Tilling the paddy experience (Report)

On November 6th and 7th, 17 participants from the Tokyo metropolitan area and Niigata joined the tilling the paddy session of \’ABC in a rice paddy\’. The participants included foreigners who wanted to experience autumn in a mountain village, a couple who are interested in organic farming.

 

\’ABC in a rice paddy\’ is the program aims to learn from traditional organic farming done by hand and wisdom, and dealing with the most preferred brand rice in Japan, \’Uonuma Koshihikari\’.

Foreign participants enjoyed tilling rice plants into the paddies.
Foreign participants enjoyed tilling rice plants into the paddies.

Tilling the rice paddy session was held on November 6th and 7th at Tochikubo with 17 participants.

On the first day, participants enjoyed the great scenery of beautiful autumn leaves in the mountains along an old path, and went on a tour to observe creatures of Tochikubo.

Participants joined the village harvest festival and enjoyed conversation with local residents.
Participants joined the village harvest festival and enjoyed conversation with local residents.

On the second day, participants saw the enormous scale of a sea of clouds as they walked down the hill to get to the rice paddy. They learned how to use a spade from a local expert and tried to till rice plants into the paddies for soil fertility. After several hours of experience, they participated in the village harvest festival and enjoyed local foods and communication with the local residents.

In the feedback, many of the participants commented about the impression of rich nature and the hospitality they received from the villagers. It seems that the participants learned many things from nature, way of life, and the culture of Tochikubo.