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The Noto Peninsula
juts out into the Sea of Japan between the east
and west ends of the long Japanese Archipelago.
Senmaida is a group of small terraced rice paddies
on the steep hillsides extending downward to the
ocean. The rice paddies are placed symmetrically
like a fan along part of the peninsula. The terraced
paddies allow water to flow from the top layers
to the bottom ones in orderly and smooth fashion.
When Japan used to place great emphasis on growing
a lot of rice as its agricultural policy, this concept
was adopted as both functional and beautiful. |
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Senmaida
literally means one thousand rice paddies. Indeed,
this region features 1004 of them as the name stands
for. You will be captivated by the fantasy landscape
of each rice paddy reflecting the setting sun and
the full moon before rice is planted as well as
by the picturesque one with the rice planted. |
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The rice production
at Senmaida is an extremely painstaking and primitive
process as no machine can be employed there, amid
the age of completely mechanized agriculture in
Japan. It is said that growing rice manually there
takes three times as much effort as doing it with
machines. No matter how anachronistic Senmaida may
be, as the symbol of the region, the quaint Senmaida
is still well-preserved by volunteer farmers. In
autumn, when the harvest season comes, some couples
celebrate their weddings standing right in the middle
of the paddy fields. |
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