Rice paddy art

Hi! This is Takayuki Sato.
Have you ever seen Rice paddy art?
Rice paddy art is created by planting rice of various types and colors.
In Inakadate village, Aomori prefecture, people draw variety of designs on rice fields every year, fascinating visitors with beautiful contrast of colors.

This year, the theme of the art is "Gone with the Wind" and "Star Wars."
This rice paddy art projected was launched in 1993, as a part of "Rice farming workshop," which is an event in which participants experience the whole process of rice farming from plating to harvesting in a traditional way. This was an attempt to pass down the rice farming tradition of northern part of Japan that has been lasting since Yayoi period, which is nearly 2000 years ago.
Initially, they were creating letters by planting rice of different colors, however, the design of the
art were getting sophisticated year by year, thereby attracting more attention and people to the village. Today, rice paddy art has become the signature event of Inakadate village and is playing a big part in revitalizing the village.
The popularity of rice paddy art in Inakadate village is spreading the art throughout Japan.
Furthermore, the art went viral on the internet and is entertaining people from all over the world.
It's still difficult to recognize the design of the art since they planted rice recently. But, in the summer, we can enjoy wonderful rice paddy art! Can't wait!

 

Coop (Japan’s famous supermarket)

Assalamualaykum,
Too tired to cook? Don’t worry! If you live near Coop (Japan’s famous supermarket), you will find many Halal (InsyaALLAH) takeout foods with Muslim friendly ingredients. My favorite takeout food from this store is Sushi; their sushi do not contain any Mirin/Gelatin in the rice. Unfortunately, the soy sauce inside the Sushi package contains alcohol, so it’s better to use another soy sauce (Don't use packaged one).
Another takeout food that you may find it Halal is: Maki. Maki is a type of sushi roll that rice and various fillings (basically fish and vegetables) are wrapped in a sheet of dried seaweed. You can also try their fresh Salmon Marinade, which raw salmon slices are marinated in lemon juice with sliced onion. It tastes refreshing and energizing!

Another food that, insyaALLAH, you can try is their “Maguro no Tataki” and “Udon set,” Although emulsifiers is listed as one of ingredients, we confirmed with Coop directly that they use emulsifiers derived from plants (it’s safe to consume for Muslim, InsyaALLAH).
Coop’s variety of fresh salads are Halal as well, insyaALLAH, as long as no meat is added.
Another thing that I like about Coop’s Sushi is, it will be way more cheaper when you buy it between 9 to 10 PM; the price goes down around 50%
It’s the Student strategy! lol.

Tsuyahime

Welcome to Tohoku where every prefecture has its own rice brand of excellent quality. Tsuyahime, famous rice from Yamagata, is fluffy delicious rice that will melt in your mouth. Enjoy it with a variety of Japanese traditional foods or eggs; yes raw eggs. Place it on top of hot Tsuyahime rice and, voila, it’s very delicious.