Top 10 Things to do in Minami Alps, Chubu

Reviewed By Michelle_hhy - Singapore, Singapore

I volunteered at Nakagomi Fruit Orchard for about 2 weeks in mid September and was right in the harvest season hence there were longer hours in the field mostly weedinge works. However, Kazu the host was always ensuring that we had enough food and drinks during work days and always bringing us lots of fresh fruits like grapes,peaches,pears and apples, you will never starve there. The peaches and the grapes were absolutely delicious, makes all the hard work worthwhile. Cycling down to work everyday from the dorm room was a nice way to start the morning, especially with the cool breeze but the cycle back after dinner/work can be tough as it is uphill all the way. Takes awhile to get used to it. It is a nice place to be in away from the city as the area is surrounded by mountain and on good days, you wouldn't get tired of seeing Mt.Fuji. There are some surrounding beautiful walks that you can do on off days and sometimes Kazu will offer to bring the volunteers to the local onsen which is awesome, especially after all the physical work in the field sometimes. I also enjoyed my time with the other volunteers there especially, brings alot of joy just talking and playing games together after work. Would love to return someday to either just fruit pick or volunteer during the cherry blossom seasons maybe, there is a stretch of road leading to a park very near the dorm that is lined with cherry blossom trees and i can only imagine how beautiful it will be when spring arrives. Thanks Kazu for hosting and of course to Yoko-san for taking care of our meals during workday. She cooks very delicious Japanese food !