Gordon and I arrived back in Japan two days ago after almost a month in the U.S. After getting off the airplane and driving back to Tonosho, we were greeted by the lush, green rice paddies that surround our town. Its hard to think about Japan without thinking about rice. And it just so happens that right now is rice harvesting season!
I like rice for many reasons. Reason#1: its a food, I like food and it happens to be delicious. Reason#2: its relatively healthy (if you don't drown it in soy sauce or melt a stick of butter over it). Reason#3: rice is the most important product in Japan and is treated with respect. Reason#4: I absolutely love the look of rice paddies when the shoots are growing... it one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
 |
| Rice right after being planted. Struggling to survive. |
 |
| Baybee rices. |
 |
| I title this one: Sunset over rice paddy. |
 |
| A man tending to his rice. Just a man and his rice. |
 |
| Even herons love rice. |
Now, before you start thinking I'm some sort of a nut over rice, you have to give me the benefit of the doubt. I live in a country where rice is included in almost every meal. If you don't like rice and you live in Japan, then GET OUT!
Its almost bittersweet that its rice harvesting time. On one hand, the rice is the most beautiful when its fully grown and the rice grains are gracefully hanging on the shoot and swaying in the breeze. On the other hand, once the rice is harvested a large dirt rectangle is left behind and soils the beautiful landscape until the rice is planted again in March.
 |
| "Oh beautiful for shoots of rice for green waves of grain..." |
 |
| Yummy. |
 |
| Harvesting time. |
 |
| Bye-bye rice :( |
For whatever reason, some of the best rice comes from a small town in Chiba called Tako. Gordon and I were given about 30 kilograms of Tako rice by one of the teachers at Tonosho Junior High. We didn't realize this precious gift until we told people about our "Tako rice" and they nearly had a religious experience at our mention of it. We don't live far from Tako, so hopefully we can make a trip to see what Tako is all about and pay our respects to our supplier of rice.
 |
| The town of Tako in dark pink. |
So that about sums up my love affair with rice. Now I'm going to eat a bowl of the stuff!
