Tochigi Prefecture has been Japan’s largest producer of strawberries for over 50 years. Starting with Tochiotome, the most popular variety, Skyberry, Tochiaika, and many other varieties are sold at supermarkets and roadside stations in the prefecture. Merry Berry Farm” is a strawberry farmer in Tochigi Prefecture that has a direct-sale center with a long line of customers. Merry Berry Farm, named after its name meaning “cheerful strawberry shop,” is a strawberry farm that is currently the focus of much attention.
I want them to eat big, sweet strawberries that are bright red and ripe.”
Merry Berry Farm is located in Mooka City, Tochigi Prefecture. The city produces the largest amount of strawberries in Japan. The city is rich in water and nature, with the Yamizo Mountains to the east and the Kinugawa River to the west. There are many tourist farms where visitors can enjoy strawberry picking, and many prefectural residents have been exposed to Moka’s strawberries since childhood. Merry Berry Farm is located in the former town of Ninomiyamachi in Moka City, which was incorporated into Moka City in 2009, but until then Ninomiyamachi was the largest producer of strawberries in Japan.
How to deliver ripe strawberries to a large number of people, which cannot be achieved through market shipments
Yoshito Hayase is the representative of Merry Berry Farm. He grows “perfectly ripe strawberries” on his farm in Moka City and sells freshly picked strawberries at his own direct sales store in the neighboring city of Oyama.
Mr. Hayase has loved strawberries since he was a child. He remembers eating large, sweet, perfectly ripe strawberries grown by his grandparents, who were strawberry farmers, on a daily basis. However, sweet, ripe “fully ripe” strawberries are not suitable for market shipment. Even the surface of a strawberry is delicate and easily scratched. If they are ripened even more, there is a great risk that they will be damaged during the stages of shipping to the market and distribution to supermarkets and other retailers. Moreover, it takes several days from the time they are harvested to the time they reach consumers, during which time their quality deteriorates. Therefore, strawberries to be shipped to the market must be harvested before they are fully ripe.
However, Mr. Hayase felt that this would not allow consumers to appreciate the true taste of strawberries. With this desire, he decided to sell the strawberries he grows at his own direct sales store.
Strawberries picked in the morning are immediately sold directly to the market. Many fans inside and outside of the prefecture.
Mr. Hayase’s mornings start early. He starts harvesting strawberries before dawn, carefully picking them with fleece gloves to avoid scratching them as he assesses the degree of ripeness of each individual strawberry. The harvested strawberries are brought to a direct sales center in Oyama City, about 40 minutes away by car. There they are hurriedly sorted and packed, and displayed at the store by the end of the day. Visitors can enjoy fresh strawberries picked in the morning.
The store in Oyama City, adjacent to Moka City, will open in 2021. It has been about seven years since Mr. Hayase began growing strawberries in earnest. It took him a long time to learn cultivation techniques on his own and to find a store property, but it was his long-cherished wish to open a direct sales store of “fully ripened strawberries.
The store’s interior is filled with the sweet aroma of strawberries, making it an irresistible space for strawberry lovers. During the peak season in winter, a line of customers forms immediately after the store opens, and some days the store is sold out by the time it closes at 4:00 p.m. The store’s reputation for flavor and repeat customers naturally grow. The reputation of the taste and the number of repeat customers have naturally increased, and people come all the way from outside the prefecture as well as from their hometowns.
Until the opening of the direct sales center, the farm also shipped strawberries to the market, but now about 95% of the strawberries harvested are sold at the store.
Average sugar content of 15 degrees. Juicy sweetness that fills the mouth
The reason why Merry Berry Farm’s strawberries have so many fans is not only because they are perfectly ripe, but also because people have fallen in love with the flavor that Merry Berry Farm has created over the past 10 years.
Each strawberry farmer has his own flavor,” says Hayase, ”but just because the varieties are the same does not mean they will taste exactly the same. Of course, there are trends for each variety, but the fertilizers used, soil conditions, climate, harvest date and time also produce differences in sourness, sweetness, berry size and firmness, moisture content, and so on. It also depends on the flavor each farmer is aiming for. Mr. Hayase places importance on the sweetness (sugar content) of strawberries. Through daily trial and error, he has achieved, for example, an average sugar content of 15 degrees for “Tochiaika,” and 17 to 18 degrees for the tips of the strawberries, so that the moment you bite into a strawberry, you can enjoy the happy sweetness that fills your mouth. (The average sugar content of strawberries is about 10 degrees.)
For whom and which varieties are grown?
Mr. Hayase is almost self-taught in strawberry cultivation. When he decided to get serious about strawberry production, he first asked around to companies that he thought had expertise in strawberry cultivation about “how to make them taste good,” but he did not get a clear answer, so he decided to do his own research.
