Katsunuma Grape Picking (Grapark)

Ninety minutes from Tokyo, an entire hillside in Koshu turns over to vineyards each late summer — Japan’s original and still-largest wine region, and one of its most reliable late-summer day trips.

Why It’s Interesting

Katsunuma has been growing wine grapes since at least the 19th century and remains Japan’s densest concentration of wineries, but the more hands-on draw is budo-gari — grape picking — offered at orchards across the district, like Katsunuma Grapark, where 16-plus varieties (Kyoho, Delaware, New York Muscat, Shine Muscat, and the native Koshu grape among them) are priced by weight so visitors can wander and sample across types rather than settling on one patch. It’s a low-effort, high-reward activity that turns a countryside drive into an actual afternoon out — good for a family visit that wants something more active than sightseeing but less strenuous than hiking.

Best Time to Visit

The picking season runs roughly late July/early August through early November, but mid-August to mid-September is the sweet spot, when the widest range of varieties is ripe simultaneously.

Getting There

About 90 minutes from Tokyo via the JR Chuo Line to Katsunuma-Budokyo Station, then a short taxi ride into the vineyard hillside; driving via the Chuo Expressway takes a similar amount of time.