On November 1, Ginza Farm celebrated the rice harvest with lots of kids helping. The event began at 9 am on a Sunday morning and drew a crowd including children, parents, bloggers, an actress in an upcoming movie about farming, and the carpenter Hisano who built the beautiful tanbo (rice paddy), tables and benches.

To the left, Ginza Farm founder Iimura helps the kids hang bunches of rice along a bamboo rail.

I was told that you can tell that the rice is ready to harvest when the grains' weight start to bend the stalks.

Here's what the rice looked like just before harvest. I had never seen rice ready to be harvested, and I wonder how many Tokyo-ites are familiar with the growing cycle of this essential food.

Rice ready to be harvested | Photo by Jared Braiterman

Kids admire duck | Photo by Jared Braiterman

There was one bit of sad news. Just one week before harvest, a Ginza raccoon fatally mauled one of the two ducks. I think many people were as surprised to learn about the presence of raccoons in Ginza as they were about the rice paddy.

One of the lessons of Ginza Farm is the importance of focusing on culturally meaningful food that can grow in urban areas. What are some of the most meaningful foods that can be grown in your city? What birds, bees, or animals help urban food grow where you live? How can kids become part of urban farming?