A sight-seeing Mecca since the Edo Era

Kyushu is a treasury of terraced rice paddies. Every prefecture has these fascinating stair-step like terraced paddies climbing the slopes of hills where people come to see the planting of rice seedlings during the spring rains and harvesting of the ripened ears of grain in autumn. Even more impressive is the Wajima area of Noto Peninsula, famous for its thousand terraced paddies, where the wide expanse of the Japan Sea can be seen in the distance. And, of course the impressive scenery made by the contrast of stone walls and the color of the rice paddies in the ravines of Warabino at Saga Ouchi-cho cannot be forgotten. But the terraced rice paddies of Unzen, the first area in Japan to be designated as a national park, have continued to be a favorite of foreign visitors since the opening of Japan after "sakoku," the period of national isolation. It seems that Kazusa, on the south-west side of Shimabara Peninsula, in particular held a nostalgic attraction for visitors from Europe. The scene from the peaceful terraced paddies overlooking Tachibana Bay at the entrance to the East China Sea no doubt reminded them of their homeland.

Terraced Rice Paddies ("Tanada Rice Paddies"): Kazusa, Shimabara Peninsula