Bonus update: The Rice Paddies

Generally, like twice a month, I tend to go for a bike ride in the rice paddies, to see nature and witness their growth.  I've got a bit of staggered rice paddy growth here, as well as some other small moments of me living in Natori.  Take a look.

This was taken roughly one month ago.  I'll show you when it has changed

Ditto, one month ago.

I rode into the mountains to see what I could and there's not much.  Some soccer fields and abandoned buildings and this bridge.

Lots of beautiful trees though.

Lots of trees...

I'm a sucker for bridges and expansive views.

This was two weeks ago.  Already, you can see that the green is starting to fill in.

This is me at the shrine.  See, I am alive and in Japan.

And I can smile, though I hate selfies.

This was taken two weeks ago, but it was in a rice field in town.  We actually have them honeycombed wherever there is free space, so as to maximize growth potential.

This is my Friday night event.  Yakiniku.  It means grilled meat.  I cook the meat and veggies on a grill right in the restaurant and that is beef and pigs tongue with carrot and onion.  They're seasoned and have a special, delicious dipping sauce.

I haven't bought many trinkets because I am being an adult, but I bought a Vincent Valentine and a cat out of some Gatchapon(slot/random) machines

Post card mania!  I bought a ton of these super cool post cards and almost all of them light up. This is festival time and Yokai. 

Firefly lanterns and romantic scenes on a bridge.

Friendly yokai, dancing, and a summer festival scene.

This was taken today, the day of this posting.  As you can see, it looks like a sea of green.  Further down, you can see, that's not actually true, but oh how a month makes a difference.

And more green.

Here, you can see individual rice plants that are actually separated, but from a distance, it looks like a sea of emerald light.

I got bored and did some exploring.  I found a school that was built into a mountain and really cool...but I think parts of it are abandoned.  I saw some students heading to the main buildings, but...

Lots of greenhouses and buildings next to them, but no one in them...maybe because it's Saturday?  I dunno.

This is the state of my bike right now.  I bought a basket to help carry my stuff.

This is the view from the temple.  The road curves around to more rice fields and I tried it to find it was a nice way back to the main highway.