Inakadate Village Observation Deak (Rice Art, Rice Art, Aomori Prefecture)
#Overseas travel
Tanbo Art (田んぼアート) Rice field art, Mystery Circle (Inakadate Village, Minamitsugaru, Aomori Prefecture)
I've seen rice field paintings called Rice field art~! Mystery Circle~! etc. Back when I was young, a singer named Seo Taiji used it for marketing purposes when he made a comeback.
I saw it in a video at the time, and I'm going to visit it this time. I think rice field is called Tanbo (田んぼ) in Japanese. That's why it's called Tanbo Art (田んぼアート).
There is even an unmanned Tanbo Art Station that only stops temporarily from April to September when Tanbo Art is held. The line that operates here is the private railway Conan Railway.
It is a local slow train that takes about 50 minutes from Hirosaki City to Kuroishi. IC cards are not accepted, so tickets must be purchased with cash.
The interval between trains is 1~2 per hour, and except for rush hour, it seems to be 1 per hour. It is a small city trip that requires careful planning.
We will stay at a hotel 1 minute from Hirosaki Station, have breakfast, and then leave for Kuroishi on the 7:30 train. After sightseeing for about 45 minutes, we will move to Anakadate Station.
The first Danbo Art stage is a 20-minute walk from here. Danbo Art plants works every spring and cuts them down around October when the rice is ripe.
Then, new works are planted the following spring. Rice field art unfolds at the same location every year. The first and second observatories are about 2.5 kilometers apart.
The second observatory is connected to the Danbo Art Station, so it is easy to access. If you are not renting a car, you can take a free shuttle bus to the first observatory. It goes back and forth between the two observatories every 30 minutes.
Each observatory requires an admission fee of 300 yen. You can also watch photos of previous works and videos of the Danbo Art process at the observatory.
The day I visited was early September, the peak season, so it was packed with people, including group tourists, from early in the morning. I walked along the rice field path.
As I crossed the artwork site, I could see the different colors of the rice, and I was grateful that the local residents greeted me warmly every time I passed by.
After leisurely appreciating the two works at the first observatory, I took the free shuttle to the second observatory and saw both works as well as the works in the doll.
When boarding the Conan train at the Danbo Art unmanned station at 9:47, take a numbered ticket and keep it safe, and pay in cash when you get off at Hirosaki Station.
Traveling to small cities in Japan is impossible without cash. You also need cash for the Danbo Art admission ticket. The JR at Hirosaki Station also accepts cash. Surprisingly, buses accept IC cards.
The Danbo Art official website provides on-site news through live cameras and daily uploads, and you can also check the shuttle bus schedule, which was very helpful when planning a trip.
In addition to this place, Danbo Art exists in many areas of Tohoku. If you complete the Akita Inland Circular Train, you will find 4 Danbo Art spots.
I visited one of them. In terms of scale, Inakadate is overwhelming. If you are traveling to Aomori in August or September, I think it is a place worth seeing at least once. Thank you.
#AomoriTravel #JapanTravel #DanboArt #RicePaddyArt #Hirosaki #TohokuTravel #ScenicRestaurants #OnePiece