With the arrival of July, tourist orchards in central Hokkaido’s Yoichi Town and other places are crowded with people enjoying cherry picking. Orchards are taking precautions against the novel coronavirus, including placing antiseptic solutions on the premises and providing containers to put cherry pits in.
On the weekend of July 4, an elementary school child from Sapporo who visited the Yamamoto Tourist Orchard in Yoichi together with his family was enjoying the flavor of ripe red cherries that he picked from branches using a stepladder.
The orchard owner expressed his expectation, saying, “Thirty thousand people from within Hokkaido visited us last year. I hope the good weather will last and the number of visitors will be about the same as last year.”