The Quiet of the Countryside — The Four Seasons Around Nishiki Town, Semboku City

The tranquility of the countryside that stretches across the Akita and Nishiki Town areas. Amid the rural landscape, where neither the sound of cars nor the beep of notifications can be heard, the twilight sky reflects off the rice paddies before planting, and the entire area falls silent, like a mirror. NORICHIE cherishes this luxury—something you simply can’t experience in the city.

We’d like to share the tranquility of this land—which takes on a different character with each season—through these photographs.

Spring | Sunset
Reflected on the Water

田んぼが鏡になる、一瞬だけの茜色 — [A fleeting crimson hue as the rice paddies become a mirror]

As the
snow melts, various flowers begin to bloom in the rural hills. As shown in the photo above, when water is poured into the rice paddies before planting, the colors of the twilight sky and the moonlight at night are reflected on the water’s surface, and the entire area becomes as still as a mirror.

Summer | Green Rice Fields and Buckwheat Flowers

青々とした稲田が広がる秋田西木町の田舎の静けさ — [The tranquil countryside of Nishiki Town, Akita, with its expansive green rice paddies]

白いそばの花が一面に咲く、西木町の夏の田園風景 — [A summer pastoral scene in Nishiki Town, where white buckwheat flowers bloom across the landscape]

In summer, the rice paddies are filled with lush green rice plants. It is a quiet season where the only sound you hear is the rustling of the rice leaves as the wind blows. If you venture a little further, you’ll also encounter fields completely covered with white buckwheat flowers.

Fall | Morning Mist, Harvest, and Foliage

朝もやに包まれるそば畑、秋の田舎の静けさ — [A buckwheat field shrouded in morning mist—the tranquility of the countryside in autumn]

柿の実る里山の朝焼け、西木町の秋 — [Sunrise over the satoyama hillsides laden with persimmons—autumn in Nishiki Town]

As morning and evening temperatures begin to drop, morning mist settles over the buckwheat fields. When the persimmon trees in the satoyama bear their orange fruit, this land becomes even more tranquil.

実りの柿と夕暮れの空 — [Ripening persimmons and the twilight sky]

紅葉と初雪が重なる、秋田ならではの一瞬 — [Autumn Foliage and the First Snow: A Moment Unique to Akita]

And when the first snow falls, the autumn foliage in the mountains reveals unexpected hues. Seeing the snow-covered autumn leaves is a fleeting luxury unique to a snowy region.

Night | A Sky Full of Stars

稲穂越しに広がる満天の星空、西木町の夜の静けさ — [A sky full of stars spreading out over the rice ears; the stillness of night in Nishiki Town]

Once the sun sets, the stars spread across a sky devoid of even a single light. The star-filled sky twinkling beyond the rice ears offers a tranquility that can only be experienced in this region.

Winter | A Pure White World

雪をかぶった田んぼと夜明け、西木町の冬の静けさ — [Snow-covered rice paddies at dawn; the winter stillness of Nishiki Town]

Just as dawn breaks, the rice paddies stand quietly, blanketed in a layer of snow. Those same paddies—which were flooded in spring and bore lush, green rice plants in summer—now lie sleeping in a blanket of white.

雪に覆われた田んぼと真っ青な空、西木町の冬の日中風景 — [Snow-covered rice paddies and a deep blue sky: a daytime winter scene in Nishiki Town]

By daytime, under a crystal-clear blue sky, only a single set of tracks stretches across the snow-covered rice fields. It is a quiet scene, without a sound.

田沢湖畔に広がる雪山と鏡のような湖面、西木町から足を延ばした冬景色 — [Snow-capped mountains stretching along the shores of Lake Tazawa and the mirror-like lake surface—a winter scene a short drive from Nishiki Town]

If you venture a little further, you’ll encounter a view at Lake Tazawa where snow-capped mountains are reflected in the mirror-like surface of the lake.

In France, it is often said that this stillness (calme) is the ultimate luxury—and that is precisely what you’ll find here.

← Back to Nishiki & Area Guide

The Quiet of the Countryside — The Four Seasons Around Nishiki Town, Semboku City

Basic Information