Don’t worry: your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you and this isn’t the work of some very artistic aliens. These gorgeous fields exist in the small Japanese town of Inakadate, Aomori. When looking for a way to revitalize their community, the village settled on the 2,000 year old tradition of rice fields…but with a non-traditional twist. Carefully planting four different grain varieties, they use the fields as an enormous canvas for the intricate artwork. Now, tourists pack the town every summer for a look at this years’ impressive new designs.
Most of the rice murals depict historical Japanese folklore.
This is how it looks in the fall. Still beautiful!
It’s also used for advertising, this one for Tsugaru Roman rice.
And lots of pop culture!
They use ropes to map out the design…
And watch it grow.
(h/t: Web Ecoist) It’s the perfect time to buy that ticket to Japan and see for yourself! Share with friends using the link below to see if they’d like to tag along.