Since 1993, the village ofInakadatein northern Japan has been revitalizing its culture through amazingrice paddy art, ortamboato.
Every May, about 1,300 volunteers come together to plant different varieties of rice in an intricate design.
Over the years, the designs have become more and more extravagant.
These complex designs can be attributed to the planning of former high school teacher Atsushi Yamamoto.
Using a computer image-processing software, I make changes as I plan the design, hesays.
From about mid-June until early October, the rice paddy art can be viewed from the observatory tower.
Already the village debt is a third of what it was 10 years ago due to the tourism boost.
Rice-field art has become synonymous with Inakadate, saysFumihito Suzuki, who works at the local tourism department.
Next year, wed like to go back to planting both sites.
you’ve got the option to follow Inakadate Village onFacebookto see more photos of the rice paddy art.
The Japanese village of Inakadate is famous for its rice paddy art.
