Wyoming Breezes

Rice plant northern Japan 1980 Rice paddies were common sites in northern Japan. Previous posts can be seen here . In Japan, rice is served with nearly every meal and is usually sticky so it can be easily eaten with chopsticks. electric rice cooker source Prior to living in Japan, I did not eat much rice, but once I discovered the electric rice cooker in a Japanese department store, I was a convert. Perfect rice every time; no fuss and no mess. Tanya  (who lives in Japan) recently wrote a post about a class field trip to the rice fields in her area. Read her post about Rice Planting Class  here .

Rice fields ready for harvest Northern Japan Autumn 1979 The rice was cut and grouped into bundles or shocks.  The shocks were then hung on support poles to cure and dry. When the rice was sufficiently dry, the combine  was brought into the field. The dried shocks were fed through a combine by hand.  Bags attached to the machine collected the rice grains.  Fields are burned after the harvest.  This video illustrates the rice harvest today, thirty-two years later.  The process is considerably less labor intensive  but not nearly as picturesque.

View of rice fields in China December 1979 Another view of the rice fields in China: an earlier post can be seen here .

View of fields in China December 1979 When the tour group was staying in Hong Kong, we took a bus to the border of China. We did not go into China, but from a hilltop we had a good view of the farms along the border. I'm fairly certain that these are rice fields. Yes, that is smog on the horizon in 1979. I can only imagine how much thicker it is now. A photo of me standing at the border can be seen in this post .

Rice Planting Near Misawa, Japan Spring 1980 I was thrilled to happen upon these women planting rice in the flooded fields one afternoon. The women were very gracious and allowed me to take their photo and to watch them work. The blue basket tied around their waists held the seedlings, and each one was planted by hand. It looked like back-breaking work.  The women were definitely skilled because their rows were perfectly even and straight.  I can't even imagine how many hours it took them to plant this one field.  This short video shows how today's technology has made planting much easier and faster. The Fall rice harvest can be seen in this post .