Perfect Rice Planting Day!

Golden Week is in full swing, and our neighboring farmers are busy with rice planting. Large rice planting machines are rolling out from garages, and trays of rice seedlings are lined up along the paths of each rice field. Everyone seems to be quite busy.

Continuing from our last experience, another farmer invited us to observe the rice planting!

This time, a family that stayed with us three years ago came to visit, so we took them along. Unlike last time, when we had 2 adults, this visit included two young children and their parents so they couldn't ride the planting machine. The children used their striders while the father chased after them on a kickboard, and the mother followed walking with us.

The older girl has been growing rice seedlings in a bucket, starting from brown rice that has sprouted. The parents were attentively explaining things to the kids while making sure they didn't fall into the rice paddies.

Even though we've been in Sasayama for 14 years, we hadn't heard much about rice planting or farming in detail, so it was very interesting to learn directly from the professional farmer.

Once the planting was wrapped up, we returned home to enjoy our reunion. I was truly amazed at how much the girls have grown. It's a bit of mixed feelings to realize we're aging too! 😅

Still, both kids remembered us well, and although our time together was short, we played, shared lunch, and watched the swallows building their nest at our place. They headed home via Arima Onsen to join a strider event.

I'm really grateful that our neighbors invite us to participate in their farming activities and chat with us so casually. Thank you for having us despite your busy schedules!