How about some pictures of Japanese scenery?
The farmers are beginning to harvest the rice around here and in the early mornings we can hear the combines going back and forth along the fields. Sort of a soft comforting sound really. I know nothing about rice farming but I've noticed when I've lived in different places in Japan that each area of Japan has different ways of stacking the rice stalks after they've been cut.
Some bunches of rice will be draped on specially built fences, others systematically piled in little stalks. In the past few years though, I've noticed that the farmers no longer stack the rice much anymore, so I asked one man who was working out in his field and he said that though rice tastes better dried slowly in the sun, nowadays all farmers have a rice drying machine that will dry the rice overnight. The rice plants are reaped and threshed and cleaned by the combine and then dried and bagged for the rice co-op to sell and this can all be done within about 24 hours.
Years ago, when all four of us were living here, I'd buy a 30 kilo bag (70lbs.?) of un-hulled rice from a farmer and hull it myself by one of the many hulling vending machines in our area (we really are a farming community!) I always thought 30 kilos of rice is a lot for a family but true Japanese who eat rice breakfast lunch and dinner will buy 90 to 150 kilos of rice and expect to eat it all in a year! Nowadays, with only Tetsu and me in the house, we just don't go through rice quickly enough for me to need such a big bag so I buy my rice at the grocery store 5 kilos at a time.
This week, one of the English kids' mothers brought me a small bag of "new rice" that her family had just freshly harvested. This is probably an all time favorite gift to receive in Japan. There's no way you can live without rice if you are a true Japanese family!
The farmers are beginning to harvest the rice around here and in the early mornings we can hear the combines going back and forth along the fields. Sort of a soft comforting sound really. I know nothing about rice farming but I've noticed when I've lived in different places in Japan that each area of Japan has different ways of stacking the rice stalks after they've been cut. 
Some bunches of rice will be draped on specially built fences, others systematically piled in little stalks. In the past few years though, I've noticed that the farmers no longer stack the rice much anymore, so I asked one man who was working out in his field and he said that though rice tastes better dried slowly in the sun, nowadays all farmers have a rice drying machine that will dry the rice overnight. The rice plants are reaped and threshed and cleaned by the combine and then dried and bagged for the rice co-op to sell and this can all be done within about 24 hours.
Years ago, when all four of us were living here, I'd buy a 30 kilo bag (70lbs.?) of un-hulled rice from a farmer and hull it myself by one of the many hulling vending machines in our area (we really are a farming community!) I always thought 30 kilos of rice is a lot for a family but true Japanese who eat rice breakfast lunch and dinner will buy 90 to 150 kilos of rice and expect to eat it all in a year! Nowadays, with only Tetsu and me in the house, we just don't go through rice quickly enough for me to need such a big bag so I buy my rice at the grocery store 5 kilos at a time.
This week, one of the English kids' mothers brought me a small bag of "new rice" that her family had just freshly harvested. This is probably an all time favorite gift to receive in Japan. There's no way you can live without rice if you are a true Japanese family!
11 comments:
Hi there Tanya! I'm finally getting around to catch up with everyone's blogs. I've really, really missed reading yours. I love learning more about Japan through your posts, as well as seeing the beautiful quilting done by you and your friends. I think I have 2-3 months worth of posts to read. I'm looking forward to doing so now!
Thanks for the great pics and for reminding me that I need to add one more item to my grocery list, we're almost out of rice!! EEEKKK!!!
More fascinating insights into a culture so different from the UK - I'm a bit perplexed though - I thought rice grew standing in water in paddy fields - if so do the fields get drained before the combines come in to harvest the crop because everything looks dry in your pictures - confused? that's me :o)
I loved reading about your blog and looking at the pictures, and learning where rice really comes from, that is nice about having some new bag of rice fresh from the fields.
lovely pictures and many inspirations!Warm regards Barbara
This comment has been removed by the author.
Your posts are always so full of information and I'm getting educated in the Japanese culture from reading them. Your rice cooker looks like my friend's here in the states. She cooks rice every day. I've been missing reading your and others' blogs during vacation week so am trying to get caught up. I won't have time to comment on all of them but will enjoy reading.
70 pounds! how do you even lift that? My mother buys 20 pound bags when she goes to the Indian grocery store, and shares them with us. At the regular grocery stores, you buy them by the ounces - well they have 5 pound, 2 pound, 1 pound, and I think half pound bags. And they don't taste as good.
How nice to be gifted with rice. Maybe you can return the favor and give them some chestnuts :)
ops excuse for my mistake is from Tokio no Taiwan.
ciao Tanya,
today in the afternoon a friend of my son will come here from Tokio.
He will stay here for a week and I will let him read your blog for sure!
ciao, ciao
I just love reading your blog!
As far as I know, I dont have any Japanese in me, but I would hate to have to live without rice in my diet. I love it! & always have done. But not as a sweet, so much, just like it plain.
What a nice blog you have. The photographs of the fields are so nice. Thanks for the look at Japan. Stephanie
Post a Comment