Although we got things a bit out of order, we have come full circle with the rice in Rippongi Hills. The residents and workers are invited to participate in special events by the building association. We've had so much fun at their other events, we wanted to join all the activities at least once. When my husband saw the sign announcing a rice planting event, he jumped at the chance and registered us right away.
We were blessed with a very nice, but not too hot, day. Since we were on a roof, I was worried about it being too hot and ruining the activity with "heat grumpiness." We arrived excited to participate and ready to get in the mud. The roof of the building has a lovely garden. It has been neat to see it in three seasons, as this is our third visit. The grass was bright green and the plants had a certain vibrancy, as young plants often do.
After a short welcome speech, everyone quickly removed their shoes and rolled up their pants. We were not planting rice seeds. Instead, they provided rice starts that were about 6 inches tall.
There were assistants in the very muddy field as well as people holding a string across the field. The string had little markers along it to indicate where the rice should be planted. This way the rice can be spaced properly.
The planting seemed like it was more for the kids and less for the adults, so I let my husband and son do the dirty work. Children (and a couple parents) waded in and stuck small clumps of rice plants along a marked string. My son (who loves mud) was only too happy to get right it and start planting. The mud was cool and very smooth.
They were handed a few plants to stick into the ground. When my son first pushed the plant into the mud, he didn't firm up the mud around it. So, the farmer showed him how to make sure it was secure by pressing the mud around the root ball at the base of the plant. My son proceeded to plant the rest of the starts on his own, with an approving nod from the farmer.
After they were done planting, they climbed out and washed their feet and hands in buckets of water. I was surprised at how quickly they were able to plant all the rice. Of course, professionals probably could do it quicker, but since there isn't any digging or watering involved, it is much quicker than planting in dry dirt. Just stick and secure. Then move onto the next one.
When they were clean, we had a bit of time to look around and enjoy the rest of the garden. The frog pond was full of lily pads and several lilies were blooming. The kids found several large frogs, which made them all very excited. All the kids were trying to catch the frogs, but they were mostly out of reach.
As we departed, they gave everyone a small bag of rice as a gift.
It has been a great lesson for my son to see the story of rice. We eat it almost on a daily basis, and it has been a wonderful way for him to understand more about where his food comes from. He has always enjoyed growing things in our garden, but growing rice is quite different than growing tomatoes!
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