Inakadate Rice Paddy Art Travel Guide

You might have seen cornfield art. You might have seen sand art. But you’ve probably never come across rice field art before. Even if you have, you’ll still be amazed at the level of detail and scale which the ultra-creative rice farmers of Aomori can create.

At Inakadate, the farmers carefully choose, arrange, and plant various seeds to create truly monumental works of art. Everything from kanji and kami, to famous Japanese artworks, to iconic scenes from Hollywood — these creative farmers seem able to pull pretty much any picture off using just seeds and shears.

They’ve been practicing their totally unique style of art since 1993, when it began as part of an effort to bring tourism to the region. Now it’s a fully developed cultural event in its own right, lasting from May to October.

The village has two distinct places set aside as gigantic canvases, with the biggest over 3.5 acres in size! The style of art on display here is unlike anything found elsewhere in the world, so if you find yourself in Aomori City over summer, take the 45 minute drive down south to visit this one-of-a-kind place.