Our Roots / Ohashi Cherry Farm

Roots of Ohashi Cherry Orchard and Ho-chan

After the war, cultivate the land by hand!

February 15, 1891 Sakuji Ohashi (Ohashi Sakuji / the first generation of Ohashi Farm, which cultivated this land today) was born in Fukushima Prefecture. Actually, the Ohashi family immigrated from Ota Village in Fukushima Prefecture. At that time (around 1893), there was a buzz of talk about moving to Hokkaido in Ota Village, Fukudate District, Fukushima Prefecture. On May 3, 1909, the year after Sakuji was born, the Ohashi family left their familiar hometown and set off for Hokkaido, an unexplored land.
The family first headed to Asahikawa City, Hokkaido.
I moved to Higashiasahikawa-cho, Asahikawa City, which is located north of Daisetsuzan and is commonly known as Pepan. Sakuji was very good with his hands, so he started building temples in Asahikawa from a young age.
Then, when Sakuji turned 30 years old (1945), he moved to Ashibetsu and started building employee housing for the coal mine.
After the end of the war, in 1945, the government acquired the land and cultivated it. That location is the land of the current Ohashi Cherry Orchard.

There are no machines or agricultural equipment like there are today, and everything was done by hand. Sakuji worked long hours every day with a hoe and shovel. When he woke in the morning, his hands were curled inward, and each day began by stretching them out.
The land provided by the government was hilly and uneven, with very little flat ground. Sakuji wanted to grow rice, but he gave up that dream and planted pears, grapes, melons, and other crops that could be grown on slopes. He devoted himself especially to grape growing and won first prize many times at exhibitions in Hokkaido.
Although Sakuji worked so hard to grow grapes, very few grapevines remain here today. His son Masaru, who transformed this land into a cherry-picking orchard, cut them all down.

Turn a pinch into an opportunity! On the path to “cherry” cultivation

Masaru Ohashi (Saru Ohashi / 2nd generation of Ohashi Farm / 1st generation of Ohashi Cherry Farm) was born in Asahikawa City on March 1, 1939. He followed in Sakuji’s footsteps and worked hard to grow pears, melons, and grapes together. As good as Sakuji, Katsu was a very hard worker and was even called a “human machine” by those around him.
Katsu married his wife, Yoshiko, when he was 25 years old (1968). When Katsu got married, he bought a new field, doubled the size of the field, and increased his plantings.
However, those efforts did not bear fruit, and the same year they got married and the year after that. Grapes, which had become the mainstay of income, suffered a major crop failure two years in a row due to frost damage (damage caused by frost). After experiencing frost damage for two years, his father, Sakuji, was acutely aware that the future of the business was at a standstill. In addition, Katsu also got married and expanded the area of his farm, but was unable to find any hope for the future due to the disaster that occurred soon after.

Although the grape crop was almost completely destroyed, the wild cherry trees planted as windbreaks were bearing plenty of fruit. Seeing this, Masaru proposed to Sakuji that they cut down the grapevines and plant cherry trees.
Sakuji had carefully cultivated the grapevines for decades, so watching them be cut down must have been heartbreaking. It must also have been a very difficult decision for Masaru, who had grown up among the vines and cultivated them together with his father.

Thus, all the grapes were dug up and cherry saplings were planted, but until the saplings bore fruit, Katsu earned a living by working at the coal mine in Ashibetsu.
The cherries also grew quickly, and the grapes were dug up and were the first variety to be planted, but Masaru happened to discover a variety that had sprouted from seeds. This variety ripens very late and can only be harvested in August. Since it ripens late, this variety has always been referred to as “Okute” (late rice). However, I decided to give him a proper name, so I took the name of my predecessor and said,Katsu Nishiki (Homare Nishiki)” was named.

It’s also popular for hunting! Homarenishiki’s “Ho-chan” is also popular for mail order.

