Fukushima City · Fruit LineNo.975★★★Open in map →

Fukushima Peaches

foodThe classic — done right

The orchards that make Fukushima a peach prefecture line a single farm road northwest of the city. Halfway along it, a roadside station gathers fruit from many growers onto one counter, with a restaurant and a children's play room attached.

FromFukushima-Ozaso IC (car) / Fukushima Station East Exit (bus)
Next to Fukushima-Ozaso ICCar; weekday bus only
Get off atMichi-no-Eki Fukushima (Fukushima Kotsu bus)
On foot
Fukushima Peaches

Directions ↗

Where it is

20 more notes in Fukushima · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

The Fruit Linethe farm road the station stands on, orchards and stands running both ways
Direct-sales hallpeaches from several growers side by side, with seasonal vegetables
Azuma Kitchenrestaurant and food court under the same roof as the sales hall
MomoRabi Kids Parkindoor play room for children, a refuge in rain or midsummer heat
Dog runfenced area on the grounds for travellers arriving with dogs

How to actually get there

Shinkansen or JR local line to Fukushima Station, the gateway to the fruit belt
By car: Tohoku-Chuo Expressway to Fukushima-Ozaso IC, then straight onto the site
By bus: Fukushima Station East Exit, Fukushima Kotsu 50-3 for Nakano via Michi-no-Eki Fukushima (weekdays only)
Get off at the Michi-no-Eki Fukushima stop, on the roadside station itself

By car to Fukushima-Ozaso IC: The realistic way in is by car. Leave the Tohoku-Chuo Expressway at the Fukushima-Ozaso interchange and you are on the site. By public transport there is one route: from the East Exit of Fukushima Station, Fukushima Kotsu bus 50-3 for Nakano, via Michi-no-Eki Fukushima. That service runs on weekdays only, so check the day's timetable before you rely on it.
Treat the bus as weekdays only: The route does not operate at weekends or on public holidays, so a weekend visitor who arrives by bus has no bus home. Plan a car or a taxi for weekends. Even on weekdays the service is limited, so fix your return time before you start shopping.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Fukushima Prefecture harvests the second-largest peach crop in Japan, and the densest part of that growing belt lies on the slopes northwest of Fukushima City. The road through it, Fukushima Prefectural Route 5, is known locally as the Fruit Line, and orchards, farm stands and pick-your-own gardens follow it in both directions. Michi-no-Eki Fukushima stands on that road beside the Fukushima-Ozaso interchange. Its sales hall carries fruit from several separate growers at the same time. That is the practical reason to start here: rather than choosing one farm gate, you can set growers side by side before you buy. A restaurant, a food court, an indoor play room and a dog run share the site.

How to enjoy it

The sales hall opens in the morning and closes in the evening. Peaches run from July into September and the varieties change every few weeks, so a mid-July counter and a September counter hold different fruit. When you are done, the Fruit Line continues past the car park in both directions if you want to keep driving the orchards.

Background & history

Peach growing took root in this basin long before the road did. The prefecture's own research stations kept working on the variety Akatsuki until it became the mainstay of the local crop, and it is still the name most often seen on labels here in midsummer. The roadside station itself is recent. It opened in April 2022 alongside the Fukushima-Ozaso interchange on the Tohoku-Chuo Expressway, adding a public stop to a farm road that until then had only private gates.

Before you go

Cash: Payment methods can differ from counter to counter inside the building, so carry some cash to be safe.
Good to know: Peaches are a summer-into-early-autumn crop; outside the season the counter turns over to other fruit. In winter, check road conditions before driving the Fruit Line.
Another way: A taxi from Fukushima Station also works, and it is the safer choice at weekends when the bus does not run, or when you expect to leave with heavy boxes.
After you get off: The bus stop carries the same name as the roadside station, so you are set down at the site itself and there is no walk along the road.