
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 at an effective 202mm — 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Farm in Northern Japan
Furano City, Hokkaido Japan — May 2007
( Similar shots are found in “Pretty Fields in Biei” )
I popped down to South Carolina to visit my brother Alan and to join him in a road trip back up to Ohio, and on the flight last night I sat next to an off-duty pilot for US Airways who lives on a 250-acre farm in Ohio and commutes to his flight hub in Charlotte for work. We had a nice chat.
He knows nothing of Japan, and enjoys farming, so I thought I'd put a post of random “farming in Japan” photos for him. It's somewhat of a challenge to find appropriate (but still unpublished) shots among the 130,000 photos in my archive, but are some I could scrounge up at short notice.
Most of these shots come from events that have already been discussed on my blog... if you have interest, see the “nearby photos” link under each photo for more photos from the same area, and links to the associated article on my blog.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 at an effective 165mm — 1/320 sec, f/3.2, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Farming Village and Rice Paddies
Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan — June 2008

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Out to Dry
rice after the harvest, Katano City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan — Oct 2011
I've a lot of blog posts about rice farming; perhaps the best introduction is “Stages of the Rice Harvest”.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 56mm — 1/800 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pineapple Farm
Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan — May 2009

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 at an effective 157mm — 1/320 sec, f/9, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Family Farms in Furano
Furano City, Hokkaido Japan — April 2007
( More found in “New Furano Prince Hotel” )

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 25mm — 1/160 sec, f/10, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Larger Farm
Biei City, Hokkaido Japan — April 2007

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tree Farm
Kyoto Japan — Dec 2010

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tree Farmer
Kyoto Japan — Dec 2010

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/4, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Finish Work
Kyoto Japan — Dec 2010

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 at an effective 105mm — 1/250 sec, f/8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rolling Fields
with a large tractor/combine(?) in the background for scale
Furano City, Hokkaido Japan — April 2007
( More found in “Stinky Feet” )

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 57mm — 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Biei City, Hokkaido Japan — May 2007
( More found in “More Biei Countryside” )

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 at an effective 240mm — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Biei City, Hokkaido Japan — May 2007

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 at an effective 300mm — 1/250 sec, f/9, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rocky Soil
Biei City, Hokkaido Japan — May 2007
( More found in “Yet More from Picturesque Biei” )

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 57mm — 1/90 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Planting Rice
Kyoto Japan — May 2007
( More found in “Preparing a Paddy for Rice Seedlings” )

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 67mm — 1/100 sec, f/10, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Countryside Rice Field
Ohara Village, Kyoto Japan — June 2008

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 82mm — 1/200 sec, f/5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nestled in the Mountains
Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan — June 2008

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 45mm — 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Farmstead
Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan — June 2008
We came across this farming community nestled in the mountains an hour north of Kyoto by chance while on a drive on a drizzly/foggy summer day, but apparently it was popular with photographers because we saw this sign by the road:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 42mm — 1/180 sec, f/5, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Attention Visiting Cameramen”
“please stay out of the fields”

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/2500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Drying Rice at the Side of the Road
Iga City, Mie Prefecture, Japan — Nov 2010

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Working the Rice Paddies
Overlooking Aragijima City (あらぎ島), Wakayama Prefecture — May 2011
( More found in “The Aragishima Terraced Rice Paddies of Wakayama” )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Small Farm
Near the Sanzen-in Temple (三千院), Ohara Village, Kyoto Japan — Nov 2012

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Small Farm
Near the Sanzen-in Temple (三千院), Ohara Village, Kyoto Japan — Nov 2012

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bamboo Farmer
Bamboo Farm, Kyoto Japan — Apr 2013

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
New Growth
Bamboo Farm, Kyoto Japan — Apr 2013

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Baby Bamboo
Bamboo Farm, Kyoto Japan — Apr 2013

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Putting Their Product to Work
Kyoto Japan — Apr 2013

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fence Detail
Bamboo Farm, Kyoto Japan — Apr 2013

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Weeding by Hand
Kyoto Japan — Sep 2013

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bundling Fresh-Cut Rice
Kyoto Japan — Sep 2013
( More of this lady working her field here )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lotus-Root Farm
Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan — Oct 2013
Lotus root (レンコン) is a common food
And finally, one bonus (non-Japanese) shot...

Canon IXY DIGITAL 600 — 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400 — image data
The Happy Farmer Boy
Anthony at 2½ (in Ohio at the time) — May 2005
Very interesting shots of the tree farmer. Regards, Tom
I really like the Pineapple Farm photo. Seeing the blurred mountain in the background provides a wonderful sense of an open and nature-filled space.
I figured that would be my only comment, but the lighting on the bamboo farm shots was spectacular and deserves mention as well. Very nice and interesting photos, thanks for sharing.
Lovely set; I need to visit Hokkaido some day…
You should do it in the next three weeks while you live (relatively) close by! —Jeffrey
Hi Jeffery,
Just wanted to say how valuable I find this blog (found it only a couple of days back in fact, while searching for articles on jpg compression in Lightroom), and I must say – what a find! I really love the character that your blog has, for example the wigglegrams, the ‘Enter “Happy” in this box’ and all the attention to detail, what with location services for individual photos and related posts. I guess it does help that you are a programmer! I am loving the posts that I have read, a few pages into ‘older posts’, and it strikes me that there are fewer and fewer well-maintained blogs like yours nowadays since social media took over the internet. Photos and writing are both splendid. Will certainly be back to read more!
Happy 2014 ! & Many many Thanks.