Atago-En Vineyard

Pick your own delicious grapes in Kofu

Cathy Cawood Sep 12, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Festive small pink and white lanterns</p>

<p>If there's nobody around, ring the bell</p>

<p>A visitor chats with one of the owners</p>

<p>Different varieties of grapes for sale</p>

<p>Five different kinds of grape, all of them delicious.</p>

<p>Green filtered light under the vines</p>

<p>Each bunch of grapes has its own paper cover</p>

<p>Heading up the slope to pick some grapes</p>

<p>A red and white awning covers a long table</p>

<p>These big black grapes were my personal favorite</p>

<p>It was a fascinating place, even in the rain. If the sun was shining it would have been magical!</p>

Grapes have been grown in Yamanashi for over a thousand years. You can pick your own grapes in this beautiful Kofu City vineyard on the lower slopes of Mount Atago. It was an easy 15 minutes on foot from Kofu Station. I visited on a showery afternoon in mid-August, and was offered 5 different varieties of grape to try. The vineyard was a very beautiful place, even on such a damp, grey day. It must be wonderful when sunshine filters through the canopy of vines. As for the flavor of the grapes, they were absolutely the best grapes I have ever eaten!

Cathy Cawood @cathy.cawood

I came to Japan in 2003 to teach English. I lived in Shiga prefecture for 1 year, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page ha...