Fruits in Numata

Numata's climate, with its strong sun and wide day-to-night temperature swings, has made it one of the region's best fruit-growing areas. Around 100 farms operate here, most selling directly or through pick-your-own visits. Apples are the specialty, with large-scale cultivation starting in the 1980s and local agricultural research producing several Numata-born cultivars that ripen September through December. Beyond apples, cherries and blueberries come in June and July, grapes from August to October, persimmons in October and November, and strawberries from November through June. Prunes and plums fill out the summer. Roadside signs along the roads outside the city center point to whichever farms are in season.