Currently, Merry Berry Farm grows a total of seven varieties: Tochiotome, Tochiaika, Skyberry, Milky Berry, and Tochihime, all from Tochigi Prefecture; Benihoppe, a variety from Shizuoka Prefecture; and Yayohime, a variety from Gunma Prefecture. The “Tochihime” in particular is a rare variety that is not sold in the market due to its soft fruit, and can only be consumed at direct sales stands or at “strawberry picking” at tourist farms. The “Benihoppe” variety has both sweetness and tartness, and the original sweet and sour taste and richness of strawberries can be tasted, so much so that Mr. Hayase himself said, “I was impressed the first time I tasted them. In selecting the varieties, Mr. Hayase has compared strawberries from all over Japan, and has chosen the ones he feels are the most delicious and that he wants many people to enjoy.
Use of naturally occurring pesticides for the peace of mind of eaters
Furthermore, in the hopes of providing peace of mind to the eaters, the company cultivates mainly with pesticides registered under JAS organic standards, which use naturally derived substances, etc., rather than chemically synthesized pesticides.
For example, strawberries are prone to aphids, which are a pest. Therefore, by releasing the natural enemy “aphids” inside the greenhouses, the pests are exterminated not with chemicals but with the power of nature. In addition, they use pheromone agents to lure and capture pests before they become parasites on the strawberries, and spray natural ingredients used in food products to seal off the entry points of pests.
Believe in the power of soil and nature
There are two types of strawberry cultivation: soil cultivation, in which strawberries are grown in the ground, and hydroponics, in which strawberries are grown on a bench about one meter high with water and liquid fertilizer.
The soil is prepared by adding a generous amount of compost, which makes the soil soft and fluffy and improves drainage, and sprinkling oyster shells and rice bran, which serve as food for microorganisms in the soil. Mr. Hayase believes that there are trace elements in the soil that have not yet been discovered, and that these elements affect the taste and growth of the strawberries. He places importance on “soil cultivation” that brings out the potential of the soil.
He is constantly researching ways to bring out the sweetness of the soil using original fertilizers, such as using a fertilizer made from a proprietary blend of amino acids and stevia, a natural sweetener herb that has been dried, boiled down, and aged. The soil doesn’t talk to me, so I have to judge by the color and gloss of the leaves,” he says. I think, “Isn’t there a way to make them sweeter? I think, “There must be a way to make it sweeter,” and next year I will try to do it better,” he says.
When organic fertilizers are used, insects are attracted to them. When the strawberries are fully ripe, the sweet aroma attracts them back. In addition, the farmers also pick small or poorly grown berries to ensure that the remaining berries are well nourished, which makes it difficult to increase the harvest.
In addition, ripe strawberries are best eaten on the same day or the next day. Therefore, if they are not sold at the direct-sale center, they are all discarded. There was a time when a lot of losses were incurred. It seems as if he has dared to choose a difficult method, but what supported Mr. Hayase was his passion to “have as many people as possible enjoy the sweet and large ripe strawberries.
Through trial and error, he was able to produce strawberries that lasted longer than before, making it possible to ship them nationwide from the store. Many people have come to appreciate the taste and are now coming to buy them.
Dreams to be drawn with my son, who will carry on my thoughts and feelings
Hayase has two children. One is a daughter, Ami, who named the farm “Merry Berry Farm. The other is their son, Noa, who will begin full-fledged work as the farm’s successor in 2025, when he graduates from college.
The world of agriculture has a strong image of being hard work and is avoided by young people, and the aging of the farming population is an issue. However, young Noa’s eyes sparkle when she decides to take over the farm. My father is studying everything he can about strawberries, and his ambition is amazing,” she says. I have been helping him, and although it is hard work, I find it fun, and I am happy to see the joy on customers’ faces when I sell directly.
Ripe strawberries made for the pleasure of the eater
Mr. Hayase is also on the lookout for delicious varieties from all over Japan. Starting next year, he plans to produce 10 varieties, adding three new varieties: “Shinku no Misuzu,” a variety born in Chiba Prefecture; “Tokun,” a variety born in Hokkaido and characterized by its sweet, mellow, peach-like aroma and sweet taste; and “Miku-nika,” a variety bred by strawberry farmer Kenji Mizuno in Aichi Prefecture.
Since last year, he has been selling strawberry smoothies and shaved strawberries during the off-season, and is also devising ways to make people aware of the appeal of strawberries during the period when seedlings are being grown (from May to October).
Mr. Hayase’s goal for the future is to make the farm a place where the deliciousness of strawberries can be promoted. In order to convey the appeal of strawberries to as many people as possible, he is currently in the process of searching for land to open a tourist farm where people can pick strawberries. He has even talked about opening a store in Utsunomiya or Tokyo someday, and his desire to let people know about his favorite “strawberries” is only getting stronger.
Imagining the joy on the faces of their customers, Hayase and his son produce large, sweet, and perfectly ripe strawberries, filled with their love, that bring smiles to people’s faces.
