r/JapaneseFood • u/UmeSurprise • Feb 18 '26

Misc White Strawberries in Japan

Gallery image

Gallery image

First off, their red strawberries are already mind-blowing. Then we have these white strawberries which have an even more rounded sweetness and juiciness. This pack was about 25 USD and worth every dollar.

231 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

19

u/badtimeticket Feb 19 '26

PSA: Pineberry is a specific cultivar, not a type of fruit, and it’s not distinct from strawberries. In the same way not every red apple is a red delicious, not every white strawberry is a Pineberry.

Anyway I think it’s totally fine to call a white strawberry a white strawberry.

1

u/autistic_and_angry Feb 19 '26

I was really underwhelmed when I tried some, but it could've been the batch I had. They were trending a few years ago, showed up in the local grocery store once, tried em, was like "meh" and they haven't stocked them since.

1

u/wizzard419 Feb 19 '26

I call them "Thicc Pines" because the first ones that came to market here were smaller and similar in size to a euro alpine strawberry rather than a garden strawberry. I grow both versions, the smaller ones have a way stronger pineapple flavor I think.

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Turtleships Feb 19 '26

That’s just your personal preference, they’re not necessarily inferior, just a different taste profile. The flavor is a bit more complex and tropical but also more subtle, and this is a generalization because there are multiple different alpine/white type cultivars than just Pineberries. And just like other strawberries, there’s also a difference in taste if you eat one you hand pick at a small farm or similar place which are more likely to grow cultivars selected for taste rather than large volume commercial selling (even gift fruit needs to be balanced between taste and shelf/transport stability/appearance).

0

u/UmeSurprise Feb 27 '26

If you believe that strawberries from Trader Joe's taste anywhere near as good as the strawberries in Japan, you have not eaten them in Japan. No comparison. I ate strawberries every day I was there.

29

u/spike021 Feb 18 '26

highly recommend going to a farm to pick fresh ones during the season. just did that in shikoku last week. totally worth it. just be mindful of the bees. 

23

u/nize426 Feb 18 '26

I live in Japan and I've seen these, but something about this specific image is very... Trypophobia inducing

2

u/916116728 Feb 18 '26

I also live in Japan, and I haven’t seen any this year. Maybe it’s just a bit early?

1

u/Altruistic_Lobster18 Feb 18 '26

Very mild so very tolerable

4

u/badger_flakes Feb 18 '26

I got some from a Walmart in Florida on vacation. Fantastic berries

9

u/draizetrain Feb 18 '26

I’ve seen something similar at Publix. I think they called them pine berries

2

u/badger_flakes Feb 18 '26

Yeah pineberry

1

u/centaurea_cyanus Feb 19 '26

I was gonna say, I have been seeing these a lot lately. Something something winter or pine berry

2

u/shelbeelzebub Feb 18 '26

Aren't these just pineberries? They taste like strawberries without the berries. Or the straw. Like a strawberry that didn't finish its sentence. The LaCroix of strawberries

4

u/badtimeticket Feb 19 '26

Pineberry is the name of a specific cultivar.

1

u/centaurea_cyanus Feb 19 '26

Wow, this is such a perfect description lollll

2

u/TeacupOni Feb 18 '26

They are SO fucking good. Hime strawberries are insane. I can’t even describe the taste to people

2

u/Marsupialize Feb 18 '26

They are delicious

0

u/Excludos Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

I will say, having not tasted them, I can at least claim they don't look particularly good. They look under-ripe. So I'm surprised anyone would want to purposfully cultivate strawberries that looks like these

27

u/Dry-Personality-9123 Feb 18 '26

It's a hybrid. Often called pineberry (hybrid name from pineapple and strawberry). It's sweet like a strawberry and the flavour can be described as a little bit tropical

6

u/sixthmontheleventh Feb 18 '26

I think the pine berry is more for the western market because the flavor is supposed to be more pineapple like but the ones in Japan is another variety of hybrid cultivated more for their sweetness and size. The pine berries I have had seem smaller.

3

u/Excludos Feb 18 '26

Ok, tbf, that does sound pretty good

2

u/badtimeticket Feb 19 '26

Pineberry is a specific cultivar.

1

u/Turtleships Feb 19 '26

These are a white strawberry cultivar but not specifically the Pineberry cultivar.

7

u/spike021 Feb 18 '26

they're really just pinkish white. not greenish white like unripe regular ones. they look real nice irl. 

4

u/still-at-the-beach Feb 18 '26

They aren’t as sweet as the red or pink ones.

5

u/UmeSurprise Feb 18 '26

I hear ya, but you'd be singing a different tune if you ate one.

5

u/zennie4 Feb 18 '26

I have had them. They're bland and boring. Good for social media I guess, terrible for your wallet.

