A water Tour of Kansai Speaking of the farming mind WAKAYAMA Prefecture Shimizu Town Water in rice fields ornamenting the natural geography: the fascination of an uncommon scene Aragi Island's beautiful terraced fields. Winner of the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award in the 1996 Beautiful Japanese Villages Scenic Competition. Terraced fields, staircase-like banks of rice fields rising up the sides of mountains, can be found across much of Japan as well as in China, Taiwan and the Philippines. Japanese people sometimes referred to their terraced fields as Japan's Pyramids because of the great deal of labor involved in building them, and thinking about the fields rising to varying heights amid the mountains generates waves of nostalgia. Naturally, the area of a terraced field is smaller than that of a field on level ground. Shimizu Town, located in the upper reaches of the Arita River in Wakayama Prefecture, has many terraced fields, what with 90% of the town's area made up of forest and fields. Among these fields, the gently curving terraces forming a fan-like shape on Aragi Island are popular with photographers and tourists. The scene is even more stunning on misty mornings. The unique geography of Aragi Island is believed to have been formed by river erosion combining with the intermittent rising of the mountains; the plateau itself is believed to have been shaped during the Jomon period (10,000 BC - 300 BC). The fields were formed in 1655 by influential men of a nearby village and cultivated by the people of the village. The water for the fields comes directly from the river. That the fields continue to be used, even after several floods, demonstrates the boundless spirit of Japanese farmers who, since ancient times, have carried on working the lands handed down by their forebears. Nationwide, a movement has risen to protect the terraced fields, with their unique features that keep the slopes from sliding, as well as their ecosystems and to reexamine their scenic beauty as a sightseeing resource. Shimizu Town has taken the lead by protecting Aragi Island and its terraced fields. Shimizu Town Office Planning and Promotion Section TEL 0737-25-1111 BACK NEXT All images Copyright. 1999 Kansai International Public Relations Promotion Office. All Rights Reserved.