Oyama Senmaida Rice Terrace

Ooyama Senmaida is a terraced rice field recognized as one of Japan’s ‘Top 100 Terraced Rice Fields,’ and is known as the closest such terraced landscape to Tokyo. It also includes Japan’s only rainwater-fed terraced paddies (ten-suiden) cultivated solely with rainfall. At an elevation of 90–150 m, 375 terraced paddies spread across a 3.2-hectare slope over about 600 meters east-to-west. The scenery changes by season and is a soothing, superb-view spot for many visitors. The area is also part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ program for preserving and utilizing cultural landscapes, and it has introduced an “owner system” that supports landscape conservation while offering agricultural experiences for urban residents. Each autumn, an event called the “Tanada Night Festival” used to light about 3,000 torches, but now it uses LEDs instead: “Tanada no Akari / Tanada no Yomatsuri,” held from mid-October to early January. Of the 10,000 LED lights, 6,000 have been upgraded to lights that change across four colors, delighting visitors. The best seasons to visit are early summer and autumn. In early summer after rice planting, the lush green rice swaying in the breeze creates a photogenic landscape. In autumn, you can see golden rice ears bowing with ripeness and a different view after harvest, with rice hung on racks (hazegake). It’s a must-see spot on a Boso trip. Access is from JR Sotobo Line Awa-Kamogawa Station: take the bus bound for Kanatsuka, get off at “Kamanuma,” then walk about 20 minutes.