Yamanashi

Yamanashi is located in the central part of Honshu and is a typical inland prefecture surrounded by mountains in the 2,000-meter class. Forests occupy about 80% of the prefecture's land, and the vast Kofu Basin spreads in its center. The center of agriculture is this Kofu Basin and its surrounding areas, with excellent farmland spreading along the alluvial fans of the Fuefuki River, Kamanashi River, and the Fuji River basin formed by their confluence. The greatest characteristic supporting agriculture in Yamanashi lies in the specific meteorological conditions of the basin brought about by the inland climate. It has the characteristics of low precipitation throughout the year, being blessed with one of the longest sunshine hours nationally, and having a very large temperature difference between day and night. These meteorological conditions work extremely advantageously in effectively increasing the sugar content of fruits and promoting vivid coloring. In particular, the sloping lands and well-drained soils spreading around the basin, including Kofu City, Fuefuki City, Yamanashi City, Koshu City, and Minami-Alps City, are the optimal environment for the growth of fruit trees. Fruit tree cultivation utilizing this topographical advantage has developed, and even today, the proportion of orchards in the agricultural land area is extremely high, establishing a unique agricultural structure specialized in fruit tree farming.

Source: MAFF Crop Statistics (Reiwa 5 / 2023), JMA historical weather data

The structural characteristic of agriculture in Yamanashi is that it is highly specialized in fruit tree cultivation, rather than land-use agriculture such as rice and vegetables. This is the result of maximizing the 'terroir (growing environment)' brought about by the unique topography of the Kofu Basin, which includes low precipitation, long sunshine hours, and a large temperature difference between day and night. Grape, peach, and Japanese Plum (5,690 tons, 2023) all rank 1st nationally in production, and cherries also rank 3rd nationally with 897 tons; there is no other prefecture that maintains a top-class domestic share in multiple fruit tree items like this. A system is in place where the main fruits of each season are harvested like a relay, starting with cherries in the spring, peaches and Japanese Plums in the summer, and grapes in the autumn. Furthermore, grape cultivation is deeply connected to the wine brewing industry centered on Koshu wine, not stopping at mere fresh produce shipping. Its greatest strength is that it has built a strong fruit tree agricultural model that creates high added value across the entire region by cooperating with historical industries, rather than just providing first-class fruits for raw consumption.