Field experience picking, learning, and bringing back rare vegetables not found in supermarkets [special price commemorating the start of publication 🎉]
Field experience picking, learning, and bringing back rare vegetables not found in supermarkets [special price commemorating the start of publication 🎉]
野菜ーに
Kaisei, Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa, Japan
Booking
Payment is charged after the host approves.
Price (per person)
- Adult
- ¥2,912
- Junior/high school
- ¥2,912
- Elementary
- ¥1,455
- Preschool
- Free
(Incl. tax & service fee)
About this experience
It is a field located in Shin-Matsuda and Kaisei in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 1 hour from the city center. It takes about 75 minutes by romance car from Shinjuku, and you can also pick them up from the nearest Shin-Matsuda station. For over 20 years, we have grown over 160 kinds of vegetables a year without using pesticides during the cultivation period. Even in summer, it is about minus 3 degrees cooler than Yokohama and the city center, and the meltwater from Mt. Fuji pours in, making it a place with clean water and air. When you stand in the field, the changing seasons are conveyed as they are. What is grown here is mainly rare vegetables that cannot be found in supermarkets. They also have varieties that can only be found at high-end restaurants, such as the star-shaped okra “Star of David,” micro tomatoes smaller than cherry tomatoes, “destroyer” potatoes with purple skin, yacon, and Italian vegetables. We grow more than 160 kinds of vegetables a year. ■Flow of the day (approx. 1 hour) 1. Meeting (those by train can meet and drop off at Shin-Matsuda Station/those by car can come directly to the field) *Detailed meeting locations will be announced in a message after making a reservation. Please also let us know the means of arrival (train/car). 2. Heading to the field 3. Seasonal vegetables are harvested. Let's talk about vegetables while walking through the fields. 4. You can nibble and enjoy freshly picked food on the spot 5. We are breaking up with the harvested vegetables as souvenirs I am qualified as an exercise trainer, so I can leisurely advance at my own pace while doing light stretches along the way. ■Seasonal vegetables (what you can pick changes with the season) ・May: onions, radishes, etc. ・June: potatoes, onions, shishitou, etc. ・July: This is the time of the year when vegetables are at their best. tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, etc. ・August: Okra, eggplant, shishitake, etc. ・September: okra, eggplant, etc. ・October: sweet potatoes, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can harvest that day once I come. Some may not be harvested depending on the weather. You can take home all the vegetables you have harvested. ■What we do in this field To be honest, it takes quite a bit of time and effort to grow more than 160 varieties a year. The seeds are collected and dried by hand, and weeding is done by hand with almost no machines. They decide where to plant by considering the path of the wind, adjust the spacing between stocks because they harden when crowded, and devise planting combinations by calculating how insects gather. While reading the environment of this land, they are grown by taking advantage of the characteristics of each vegetable. There are years when things don't go well, and there are many difficulties that come from not using pesticides. Please listen to anything about the field on the spot. ■Recommended for people like this ・Those who like rare vegetables not found in supermarkets ・Those who want to try farming someday or start a kitchen garden ・Families who want to touch soil and vegetables with their children ・Those who want to spend time relaxing and preparing themselves in nature It's not just about picking vegetables. I would be happy if you could touch the soil and cherish the time you spend while feeling the comfort of the wind, the coolness of the water, and the warmth of the sunshine. It's also a time for children's dietary education to learn how vegetables grow. On the way back, we also recommend stopping by the surrounding hot springs and delicious restaurants.
・Clothes that can get dirty ・Hat/towel/boots (or shoes that can get dirty) ・Work gloves (vinyl material is recommended) ・Drinks ・A bag to take home harvested vegetables ・If necessary, sunscreen, insect repellent, and regular medicine
- JapaneseNative
- EnglishBasic phrases
Languages other than English can also be supported using translation apps, etc.
