Rice Fields

Yesterday we went on a family overnight trip to a traditional inn (ryokan) in the countryside about 90 minutes northwest of Kyoto, to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. From the train, we got plenty of views of rice fields, newly green as we move into the peak summer growing season:

The area we stayed in is known for its traditional steep-roofed thatched houses, and we saw a number of them on our drive from the local station up to the ryokan:

This morning, Chloe and I ventured out early to see the rice fields across the road from the ryokan, with the morning mist still rising from the fields:

Close up, we could see hundreds of fat tadpoles swimming around in the water between the rice plants. We had noticed that rice fields are popular hang-out spots for egrets, cranes, and gray herons, and based on our tadpole sightings these fields look to be a bountiful source of frogs!