HOME_ENGLISH - 七夕いちご園

Japanaese French

“Tanabata Ichigo” Farm is located in Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture.
The legend of Tanabata has been passed down to Ebisu Shrine.
The shrine, located on the shores of Lake Biwa, draws energy from the Amano River that flows into it.
This shrine is also known as a place that nurtures the blossoming of love.

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I am a 4th generation carpenter who lives in the Maibara area.

“Tanabata Ichigo” strawberries, exceptional strawberries that derive their originality from the fact that the owner is also a carpenter, special attention is also paid to the equipment to ensure high production quality.

Local growth conditions maximize the strawberry flavor, so that a perfect balance between sweetness and acidity is achieved.

I want people coming here to eat special and original strawberries. To achieve this I research the optimum daily conditions needed to grow high quality strawberries.

Architecture begins with snuggling up to the customer’s life plan.

On the other hand, strawberries are a delicate agricultural product whose taste can change considerably with variations, however small, in the environment.

The first step was to listen to our strawberries, just as we listen to our customers.

I believe that it is by taking care of all the cultivation and manufacturing yourself that makes it possible to produce wonderful agricultural products,, So l have integrated my cumulative knowledge of architecture as well as the carpentry.

In Maibara, under the strong winds, the conditions for growing strawberries is favorable for temperatures to drop without opening the greenhouse, which causes the interior to fill with CO2.

Thanks to Lake Biwa being located near the strawberry farm, the humidity is high, which is also favorable for strawberry cultivation.

In winter, many cloudy days delay the growth of strawberries, which is another advantage, because it gives strawberries more time to accumulate nutrients while they ripen.

All these climatic conditions as well as the design of the greenhouse ensure our Tanabata strawberries have a high sugar content.

What can be done through agriculture?

− Reduce the environmental impact;

A plastic greenhouse is essential for the production of strawberries, as it helps to protect them from the weather.

“The use of renewable energy via solar panels producing electricity independently was an inevitable choice for environmentally friendly production.”

In addition to solar energy production, agrivoltaic for growing vegetables and fruit is an effective solution towards agricultural self-sufficiency.

-− Step by step with the regional community –

There are common problems in agricultural areas, the town of Maibara is no exception.

For example, “idle agricultural land, the exodus of rural youth, the aging of the population”, etc. are all issues to consider.

I felt that the mission of the farmers is to develop in partnership with the region in order to share the benefits.

What we can do now is…

・Cultivate agricultural products that will appeal to children and adults alike

・Create a place where young people want to work

・Share the indescribable charms of Shiga eg: Lake Biwa, delicious foods, BIWAICHI, etc.

・Creation of a recreational area for the region

We will sincerely continue to care about the environment as well as the local community.

“Tanabata Ichigo” grows up with a miraculous encounter and lots of love.

Every thing we have achieved here has been made possible , by support and countless relationships with the people of Shiga / Maibara, for example the grandmothers of the area.

Among the many who have made valuable contributions to Tanabata Ichigo we would like to mention the meeting with an expert strawberry grower, giving us great help and inspiration.

In the midst of the Corona epidemic, it was difficult to gather the information necessary to create a strawberry farm,, so initially I tried to guide myself only through technical books on the subject.

In the meantime, we had planted a palm tree, which is the symbol of our strawberry farm, that’s when we received a call from a farmer who usually only contacts us once a year.

When I told him about my strawberry growing project, he introduced me to a specialist who lives in Miyazaki prefecture. I headed there immediately. This meeting marked the beginning of “Tanabata Ichigo”…

The expert made the long trip from Miyazaki prefecture, to stay and help us set up our strawberry farm until our first strawberries ripened.

We worked by trial and error to get the best results.

Our goal is to pass on the knowledge and techniques that we have accumulated so far to retirees and housewives in the neighborhood, in order to develop with the regional community.

The name “Tanabata Ichigo” comes from the “Tanabata Legend” of the Amano River, which flows into Lake Biwa.

At the Hiruko shrine in the area, Kotoshironushi no Mikoto and Susanoo no Mikoto are deified, and it is a place where many encounters are born.

23 years as a carpenter, 10 years as an architect.

I am the 4th generation heir of a family of carpenters that has existed since the Taisho era, Now I grow strawberries with passion.

Our farm has partnered with a strawberry expert, incorporating architectural knowledge into the greenhouse, from design to cultivation.

The greenhouses are equipped with solar panels combining efficient cultivation methods using LEDs in order to optimize an ecological and sustainable production system.

① Take the initiative to generalize renewable energies such as solar panels for the prevention of global warming by reducing CO2

② Establish advanced agriculture for idle rice paddies and fallow fields, which are local social problems, and plan to improve food self-sufficiency rate

③ Work to revitalize the local economy by operating the strawberry farm and cafe

On our farm, we are actively working for regional revitalization through sustainable urban development guided by the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals.)