Godzilla! ...Rice

Yesterday we took a trip towards Hirosaki (2 hours west of us) to see the rice art.  This was the last weekend to see it, as the rice fields in the area are being harvested now.  We had made it over there once last year, but got to the site just as they had closed.  This year Jeff was determined to see it, because, this year...  it was Godzilla!

Even standing in the viewing tower, 4 stories high, it was impossible to get the whole field in one regular picture.  There are two sites here.  One is two fields, separated by a road, but this field is one huge canvas.

So for the first time I tried to take a panorama picture with my phone.

Here's the view from ground level.

From different sides of the viewing tower, you could also see rock art.

I thought these were really neat too; made from lots and lots of small stones.

Our path back took us though the mountains.  The colors are just starting to change.

To close, here's a picture of Jeff on his steed, our transportation for the day.

He has done quite a bit of riding here this summer and I go with him every so often.  He's been learning a lot about some beautiful roads in his wanderings.  I enjoy riding with him, but I do miss having my own bike too.  We've window shopped for another bike and will most likely end up with (at least) one more for our fleet during our time here.  If it's one I can ride (as in short enough - my feet don't even touch the ground on the "horse" above), then I'll be able to do some two-wheeled exploring also.