Rice farming 1 – preparations before planting

Rice is a staple food in Japan, and Niigata is known as one of the biggest rice production areas in the country. The Uonuma region is famous for producing a top brand known as “Uonuma Koshihikari”. Here is a step-by-step outline of how rice is grown according to seasons.

In the Uonuma region, rice planting season is from mid-May to the end of the month.  In order to plant at that time, preparation must begin in April. First, rice seedlings need to be grown and rice paddies need to be prepared. Rice is not grown from seed in the paddies. Instead, pallets of seedlings are grown ahead of time in greenhouses.  

During that time, rice paddies are prepared by a process of cultivating the paddies (Ta-okoshi), making or reinforcing the barriers between rice paddies (Aze-nuri) and flooding the paddies with water to soften the soil which will help the seedlings roots spread (Shiro-kaki). Once the above preparations have been made, rice planting can begin.