While castles, shrines, and temples get a lot of the glory, Japan's rice fields can sneak under the radar when it comes to the country's scenic beauty. In particular, the layout of terraced rice fields and paddies can be truly a sight to behold, especially when paired with gorgeous sunsets and lush backgrounds.

Saga prefecture's Hamanoura Rice Terrace, which is ranked as one of Japan's top 100 rice terraces, is a great example of that. Recently, to the delight of many in the area, a surprise fireworks show was held above the terrace after a three year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Photographer Yuichi (@yuichi_a_photo) showed why the area's aesthetic is so revered in a stunning photo he shared to Twitter. Yuichi shared it with the caption "I was finally able to take this", and one look will tell you it was well worth the long wait!

Source: @yuichi_a_photo

The beautiful sunset sky and view of the Genkai Sea already provide for a wonderful photo, but the brilliantly colored reflection of the fireworks off the water-filled paddies turn the terrace into something like a stained glass window.

The photo understandably received a lot of rave reviews on Twitter:

"It looks like a stained glass window, like looking into universe."

"It's beautiful I thought it was a painting."

"Everything is so beautiful, my heart can't stop pounding!"

This type of scenery can only be seen once a year when the paddies are flooded with water for rice planting from mid-April, so you can tell Yuichi put a lot of effort into getting it just right!


By - grape Japan editorial staff.