Rice Planting Experience in Tsukuba City: Start of a Series Leading up to Harvest, May 23 (Sat) [Ibaraki, Tochigi]
Palsystem Ibaraki Tochigi and JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe will hold a hands-on rice planting event in Tsukuba City on May 23. This is the first in a series of events leading up to the harvest, aimed at deepening understanding of food education and nature conservation.
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- 📰 Published: May 15, 2026 at 21:10
- 🔍 Collected: May 15, 2026 at 12:32
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The Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi Consumers' Co-operative Union (Headquarters: Mito City, Baika; President: Yasuyo Aoki) will hold a rice planting experience event on Saturday, May 23, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM at the exchange paddy field of JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe (Main office: Yatabe, Tsukuba City; Representative Director and President: Toshimitsu Nakajima). This is the first event in a series that allows participants to experience the growth of rice until harvest. Children, along with their families, will step into the paddy fields to feel firsthand the importance of environmental protection and food.
**Learning Rice Cultivation from Producers**
The experience, titled "Rice Paddy School," is an event to deepen mutual understanding with producers through farm work. Under the guidance of producers, participants will use farm tools to draw lines in the paddy field and plant rice seedlings by hand along those lines.
After planting, producers from JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe will manage the fields using an environmentally friendly farming method that reduces the use of chemically synthesized pesticides and fertilizers by half compared to conventional cultivation. To allow participants to watch the rice grow until harvest, they will be given "bucket rice" to grow in a bucket. They will learn the cultivation method from the producers and grow it carefully at home.
▲Rice Planting (May 2025) ▲Creature Observation & Weeding (July 2025) ▲Rice Harvesting (September 2025)
Following the rice planting, creature observation and weeding are scheduled for July, and rice harvesting for September. Through this three-part series, participants will learn the processes necessary to grow high-quality food, contributing to the food education of children. The harvested rice will be milled and delivered to each participating family. They will savor the rice they painstakingly grew while recalling the paddy fields and the faces of the producers.
**Food and Greenery Exchange Project Promotion Council "Rice Paddy School" Event Overview**
- **Date & Time:** Saturday, May 23, 2026, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM *Event will proceed in light rain*
- **Venue:** JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe Exchange Paddy Field (around 162 Mizuhori, Tsukuba City)
- **Content:** "Rice Paddy School" entrance ceremony, rice planting
- **Participants:** 20 families, 62 people (33 adults, 29 children) who are users of Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi
*See Details*
**Creating Opportunities for Children to Engage with Agriculture**
In 2002, Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi, JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe, and the Pal System Co-operative Union established the "JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe Food and Greenery Exchange Project Promotion Council." The council aims to build a model for resource-circulating agriculture in the region and promote new exchanges between urban and rural areas, with the goal of food self-sufficiency, stability, and sustainable agriculture.
The council holds various exchange projects annually to deepen mutual understanding between producers and consumers. In addition to the "Rice Paddy School," which marks its 22nd year, they also hold year-round projects like the "Field School" and "Mushroom School." They provide opportunities for users and the next generation of children to experience the importance of agriculture that nurtures food.
Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi will continue to deepen its collaboration with local producers in the prefecture and aim for sustainable production and consumption.
*Palsystem's Direct Production*
**Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi Consumers' Co-operative Union**
Location: 2-1-39 Baika, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture; President: Yasuyo Aoki
Capital: 7.09 billion yen, Members: 141,000, Total Business Turnover: 18.34 billion yen (as of the end of March 2025)
HP: https://www.palsystem-ibaraki.coop/
**Pal System Consumers' Co-operative Union**
Location: Lacus Higashi-Shinjuku, 2-2-6 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Haruyuki Shibusawa
Total business turnover of 13 member co-ops and unified business system user members: 260.42 billion yen / Total members: 1.762 million (as of the end of March 2025)
Member Co-ops: Pal System Tokyo, Pal System Kanagawa, Pal System Chiba, Pal System Saitama, Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi, Pal System Yamanashi Nagano, Pal System Gunma, Pal System Fukushima, Pal System Shizuoka, Pal System Niigata Tokimeki, Pal System Kyosai Federation, Saitama Prefecture Workers' Co-op, Aicop Miyagi
HP: https://www.pal-system.co.jp/
**Learning Rice Cultivation from Producers**
The experience, titled "Rice Paddy School," is an event to deepen mutual understanding with producers through farm work. Under the guidance of producers, participants will use farm tools to draw lines in the paddy field and plant rice seedlings by hand along those lines.
After planting, producers from JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe will manage the fields using an environmentally friendly farming method that reduces the use of chemically synthesized pesticides and fertilizers by half compared to conventional cultivation. To allow participants to watch the rice grow until harvest, they will be given "bucket rice" to grow in a bucket. They will learn the cultivation method from the producers and grow it carefully at home.
▲Rice Planting (May 2025) ▲Creature Observation & Weeding (July 2025) ▲Rice Harvesting (September 2025)
Following the rice planting, creature observation and weeding are scheduled for July, and rice harvesting for September. Through this three-part series, participants will learn the processes necessary to grow high-quality food, contributing to the food education of children. The harvested rice will be milled and delivered to each participating family. They will savor the rice they painstakingly grew while recalling the paddy fields and the faces of the producers.
**Food and Greenery Exchange Project Promotion Council "Rice Paddy School" Event Overview**
- **Date & Time:** Saturday, May 23, 2026, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM *Event will proceed in light rain*
- **Venue:** JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe Exchange Paddy Field (around 162 Mizuhori, Tsukuba City)
- **Content:** "Rice Paddy School" entrance ceremony, rice planting
- **Participants:** 20 families, 62 people (33 adults, 29 children) who are users of Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi
*See Details*
**Creating Opportunities for Children to Engage with Agriculture**
In 2002, Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi, JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe, and the Pal System Co-operative Union established the "JA Tsukuba-shi Yatabe Food and Greenery Exchange Project Promotion Council." The council aims to build a model for resource-circulating agriculture in the region and promote new exchanges between urban and rural areas, with the goal of food self-sufficiency, stability, and sustainable agriculture.
The council holds various exchange projects annually to deepen mutual understanding between producers and consumers. In addition to the "Rice Paddy School," which marks its 22nd year, they also hold year-round projects like the "Field School" and "Mushroom School." They provide opportunities for users and the next generation of children to experience the importance of agriculture that nurtures food.
Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi will continue to deepen its collaboration with local producers in the prefecture and aim for sustainable production and consumption.
*Palsystem's Direct Production*
**Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi Consumers' Co-operative Union**
Location: 2-1-39 Baika, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture; President: Yasuyo Aoki
Capital: 7.09 billion yen, Members: 141,000, Total Business Turnover: 18.34 billion yen (as of the end of March 2025)
HP: https://www.palsystem-ibaraki.coop/
**Pal System Consumers' Co-operative Union**
Location: Lacus Higashi-Shinjuku, 2-2-6 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Haruyuki Shibusawa
Total business turnover of 13 member co-ops and unified business system user members: 260.42 billion yen / Total members: 1.762 million (as of the end of March 2025)
Member Co-ops: Pal System Tokyo, Pal System Kanagawa, Pal System Chiba, Pal System Saitama, Pal System Ibaraki Tochigi, Pal System Yamanashi Nagano, Pal System Gunma, Pal System Fukushima, Pal System Shizuoka, Pal System Niigata Tokimeki, Pal System Kyosai Federation, Saitama Prefecture Workers' Co-op, Aicop Miyagi
HP: https://www.pal-system.co.jp/