Rice Planting In Takanezawa

Last weekend, the Hughes family took us to our first rice planting. Larry works at HGT which is our design facility. They will be finishing their assignment later this year. It was about 5000 yen ($50) but you get to return every so often to participate in other activities - rice planting, strawberry picking, tomato picking... we are really not sure what all is included.


Anyway, we had a pretty good time planting the rice field. The kids got to ride the tractor that plants most of the rice. There are also frogs that flock to the rice fields so the kids had fun trying to catch frogs. I was up to my knees in mud for about 2 hours. I think we receive some of the rice at the end, but I am not positive. I feel like I say that a lot... I really am not ever completely sure of what is going on.



For "Newbies" like us, we had to introduce ourselves using the customary megaphone. It was sweet. I am actually getting used to introducing myself. You do it nearly every day because there is always someone the stops to talk to you or vice versa.




The first step is to fill the tractor with rice seedlings. My sensei told me the vocabulary word for them but I forgot it. I am having a hard enough time reviewing what I already "know". It is a little difficult to learn new words.



We had a small area that we used to get used to the mud - feeling, walking around, making squishy sounds, etc.




We were told to grab a chunk of rice seedlings. Our job was to track down areas that the tractor missed and also to fill in the areas where the tractor cannot get to.
3 seedlings per space. They were spaced about 3 inches apart and the rows were about 8 or 9 inches apart.



I believe that this is the tractor's fourth pass. You can see the workers starting to fill in along the fence.



Denny just before we started into the field.








On your marks, get set... GO!. We later found out that the area we were planting would be run over by the tractor when it needed to exit the field. Good information, just a little late.




Savannah lost her balance and sat back in the mud. I later hand rinsed her shorts and then washed them twice, but they are still muddy. And no, those are not socks, it's mud.





One of the frogs that the kids caught.






I watched a woman take the lead in filling in where the tractor fingers missed planting the seedlings. About 15 minutes later I realized that I was the only person in the middle of the field. No one said anything so I just kept going. And no, those aren't socks... I still have dirt in my toenails that I can't get out. I cut them and scrubbed them, but they still look dirty.











Beside the fields are waterways that feed the fields. Denny decided this was a good place for an ofuro - bath. Actually, not a bad idea. I wish I had thought of it.









Savannah with a kaeru - frog.






Afterwards, we had an onigiri lunch - rice balls with different seasonings. They also had shaved ice with syrup for the kids.





This is the finished product. Overall, it was a great experience. I can't imagine how hard this would have been without the tractor. I am hoping to go back every so often to check out the progress.