The rice harvest is now over. We were able to harvest 40 sacks of rice from our rice field, each of which holds 30 kg. Seeing as our rice field is 2,000 sq m in size, this gives us an average of 20 x 30 kg sacks (600 kg) per 1,000 sq m. This is the first time ever that we have had such a huge crop. The national average for last year's crop was 522 kg/1,000 sq m, with the average for Miyagi Prefecture being 532 kg/1,000 sq m. I'm really delighted that our crop did so well, as the harvest in Miyagi Prefecture this year as a whole is said to have been worse than the national average due to the long spell of rain we had.

Last night we had a feast using the new rice, which we have christened Hotaru-mai, or "Firefly Rice". You could really tell the difference; the rice had a beautiful aroma, and tasted very delicious.

We obviously gave great thanks to God and to our ancestors for giving us such a bumper crop. We did this by making an offering of a large bowl of rice in front of the Buddhist altar in our home and praying with the words: "We thank you for this year's blessings."

Having finished the harvesting, I tilled the rice field by tractor. I have always ended up doing the tilling once the weather has turned cold, but this year I was able to finish working on the field while the weather was still warm.

The rice field, now harvested, will rest until next year, exposed to the wind and rain.

The rice field, too, must be thanked for its hard work.

A rice harvesting tour, set up through JTB Tohoku and JAPANiCAN, saw around 20 overseas guests make their way from places like Sendai and Tokyo to help in the harvest of my family's rice field.

The guests first had the environmental conditions of this area--known as the "Home of Fireflies"--explained to them. This area has garnered attention thanks to its clean air, water, and land and is the northernmost habitat of Genji Botaru fireflies (Luciola cruciata), which are known as being "environmental barometers". We told the participants the all about the local rice, which we have christened Hotaru-mai or "Firefly Rice". The local fireflies and clear water are the symbols of the clean environment in which this safe, delicious, and healthy rice is grown.

After this, with the cooperation of other people from the area, the participants were shown how to harvest the rice at my paddy field.
Using a sickle can be dangerous work; but when I saw the smile on the faces of the people who were trying out rice harvesting for the first time, I really felt that this project had been a success.

After the rice harvest, we had a mochitsuki ceremony, in which glutinous rice is pounded into a paste to make mochi, a type of rice cake. We sat around eating the mochi and enjoying spending time with one another.

I feel that this is a really important time for these kinds of exchanges between the city and the countryside, as well as to give visitors from abroad the chance to experience the culture of the Japanese countryside. Hopefully, through these exchanges we will be able to achieve the so-called "vitalization" of rural, semi-mountainous areas such as this.

The visitors also went to see the local Tome City sights of Kesoku-ji Temple and Meiji Mura Museum on their way home.

Thanks to the weather in the first half of the year, the rice crop was doing well, but the long downpours we have had of late are worrying for the growth of the ripening rice.

Not only this, but if the paddy fields are sludgy during harvest time, it will make the harvest that much more difficult.

We also have to worry that if the rain continues as it has been, the rice will become heavy and the rice plants will collapse.

I just hope that no typhoons hit before harvest time.

We hope you've enjoyed getting a small peek at life on a small rice field in Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture since April of this year. The rice shoots have grown strong and healthy, and it's time for the harvest. Now you have a chance to help! We're very excited to present the details of the Okumatsushima Fishing & Tome Rice Harvesting Tour, a truly unique opportunity to come to Tome and experience firsthand everything that we've been bringing to you on this blog. In addition to harvesting rice in Tome, the tour will also visit nearby Okumatsushima for an exhilarating fishing adventure!

The tour's first stop will be Okumatsushima, a small fishing village located among the vibrant landscapes of Miyagi Prefecture. Local fishermen and owners of small guesthouses will act as instructors, teaching the methods of basket fishing for octopus and crab that have been practiced in their village for generations, as well as various rope work techniques useful both in the fishing industry and normal life. After spending the night in the fishermen's guesthouses, the tour moves on to the second day.

Day two begins on a small island in the east of Matsushima Bay. Tour members will embark on a 500 meter hike through the splendor of Otakamori forest, ending with a breathtaking view of the surrounding area. Finally the tour will arrive in Tome City, home to the writers of this blog and famous in Japan for its production of superior rice, not only a staple of Japan's diet but of its culture as well. Everyone on the tour will get a chance to assist in the harvesting of that important cultural item. Besides its rice production, Tome City also has a rich and varied history. After rice harvesting, the tour will visit the "Meiji Village of Miyagi" to learn about the history of Tome City in the Meiji Era (1868-1912), before concluding the tour at Sendai Station.

Tour Outline
Dates
27 September - 28 September 2008　(No cancellation for rain)
*One guide will accompany the tour from Sendai Station

Schedule
27 September
- 12:45 p.m. Assemble at Sendai Station West Exit Charter Bus Terminal
- Okumatsushima Jomon Village Historical Museum (orientation)
- Fishing Adventure (basket fishing, rope work)
- Check In (guest house)

Basket Fishing in Okumatsushima (Photo for illustrative purposes only.)

