As expected the winds get colder and the rain falls suddenly and more often.
It is harvest season and the rice farmers are working as fast as they can to rake in this year's crop before the snow level reaches the low lands.
Early on Saturday afternoon, I drove out to the Kamiubun 上雨分 section of Asahikawa, to retrace the roads that I and my friend Brian Smith would often go cycling along, on our mountain bikes.
Everything was pretty much the way I remember it from many years ago, except that there was some new road construction going on.
I saw many farmers out in their drained off rice fields with harvesting machines, cutting down the rice, spitting out the leaves and stalks, and then unloading the golden grain into a waiting truck.
It's the same thing every year at this time.
A job that has to be done.
Many people are depending on the farmers to bring in the staple food of Japan.
Rice.
Some like it polished and white, I like it brown.
Either way, it's fresh out of the fields.Yum yum.
It is harvest season and the rice farmers are working as fast as they can to rake in this year's crop before the snow level reaches the low lands.
Early on Saturday afternoon, I drove out to the Kamiubun 上雨分 section of Asahikawa, to retrace the roads that I and my friend Brian Smith would often go cycling along, on our mountain bikes.
Everything was pretty much the way I remember it from many years ago, except that there was some new road construction going on.
I saw many farmers out in their drained off rice fields with harvesting machines, cutting down the rice, spitting out the leaves and stalks, and then unloading the golden grain into a waiting truck.
It's the same thing every year at this time.
A job that has to be done.
Many people are depending on the farmers to bring in the staple food of Japan.
Rice.
Some like it polished and white, I like it brown.
Either way, it's fresh out of the fields.Yum yum.
Another thing that is always the same each year at this time, is the changing color of the leaves.
The best way to describe Hokkaido during the summer is GREEN.
This is the greenest place I have ever lived, and in more ways than one.
Higher up in the mountains, there is more color right now, than there is here in the lowlands.That will change very quickly.
The best way to describe Hokkaido in autumn, is RED GOLD and YELLOW.
An amazing patchwork interwoven colors that can keep a professional photographer busy for hours.
Coming soon, the all white blanket of winter snow.Don't say I didn't warn you.
It says so right at the top of the ASAHIKAWA page of this website.
Warning!!! Asahikawa is covered in snow for about 5 months of the year, every year.
If you don't like snow, don't move here.
Yeah, it's been there since the birth of this FrontPage web site.
Speaking of giving birth to new web sites, I have started a new one using the
DreamWeaver MX software package, and it looks and feels completely different than this old rusty web site.
The new web site is at www.everythingjapan.net and is being designed as a customized google search engine, and also as an affiliate web site for the promotion of all products and services that are MADE IN JAPAN.
If you are looking for a quick and accurate search for something about Japan, you might enjoy using the search engine portal on this NEW WEB SITE.
You will be able to find what you are looking for more quickly, because I have designed it to filter out unrelated content.
Try it! I think you'll like it!
