In 1993, the people of Inakadate, Aomori were looking for a way to revitalize their village. Archaeological exploration led to a realization that rice had been grown in the area for more than 2000 years. To honor this history, the villagers started a rice field behind the town hall. With the paddy as a canvas, the villagers cultivated and used four different types of heirloom and modern strains of rice to create a giant picture in the field. To allow viewing of the whole picture, a mock castle tower 22 meters high was erected at the village office. In 2006, more than 200,000 people visited the village to see the art. ~ Wikipedia
We traveled to Inakadate today to see the rice field art or Tanbo Art. We took the scenic route on the way there, it took about 3 hours. This took us through gorgeous Lake Towada. I should do another post of just pictures of it, it is that magnificent. We took my sister there last year on her visit. I got a fabulous shot of her near Oirase Gorge. It is a huge area and a National Park. We drove through the heavy forest and winding roads. There are many places that cars stop because of various waterfalls and rolling streams. There were many hikers, cars, tour buses, even motorcycles.
Once we were close to Kuroishi (where we have gone to the Kokeshi Museum) and Hirosaki (where Hirosaki Castle is and we've been several times) we knew we were close. I was surprised at the lack of signs to help guide us there. Once we got there, there was quite a line to get in. It is free, but they accept donations to help cover the cost of the Tanbo Art.
The tower structure that you climb up was surprisingly small. But it had a great view of the rice field. There was two parts. One side was 2 ladies fanning a third with a pretty yellow background. They seemed to be floating on clouds. The other side was 2 old men sitting down, with a background of bamboo and a sun. Both sides had writing on the bottom...no idea what it said. It was amazing to see, I'm glad we had the chance. Of the 150 people that we saw there, we were the ONLY Americans! Was pretty surprised. But made me feel good that Berto and I are going "outside the box" and experiencing some Japanese culture. (Although it is fairly new culture, I don't see it going anywhere).
On the way back we took the shorter way with toll roads. There was two with a total of 2,030 Yen or $25.79. Yuck. We also found a great 100 yen store. Then back to our city to go straight to the Misawa Tanabata Matsuri or Star Festival. We had street food for our dinner. Some delicious yakisoba, yakitori and a lamb gyro. Berto and I shared everything, so romantic.
=) GREAT DAY!!! (Will post more pictures on Facebook).
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