Grandpa, Grandma, and I, along with my younger brother, participated in our annual rice planting preparations.
The day before, I had been camping in Gunma Prefecture, so I uploaded some photos from that trip to the gallery. If you’re interested, please check out that post as well (laughs).
Camping and Seed Sowing in Early May
In Japan, many companies take about a week off from late April to early May, a period known as Golden Week. I was finally able to take time off during the latter half of this holiday.
I visited the mountain stream two months after the fishing ban was lifted and had a tough time. However, I enjoyed a day filled with the morning mist over the mountains, events celebrating Children’s Day in a small town, and the soothing atmosphere of the stream.
The next day, I visited a campsite by a lake in Gunma Prefecture and stopped by an onsen on my way back to prepare for the rice planting the following day.
This time of year is my favorite, and I have great respect for whoever decided that April marks the beginning of the year (laughs).
Well, the photos are from May, though…
Fields in Mid-May
Even in May, the waiting box remains empty.
Strawberries became available for harvest during the latter half of Golden Week, and the second week was the peak, yielding over four large Ziploc bags worth of jam.
Meanwhile, the corn in Grandpa and Grandma’s field was growing strong in preparation for the harvest at the end of the month.
End of May
On the last Sunday of May, corn harvesting began.
The first day saw only a small quantity, and from then until the end of June, Grandpa and Grandma will be working summer hours in sync with the corn harvesting. They wake up at 4 AM and go to bed around 8 PM—definitely summer time (laughs).
After helping with the harvest, I returned to the mountain stream for a revenge fishing trip during Golden Week.
Finally, I managed to catch my first fish of the season!
