grape and persimmon fields. Persimmon season runs from mid-October to December, during which time the orchard is open to the public for persimmon picking.

Visiting the orchard, the owner first explained the persimmon cultivation process, the shipping method and sorting process before handing out persimmons that had been well chilled for us to try. A beautiful sweetness explodes in my mouth, forgoing any real need for further description. In that one mouthful, I instantly knew how incredible these persimmons were. Further promotion of this fruit is not required.

Once we finished speaking with the owner, he hands us a pair of scissors and a basket and we head out into the orchard to try our hand at persimmon picking. You should note, persimmon picking here isn’t like strawberry picking where you pay a fee to enter the farm and get to eat as many strawberries as you want within a given timeframe, instead, you pay for the weight of the total amount that you pick. Just about every persimmon has an alluring glossy finish that makes you want to pick them all, so try not to get too carried away if you can.