畑
〒258-0028 神奈川県足柄上郡開成町金井島
- Parking available
- Nearest station: 新松田駅(20 minutes on foot/5 minutes by bus)
- Shuttle from the station · Pick-up is possible from Shin-Matsuda Station (about 5 minutes by car). For the convenience of child seats, please use a taxi if you are traveling with children under 6 years old.
Details of the meeting point for the day will be announced via message after the reservation is confirmed.
If you cancel after your booking is confirmed, the following cancellation fees apply.
| 7 or more days before | No cancellation fee |
| 2–6 days before | 30% of the price |
| 1 days before | 50% of the price |
| Same-day cancellation / No-show | 100% of the price |
| Bad weather / farmer's circumstances | No cancellation fee |
Cancelled if rainy / full refund
It was decided in light rain. In case of cancellation, we will contact you the day before.
- STEP01
Select your preferred date and time
Check availability and choose the date and time you'd like to join. Fully booked dates can't be selected.
- STEP02
Enter participant and payment details (name, contact, number of people)
Enter your name, contact details, and number of participants to request a booking. No charge is made at this point.
- STEP03
Farmer approval
The farmer reviews and approves your request. Once approved, payment and your booking are confirmed, and you'll receive a confirmation email. If not approved, the booking is automatically cancelled with no charge.
- STEP04
Payment
Payment is charged to your registered payment method as soon as the farmer approves your booking.
- STEP05
Join on the day
You'll receive a reminder email the day before. On the day, check the meeting point and what to bring on your booking page, then meet the farmer in person.
- STEP06
Leave a review
After the experience, you can post a review. Following a farmer you'd like to support lets you know about new experiences, and you can also send support (a tip) directly.
Kaisei, Kanagawa
The smallest town in eastern Japan — yet its population keeps growing. A town built on farming.
About an hour from Tokyo, this is the smallest town in eastern Japan. On the alluvial fan of the Sakawa River — fed by Mt. Fuji's snowmelt and the sea breeze off Sagami Bay — rice, taro and citrus grow. The sea is close, shops are within reach, and daily life feels complete here, making it a popular place to relocate.

Setoyashiki, a 300-year-old farmhouse 
The Sakawa River and Mt. Fuji 
Early-summer hydrangea festival
Access
To Odakyu Line "Kaisei Station"
About 90 min from Shinjuku, about 15 min from Odawara Station
By car
About 10 min from the Oimatsuda IC on the Tomei Expressway
Distance from central Tokyo
Within about 50km of central Tokyo — a comfortable distance for a weekend outing or as a place to relocate.
I visited at the height of summer, yet the moment I arrived it felt cool. It's within an hour not only of Tokyo but of Gotemba, Atami and Hakone, with scenic spots along the way. The nearby roadside station “Ashigara / Kintaro no Furusato” is lively with local produce. Everything you need for daily life is here, and walking around you can see why more and more young people are renting fields and moving in.
The land
Terrain
A gently sloping flatland across the Sakawa River's alluvial fan, with the river to the east, the outer rim of Hakone to the west, and the Tanzawa Mountains to the north. So it drains well and gets plenty of sun — fertile land where paddies, fields and orchards all thrive.
Climate
Thanks to the sea breeze off Sagami Bay, the climate is mild: cool in summer and warm in winter. So the gentle temperatures let open-field vegetables grow over a long season.
Water
Fed by Mt. Fuji's snowmelt, the Sakawa River is rich in water and clear enough for ayu to run and fireflies to live. So it waters the fields and brings crops to juicy ripeness.
What grows here
Kaisei Yaichi taro
An heirloom taro named after Yaichiro of Kanaijima. White, sticky and tender. Once nearly lost, it was revived by local volunteers as “Kaisei Yaichi taro.”
Rice
The paddy belt of the Ashigara plain. Rice growing once spread so widely that it pushed aside taro farming; the Sakawa River's water raises it.
Citrus
Neighboring Odawara is famous for “Odawara mikan,” the northern limit of satsuma mandarin. The mild climate from Sagami Bay is shared across Ashigara, and citrus colors up in Kaisei too.