Mud-covered Rice Planting Begins! Learning Serious Rice Farming from My Mentor's Back and the 'Rice Paddy Roomba' - Week 4 of Regional Revitalization

It has been four weeks since I started my activities as a member of the Regional Revitalization Corps. This past month has marked a psychological turning point where my values regarding 'work' have changed significantly.

Actually, until now, I was only interested in superficial, glamorous things, thinking, 'I want to do marketing full-on!' or 'The life of an entrepreneur on video looks so cool.' In this day and age, you can easily learn about various professions just by opening social media. However, the information you get there is only a small fraction. Every job inevitably has painful parts and difficult aspects that aren't shown on screen.

To know the true value of work, you have no choice but to dive into the field yourself. Amidst the days of being covered in mud, I am now truly realizing that from the bottom of my heart.

[This Week's Main Activities and Theme]

Well, what I took on this week was the long-awaited 'rice planting'!

It was a grueling week of planting the seedlings we had carefully raised (200 trays a day—and there are still more, haha!) into the rice paddies on a hectic schedule. I had helped with rice planting at my parents' home before, but for me, who had always participated only from the 'planting' stage, this was a time to experience firsthand how much hardship goes into rice farming before reaching this point.

1. A 'Muddy Roomba' for the Rice Paddy!? The Cutting-Edge Aigamo Robot

While struggling with the irregularly shaped rice paddies, I was desperately following behind my mentor, the representative of 'Hyakusai Gekijo' where I am training, when suddenly, he threw something that looked like a 'suspicious Roomba' into the paddy!

I almost blurted out, 'Wait, are you cleaning the rice paddy!?' but it was actually a super cutting-edge machine called an 'Aigamo Robot'.

When operated with a smartphone, it swims around while stirring up the muddy water of the paddy, blocking light to suppress the growth of weeds. It's truly a 'muddy Roomba on the water'! I was simply impressed by the evolution of agricultural technology, as the robot takes over the role that real Aigamo ducks used to play, significantly reducing the grueling weeding work.

2. The Never-Ending Game of Tag with Weeds. The Passion Poured into Organic Farming

The reason this robot is necessary is that the 'organic' rice farming we are attempting uses absolutely no chemical fertilizers or herbicides.

Not using chemicals means a 'never-ending game of tag' with weeds that grow back no matter how many times you pull them. In between rice planting, I repeatedly mowed weeds by hand, only for them to grow back again and again. Watching my mentor, who is single-mindedly facing the rice while covered in mud, I began to seriously think that this is where my own marketing skills can be put to the test: 'How can I convey the passionate thoughts poured into this rice to the people who eat it?'

3. A 1-Million-Yen Machine and the Proof of Trust Built from Zero

The rice transplanter we are using this time is actually something we borrowed from a farmer we know.

Rice farming machinery is expensive, costing millions of yen even though it is only used once a year. It is not something you can buy easily. My mentor at Hyakusai Gekijo is not from this area; he started from absolute zero as a 'new entrant' in this land of Omihachiman. My mentor, who was once an outsider, is now trusted enough to be handed a machine worth several million yen with a simple, 'Feel free to use it.'

This is truly incredible, isn't it? Beyond the generosity of the locals, I was deeply moved by the magnitude of the invisible asset that is the 'trust' my mentor has built up in this land while enduring so much hardship. To me, my mentor's back is incredibly large and great.

Conclusion: Toward an Exciting Future

After overcoming a grueling schedule, my mentor and I happened to look up at the sky and saw an unbelievably beautiful rainbow. I instinctively took out my smartphone and snapped a picture.

It should be the same sky as in Tokyo, but without tall buildings, the sky in Shiga looks so vast and beautiful. 'Ah, just being able to see this sky makes me happy.' Just being able to think that makes every day feel much more fun and radiant than before.

Rice planting is just getting started! I will run through this with all my might, not losing to the heat and enjoying the scenery that I can only see because I dove in. To provide you all with delicious, energy-packed rice, and to become someone who can give strength to everyone reading this, I will do my best starting next week too!

Thank you for your support!