Seedlings in a rice paddy

 This is a rice paddy that has just been planted with seedlings. The paddy is flooded and then as the rice grows the paddy is allowed to dry out, so at harvest the ground is completely dry. This makes it easy. The water makes the ground soft so the transplanting can be done by machine. Then harvest is simpler because the ground is firm.

The buildings in the background are Mirikaroden on the left and a large kindergarten on the right. The building with the curved roof is the town swimming pool.

This rectangular block of rice seedlings was apparently leftover from the planting. The blocks are a standard size and are put into slots in the machine which separates them a plants a few stalks at each point.