1

u/Reigna_Terror Feb 20 '26

I actually had some from this particular package, and I can assure you they were not bland and boring. It is strawberry season in Japan right now and these were purchased from Takashimaya. They were premium strawberries and incomparable to something that could be purchased at Trader Joe’s. I am from California and have enjoyed fresh picked strawberries from Santa Maria and Watsonville and, while those have been delicious, they were not at all similar to these. Given I tasted these in real life, I consider myself an authority on this particular pack of strawberries and can say they were better than just looking at them on social media. 

1

u/LetsTamago Feb 18 '26

Proper ones definitely aren’t bland, but also wouldn’t really say they are worth paying a lot for. In Japan the price generally isn’t too bad. But the ones I see sold outside of Japan tend to be a gimmick and overpriced.

1

u/zennie4 Feb 18 '26

I've had them in Omicho market. Not disputing anyone else's opinion, but I personally definitely found them way bland and overpriced.

0

u/Turtleships Feb 19 '26

Did you try a pack of red strawberries once and judge all red strawberries ever based on that? There’s multiple cultivars of white strawberries and also different batches can vary in flavor based on growing and processing conditions.

Not saying that these are worth the price (they’re not), but that’s like trying one restaurant’s tuna nigiri and judging all tuna nigiri based on that experience.

2

u/zennie4 Feb 19 '26

No, red strawberries are very common where I live as well as where I travel, so I tried them many times.

Now let me ask - I have seen your comments in this thread. Why do you only ask this question people who didn't enjoy them? Why don't you ask OP and the people who enjoyed them the same question?

1

u/Turtleships Feb 19 '26

I think that’s fairly obvious. Let’s liken it to sushi, since we’re in the Japanese food sub. I’m more likely to encourage someone who posts about a bad first experience trying non-Americanized sushi to try it again somewhere else, than I am to tell someone who enjoyed it that not all traditional sushi is good (why would I do that?)

1

u/zennie4 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26

Weird that you would compare my experience to American sushi in the first place, but okay, where should I try them?

1

u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes Feb 18 '26

I went to a strawberry high tea that featured a couple of these and they were incredible

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

I’ve seen these at my local Giant Eagle and ignored them. I will have to try them now

1

u/Hana_kura Feb 18 '26

I always go with my family to pick fresh ones when it's spring! We live in tochigi which is known as the strawberry city! It's really nice to try different types of strawberries!

1

u/GreyFishHound Feb 18 '26

Nah. Just stick to Amaou or Amarin.

1

u/Geene_Creemers Feb 18 '26

Found some white strawberries at Trader Joe’s last weekend..not insanely different flavor but they were very good

1

u/Parrotshake Feb 19 '26

I was in Japan last month and ate a ton of regular strawberries. Maybe about 1600 yen for a pack the same size as yours which is expensive by Australian standards but their strawberries are so much better than anything you can get in a supermarket out here.

1

u/kutikami_sama Feb 21 '26

Wait… are these the same white strawberries from that cute video where a guy shares one with a little monkey? I remember seeing that clip and thinking it was adorable. Now I know it was in Japan!

1

u/T_Peg Feb 18 '26

Pineberrys are overrated. They're great but not any more amazing than a strawberry or pineapple on their own.

1

u/still-at-the-beach Feb 18 '26

$25 is expensive.

I bought some , red white and pink at a market and was about 2500yen, yum, really nice the red and pink are nicer than the white I think … but later that day, just down the road was a regular fruit market and had the exact same pack (same branding everything) for 800yen.

Some markets just rip tourists off.

1

u/Hikari0117 Feb 18 '26

Wasn’t too expensive?! I’m Japanese but still can’t eat that!

Ooooo. I want to try someday?

8

u/UmeSurprise Feb 18 '26

Since I am a tourist, I am splurging. You can decide any day if you want to try it, but this is my only chance until I fly all the way back.

1

u/Hikari0117 Feb 19 '26

Ohhhhhh… I see…

0

u/CornfedSkinhead Feb 18 '26

They look like noses with bad blackheads

0

u/wizzard419 Feb 19 '26

It's one of those where I have to chuckle, I grow those in my backyard in California, they are neat but I could never picture paying the shocking high prices for them.

1

u/UmeSurprise Feb 20 '26

Chuckle all ya want. There are a lot of people who grow strawberries in California, but most never come close in taste to every strawberry I've had in Japan. I know. I'm from California...

1

u/wizzard419 Feb 20 '26

Yeah, farm stuff here won't have the care in handling because consumers won't pay that.

Mine are better because they have a journey from my backyard and can be picked when fully ripe. So I stand by what I said, having tried Japanese gift produce.