Fuefuki: Orchards, Onsen and Culture

Fuefuki combines seasonal harvest experiences with scenic viewpoints, museums and onsen traditions. Each season brings its own highlights: peaches and grapes have their own picking seasons, while blossoms, cormorant fishing and winter road conditions all play a part in planning a trip. The city also has cultural sites with exhibitions, demonstrations and hands-on activities.

Harvest Seasons and Blossoms Throughout the Year

In Misaka-cho and Ichinomiya-cho, you can pick and eat grapes right at the farm. The season usually runs from around August to October. Peaches are also available for picking and eating at several farms across the city. The harvest begins around mid-June, and the picking season lasts until about the end of August. Weather can shift the timing, so check with the farm in advance. The seasons can overlap in August, so your travel dates will affect which fruit is available to pick.

Peach blossoms usually turn the city’s landscape pink from late March to mid-April. At the same time, the Southern Alps and Yatsugatake can still be seen before the snow melts. At Misaka Togenkyo Park, surrounded by peach orchards, you can look out over the Kofu Basin and the Southern Alps. During blossom season, the area around Yashiro Furusato Park also offers views across the city’s peach orchards.

Views and Routes Through the Landscape

FUJIYAMA Twin Terrace in Ashigawa-cho offers different views of Mount Fuji from its two terraces, as well as wide-ranging views of Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Yamanaka. It is intended as a year-round destination. In winter, the road to Shindō Pass may be closed, so check road conditions before you set out.

Fujidate-no-Taki Okubo Iyashi-no-Mori Park in Sakaigawa-cho offers a different nature experience. About 3,000 skunk cabbage plants grow beside a clear stream. Walking trails wind through a forest surrounded by trees more than a hundred years old. The plants can be viewed from around mid-March to mid-April. This means the viewing periods for blossoms in the city and plants beside the stream fall relatively close together, but are not exactly the same.

Museums and Architectural History

Yamanashi Prefectural Museum in Misaka-cho presents the history of Yamanashi from ancient times to the present. Alongside its exhibitions, the museum offers activities: exhibition staff lead tours on Saturdays, and the mini-event “Terakoya Hiroba” takes place on Sundays. Other hands-on events are also held.

Shakado Site Museum in Ichinomiya-cho displays 1,116 dogū figurines, including a childbirth figurine depicting a mother giving birth. Hatta Shoin in Isawa-cho offers another perspective on history: this thatched Shoin building was constructed in the Irimoya style. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave the Hatta family, who were retainers of the Takeda, building materials for its reconstruction. The neighboring Hatta-ke Goshūin Yashiki is designated a prefectural cultural property. At Hatta Shoin, you can also see irises and lotus flowers in early summer, and autumn foliage later in the year.

Cormorant Fishing, Foot Baths and Wine

Cormorant fishing on the Fuefuki River in Isawa-cho is a summer tradition. In the Kachiu method, a single cormorant master walks through the river and guides a cormorant as it catches ayu—unlike a method in which the birds are guided from small boats. Visitors can watch the traditional catch from close by. During the Isawa Ukai Experience, participants put on cormorant master attire, enter the river, learn how to handle a cormorant and try their hand at fishing. This seasonal experience usually takes place from mid-July to mid-August; river and weather conditions may lead to cancellations. During the fishing season, the Isawa Onsen Ukai Fireworks are held on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays after the fishing. Seasonal dates can vary from year to year, so check event dates before planning your trip.

Hot springs in Fuefuki were developed in 1961. Foot baths in Isawa-cho and Kasugai-cho are available year-round. These include the Isawa Onsen Foot Bath, the park in front of Isawa-Onsen Station, Isawa-Kobayashi Park and the Kasugai Foot Bath Facility. Wine is also part of the city’s character: Fuefuki has around ten wineries producing wines with their own histories and styles. You can sample wines from across the city at the paid wine-tasting counter in the tourist information center at Isawa-Onsen Station.

Discover more destinations: Fujikawa, Yamanashi, Otsuki, Kōfu, Fujikawaguchiko, Kai, Yamanakako, Kōshū.

For the broader travel guide: Yamanashi Prefecture.