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Inakadate Rice Paddy Art

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

rice paddy artInakadatetanbo artobservation towersummer

Photo: Glenn Waters / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · original

Aomori has plenty of scenery; Inakadate Rice Paddy Art is the kind that's worth planning a whole day around.

In 1993 the village of Inakadate, looking for something to do about a declining population, planted a small design in a paddy using rice varieties with different coloured leaves. Three decades later it is a village-wide operation using a dozen or more strains of rice in purple, yellow, white, orange and several greens, plotted by computer and planted by hand by hundreds of volunteers, producing images of astonishing tonal complexity across an entire field.

This is where the practice began, and the work here remains the most technically ambitious in Japan. It only reads from height, so the village office and a second site each have an observation tower. The rice is real and is harvested. The design changes every year, is unveiled in late May, and is at its most vivid from August as the plants fill in — after which it is cut and the field goes back to being a field.

Visiting essentials

Best season

August–early October, when the colours are fully developed

How long to allow

45–60 minutes per site

Hours

Displayed from late May to early October | Observation towers keep daytime hours

Closed: No display from October to May

Entry fee

¥300 junior high school age and above | ¥100 elementary school children | Preschoolers free | Each site ticketed separately

Getting there

Getting there in detail

Nakatsuji, Inakadate, Minamitsugaru District. The first site is at the village office observation tower, by car from Aomori city, by car from JR Kawabe Station, or a short walk from the Hatanaka bus stop on the Hirosaki–Kuroishi line. The second site, Yayoi no Sato, is by car from Kuroishi IC or a short walk from Tanbo Art Station on the Konan Railway. Admission ¥300 for junior high school age and above and ¥100 for elementary school children; preschoolers free. Displayed from late May to early October.

Local knowledge

**August to early October is when it looks best.** The plants have filled in, the colours have developed and the image is at full resolution. In June it is legible but thin. **You must go up the tower.** From ground level it is a paddy field. The whole thing is designed to be viewed from the observation deck at a specific angle, which is what you are paying the ¥300 for. **Two sites, two designs.** The village office tower and Yayoi no Sato carry different images each year and are ticketed separately. The second is right beside its own railway station. **Designs change annually.** Check what is planted before you go if the subject matters to you — recent years have covered everything from classical painting to local pop groups. **It ends with the harvest.** The field is cut in early October and there is nothing to see after that until the following June.

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