28 September
- 9:00 a.m. Check Out (guest house)
- Otakamori Trekking
- Tome City (rice harvesting, mochi rice cake making, cultural exchange lunch)
- Tome City Meiji Village Tour
- 5:30 p.m. (estimated) Tour concludes at Sendai Station

Participants
Up to 25　(Tour will only be held if 20 or more participants sign up)

Application Period
Friday, 19 September 2008 (5:00 PM)

Eligible Participants
Non-residents of Japan or groups with at least one non-resident that meet the following requirements. (Participants of any age, gender, or nationality are free to join this tour; however children 15 years of age or younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.)
- Tour participants must be able to communicate in English or Japanese.
- Participants must not have any health conditions preventing fishing or harvesting activities.
- All participants must have and provide a viable contact method until the day of the tour.

Price
JPY 10,000 per person (adult/child price is the same)
*Transportation, Lodging, Meals, Service Charge, Taxes Included
Tour Participants will receive a map outlining sightseeing areas in the Tohoku region.

To Apply
After downloading and completing all required sections of the application form, please read all aspects of the terms and conditions and fax the completed form to the JTB Tohoku Corporate Sales Sendai Branch Office on 022 (263) 6693.

For more information, see our press release
JAPANiCAN Inc. offers unique Japanese rural experience: "Okumatsushima Fishing & Tome Rice Harvesting Tour" to be conducted September 27, 28 [PDF/68KB]

Don't miss this truly unique opportunity! Spend September in the beautiful weather of the Tohoku region, and see a part of rural Japanese culture many Japanese themselves have never experienced!

As the heat continues, the shoots have all produced ears of rice. If the good weather continues and we escape without a typhoon this season, we should have a bumper crop this year.

Once the plants produce ears, they flower, and then once they have been pollinated, the grains grow larger.

Lake Naganuma, located within the city of Tome, is the largest lake in Miyagi Prefecture.
Every summer, a huge number of Naganuma Lotus flowers burst into bloom on the surface of the lake.

Beautiful lotus flowers are said to bloom in the Pure Land: the heavenly place as described in Pure Land Buddhism.
I took the opportunity to go around the lake by boat, weaving in and out among the lotus flowers. The Naganuma Lotus, with its large leaf and beautiful flower, is well known throughout Japan by the name Kodai hasu (Ancient lotus). These plants are in fact edible, and were actually being sold.

From this year, Kodai hasu will start being shipped for sale on the Tokyo market. The fact that this naturally occurring flower has become a source of income is of great excitement to the local Tourist Association.

This summer alone, 70,000 people will come here to admire the lotus flowers--a natural resource that has become a boon for the local area.

I am quite sure that people seeing this amazing scenery for the first time will be deeply impressed, and I hope to see this area of Tome City become a popular tourist attraction.
With lotus flowers in bloom in the summer and tulips bursting into full bloom here in spring, we hope that you too will be able to make it here sometime soon.

Getting to Lake Naganuma
- From Sendai Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line, take a Tohoku Line local train (70 minutes) to Nitta Station. A 10-minute taxi ride from the station.
Or
- A 20-minute taxi ride from Kurikoma-Kogen Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line.
Or
- A 30-minute drive from either the Tsukidate Interchange or the Wakayanagi Kanari Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway.

In addition to the City of Vernon in Canada, Tome also has a sister city agreement with the City of South Lake in Texas, USA.

In 1988, Tome High School was assigned an ALT from the City of Houston in Texas. When this ALT returned home, they wrote about Toyoma Town (as Tome City was then known) in an international exchange-related magazine. This article caught the eye of South Lake's mayor, and this then became the impetus for further interchange between the two towns.

Toyoma Town and South Lake entered into a sister city agreement in 2004, and when Toyoma Town merged with some surrounding areas and became Tome City in 2006, the sister city agreement with South Lake was re-signed.

Over 400 people, including junior high school and high school students, have been involved in mutual exchanges between the two cities.

This year, too, we have welcomed a group of visitors from South Lake City. We had a grand pot-luck party with around 200 participants in total. It was great to see Tome City students who had been abroad through international exchanges really getting involved and watching the international ties being created before our eyes.

We look forward to the ties and exchange between the young Japanese and US students deepening further even after they graduate.

Bathed in the summer sun, the rice is growing strong and healthy, so we are all looking forward to delicious rice come the autumn. A tour has been planned to coincide with the rice harvest. Although full details are yet to be decided, the tour will start and end at Sendai Station and take place on 26/27 September 2008 (i.e. two days, one night). Participants will first go fishing among the islets of Matsushima and then head to Tome City to help in the rice harvest.

We are looking forward to seeing you!