Nowadays, there are more than 30 varieties (50 varieties in 2018 to be exact) in the cherry picking fields here, but the only variety that can only be found in Ashibetsu is “Heiwa Nishiki (Heiwa Nishiki)“, and the original variety only found at Ohashi Cherry Farm is this “Katsu Nishiki (Homare Nishiki)” is all.
Katsunishiki becomes richer in flavor around the 10th of August. By chance, my predecessor found it and planted a sapling, which has now grown into a very large tree.
Katsunishiki is an original variety of the Ohashi Cherry Orchard, planted by his predecessor Masaru, who dug up all the grapes that Sakuji had painstakingly grown.
Currently, Masaru planted the first Katsunishiki tree with various thoughts in mind.Ho-chan”. Ho-chan, which will be 53 years old this year since it was planted, is a wild tree. There has been no breeding, so it is still alive and well even after 47 years!

ThisKatsu Nishiki (Homare Nishiki) variety in one corner of the field, but the number of Katsunishiki that Masaru planted about 50 years ago has decreased to about 10. Recently, winters have not been that cold, but in the past, here in Ashibetsu, temperatures often reached -30 degrees Celsius, and the temperature was reduced to about half due to the cold.
Even under such circumstances, this Ho-chan probably knows Katsu’s thoughts, and it puts out branches much more energetically than other Katsu Nishiki and produces delicious fruit. The fruit is not large, but every year it delights us with its rich flavor that has a good balance of sourness and sweetness.
In the Ohashi cherry farm, there is a message saying, “Among the 50 types of cherry picking, these Ho-chan cherries taste the best!” There are many staff members who say,

Authentic cherry making passed down from generation to generation

Sakuji (the first generation of Ohashi Farm) cultivated the land he received from the government and turned it into a field, planting pears, melons, and grapes, and especially devoted himself to growing grapes.
Katsu (second generation farm, first generation cherry farm) decided to dig up grapes and planted cherries all over the field, thinking, “It’s not suitable for the climate of Ashibetsu…”

Today, Masakazu Ohashi (third generation of Ohashi Farm and second generation of Ohashi Cherry Farm) has taken over the orchard from Masaru. He continues working to grow truly delicious cherries, hoping for favorable weather and that the cherry trees Masaru planted will never have to be removed.
Masakazu has a strong desire to offer customers the authentic flavor of tree-ripened cherries. All of our staff work toward this dream under our guiding principles:
“Create smiles,” “Create memories,” “Create inspiration,” and “Develop people.”
We want every visitor to leave with smiles, inspiration, and wonderful memories. We also believe that building trust among our staff, forming family-like bonds, and growing as people deepens our connection with our customers.

Ohashi Farm has grown a variety of fruit trees and fruits in the past, but for the past 50 years, we have focused solely on cherries. (*Recently, we have started planting other fruit trees to extend the employment period.) Ashibetsu City, Hokkaido, where we live, is a very warm place during the day and very cool at night. This unique inland climate is very suitable for growing fruit trees, making it possible to grow fruits with a high sugar content.

The manual cultivation of the first generation, Sakuji, and the efforts of the second generation (first generation of the cherry farm), Masaru, who continued to dig up grapes and plant cherries, and continued to aim for the production of real cherries, bore fruit, and in March 2006, Ohashi Cherry Farm was the first in Hokkaido to win the 7th National Fruit Tree Technology and Management Contest.We received the highest award, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award.
Ashibetsu is also known as the “hometown of the stars” because you can see many beautiful stars at night. Please come and visit Ashibetsu, where the air is clear and nature is abundant.
We will deliver the cherries that we have grown with great care to everyone.

Please experience the delicious flavor of cherries ripened on the tree at Ohashi Cherry Farm through our cherry-picking experience.
All of our staff look forward to welcoming you.
For those who cannot visit us in person, our cherries are also available through our online shop.
They are ideal for seasonal gifts and other presents, or for enjoying at home.

If you would like to know more about our garden, please click here ↓

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