Layered Rural Beauty
Maruyama Senmaida in Kumano City is one of Japan’s most scenic and historic terraced rice fields, featuring 1,340 paddies that cascade across the slopes of Mount Shirakura. These centuries-old terraces, dating back to the Sengoku and Edo periods, are meticulously maintained by hand due to their steep terrain and small size. Visitors can enjoy seasonal events like the mid-May planting festival, where locals don traditional attire to perform dances and rituals for a successful harvest, and the Mushi Okuri torch festival in June or July, illuminating the fields with approximately 1,300 torches to ward off pests. Accessible via a 30-minute uphill walk from the Senmaida / Toritoge-Iriguchi bus stop, the site offers panoramic views, especially from the Tori-toge Pass. Maruyama Senmaida is recognized among Japan’s top 100 rice terraces for its cultural and agricultural significance.
