Greenhouse strawberries in Japan

I was recently having a conversation with somebody who is new to Japan, who was very surprised to learn that almost all strawberries in Japan are produced in greenhouses. But it reminded me that I too was very surprised when I first learned the same fact. In my home country, greenhouses are used occasionally, but in Japan they are used more than 90% of the time. 

Strawberries are grown in Japanese greenhouses to control environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and light. They are produced by forcing culture, which involves inducing flowering in autumn by several artificial methods. This enables extended production of high-quality, strawberries even in winter. In fact, winter is the primary growing season in Japan now, with January often being the best month for them.

Strawberries are a big business in Japan, and Japanese strawberries, if you saw my article the other day, are becoming increasingly popular abroad too. While China and the U.S. lead in total volume, Japan is often cited for the highest per capita strawberry consumption, especially of fresh strawberries. There are close to 150 varieties of strawberries in Japan. Something that was also made possible by greenhouse growing, as cultivation can be controlled and designed. 

What I love about greenhouse strawberries in Japan, is that the greenhouses are lovely and warm! Making strawberry picking an ideal acgtivitiy in the cold of winter. Have you been strawberry picking in a greenhouse in Japan? Where you surprised when you first came to Japan that strawberries are grown in greenhouses?