Visit The Terraced Rice Paddy On Sado Island, Niigata

Sado Island has a lot to see, and one of must-sees is the terraced rice paddy called Tanada. Similar to other islands, there are a few flat zones in Sado that make it suitable for growing rice and vegetables. The people in Sado have the skills to change the hillside into a rice field, and they use a special watering method.

The terraced rice field is located in the 350 meter high mountain in the Iwakubi area. The rice paddies have been passed on since around the Edo Period, and about 460 paddies remain today. Making full use of its land with a steep slope, local people cultivate the rice fields in various sizes and shapes that stretch to the top of the mountain like a dragon rising high into the sky. The scenery is particularly spectacular when the morning sun shines on the rice fields filled with water in early spring. The view from the viewing hut is also stunning.

Rising dragon terraced rice paddy

Farmers working in the terraced rice paddy

The small rice fields are located side-by-side on a slope of a mountain close to the Ogura Dam, along the Prefectural Route 181, stretching through Hatano to Oda. Ogura Senmaida is Sado’s representative terraced rice fields, and these fields are said to be cultivated to feed an increasing population as a result of the thriving gold mine in the Edo Period (1603-1867). Although the terraced rice fields were once on the verge of being set aside or abandoned, local people now work together to manage and maintain the fields by introducing the field ownership system from around the year 2000.