先輩の中央ホテルの小平さんによると、姨捨の「田毎の月」で有名な棚田はここからの写真写りが一番良いそうです。棚田も、善光寺平も、遠くの飯綱山も見える、尚且つ、電線が邪魔になっていない。小平先輩がここから通年で写真を撮り続いているそうです。田植えの準備で土が掘り起こされた時、水が払ってある時、苗が出ている時、真夏の真緑のころ、穂が出ているころ、収穫の時、お米を干す時、そして冬に棚田が雪がかぶっている時。それぞれの時期にそれぞれの魅力があると。戸倉上山田温泉から車で約5分の所に既に変わっている景色のスポットがあって、嬉しいね。

注：写真の様に、田んぼの水払いは始まっています。例の「田毎の月」を見たい方は今日の満月より、5月27日の方が水払いの田んぼが多いのでお勧めです。

One of my senpai (elders), Kodaira-san from Chuo Hotel, told me this is the best spot to view the Obasute Terraced Rice Fields. These are the fields that are situated in such a way as to reflect the moon in the individual rice fields. Many a haiku poet has come to be inspired by the sight.

This particular vantage point allows a perfect view of the rice fields as well as the Zenkoji Plain and the mountains in the distance, with the added bonus of there not being any electric poles or wires to block the view. Kodaira-san apparently comes here at various times throughout the year to take pictures. The rice fields put on a different face depending on the time of year: a deep brown after the dirt has been worked in preparation for planting, reflections of the sky when filled with water, lines of seedlings after they've been planted, lush green once the plants are at full growth in the summer, golden fuzz when the tips grow, mesmerizing patterns as the rice is harvested, rows and rows plants set out to dry, a pale brown as the fields go fallow for the winter, white and brown designs as snow falls and melts. It's great having such a scenic spot that changes by the season only 5 minutes away by car from our onsen, Togura Kamiyamada.

小平さんの撮っている写真は中央ホテルにＨＰにて。See Kodaira-san's pictures on the Chuo Hotel website.