[Communication from the local] Mont Saint floating in the rice field = Michel is a proof of the richness of Tome ~ Visiting the country elevator ~ (Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture)

This is the ninth installment of the "Communicating from the Local" series. This time, we will deliver a contribution from Mr. Ito, who is involved in tourism in Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, which is the center of rice. A huge structure that suddenly appears as you drive through the countryside? It seems to be the source of affluence in Tome City. This time, we will introduce the unique attractions of this area, which are different from the usual tourist facilities. (Photo: © Kunihiro Omori "Mont Saint Floating in the Rice Fields = Michel")

Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture. Write "climbing rice" and read "stop".
Originally, it was read as "Toyoma", but it is said that an official from Tokyo who came from Tokyo at the time of the abolition of the feudal prefecture could not read "Toyoma" and somehow read it as "Tome". (There are various theories)
In any case, unless there are special circumstances such as being very familiar with geography, there are not many people who can read "stop" in one shot.

One of the setting locations of the NHK TV series "Welcome Back Monet"

There was a time when I was called out on TV every morning.
In 2021, it became one of the settings for the NHK TV series "Welcome Back Monet", and was depicted as a town where the heroine from Kesennuma City gets a job at the forestry association in Tome City, meets various people, and finds her way forward.

If you haven't seen the drama, you won't be able to understand it, but the majestic Kitakami River flows, there is a castle town with the lineage of the Date family, high-collar buildings from the Meiji era are still alive and well, agriculture and forestry are thriving, forest therapy, kudeju (DIY members), and scenes where the jolly mothers of Tome are picking up local cuisine are depicted.
Here, I would like to introduce the Tome City explanation template before the broadcast of "Welcome Back Monet".
Tome City is located in the northeastern part of Miyagi Prefecture, on the border with Iwate Prefecture, with a population of about 75,000 and is home to Izunuma, a Ramsar wetland, a hilly area in the west, a mountainous area in the northeast, and the Kitakami River flowing through it, forming a fertile "Tome cultivated soil" from the rich water environment.

Blessed with a good climate, as the name suggests, it is a place where rice is everywhere, and delicious foods such as cucumbers, strawberries, apples, and Tome beef grow well.
It is rich in history, nature, people, and food, and it is no exaggeration to say that the only things that are not there are the sea and the university.

The charm of the endless Tome

Tome City, which was created by the merger of nine towns, is dotted with various attractions.
Located in Hasamacho, Naganuma Futopia Park is symbolized by a Dutch windmill swan.

Tome Town (Toyomachi. This one reads Toyomamachi! It is also an "architectural town" where you can go back in time, with the high-collar former Tome High School that remains from the Meiji era, and Kengo Kuma's works "Mori Stage" and "Tome Kaikokan".

Towacho is home to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site of the Yonegawa River, a hidden Christian village, and the Bodhi Temple of Kai Harada, which is well known for the Date Riots.

Nakatacho is the birthplace of the manga painter Shotaro Ishinomori. It is said that the idea of Kamen Rider was derived from the locusts in the rice fields.

In Toyosato Town, let's brighten up with illuminations for children who walk with their backs hunched on the way home in the dark winter! There is a lovely illumination event started by adults, "Toyosato Station Winter Firefly Street".

In Yoneyama Town, 800 cherry trees planted around the swamp are reflected in the water surface of the swamp, and there is a Hiratsunuma Fureai Park that looks like a picture of the width of Higashiyama Kaii.

In Ishikoshi Town, there is an amusement park called Chacha World Ishikoshi, which is also known as the "USJ of Tome City" and is full of beautiful blue hydrangeas called "Takamori Blue".

In Minamikatamachi, there is a cherry blossom tunnel "Minamikata Senbonzakura" planted by residents for about 6 km.

In the tree town of Tsuyama, there is a mokumoku house that is famous nationwide.
You can buy cutlery with a beautiful arrow feather pattern and a shark-chan key chain that the teacher also has.

Country elevator towering over the countryside: a testament to the richness of Tome City

By the way, the introduction has become long, but I would like to introduce you to the "Country Elevator", a facility that is a symbol of the "true affluence" of Tome City, which is so beautiful and rich that it becomes the stage for morning dramas.

In the first place, have you ever heard of an infrastructure structure called a country elevator?
A country elevator is a facility where farmers dry their harvested rice (paddy) and store it in a large silo (rice granary). When we receive an order from a rice shop or rice mill, we take the paddy out of the silo, hullet it, and ship it in the state of brown rice.
In rural areas of the United States, tall silos are equipped with elevators to raise rice and wheat, and their height is so high that they have become local symbols and landmarks. It is said to be a word created by combining these two words.
There are also 7 JA Miyagi Tome country elevators (Sakomachi, Tome Town, Nakata Town, Toyosato Town, Ishikoshi Town, Minamikata Town, and Yoneyama Town) that range in height from 22.1 meters to 35 meters in height. Each has a different form, model, method of drying rice, etc., and there are things like castles that appear in picture books, things that look like warehouses that match the townscape of warehouses, and things that look like some kind of secret base.

When you are driving, the huge facility that suddenly appears in the middle of the rice field is strange, but you can't help but pay attention to it because it looks like a temple.
The locals have been used to seeing it since they were little, so they don't think anything of it, but for someone who is not familiar with it, it is really surprising. When I saw it for the first time, I must have had the same reaction as the Japan people who saw the black ship.
After the surprise, "What is that?" and "Why is it in the shape of a castle?" "So, what's that?"
Once you know what it is, there's nothing you can do, but even so, I want to share this feeling with people who like the crazy name "Country Elevator" and the dam system! It comes to.
And in the elevator, the rice is really climbing, that is, it is really ̈登米 ̈ ... I don't think there's anything so bizarre. The country elevator in Tome City is a true ̈登米 ̈ of modern times.

Tome has been a rice destination since the Edo period. It is said that the origin of the name "Tomai" came from the appearance of a boat wholesaler transporting rice from the Kitakami River using the canal and the sea, and the rice climbing up to Edo.

In particular, no matter how many times I look at it, I am numb to the fact that before the rice planting season is in full swing, the rice fields are filled with water, and the reflection of the water is reflected on the surface of the water. From a distance, it looks like "Mont Saint = Michel floating in a rice field".

The reflection in the water mirror is even more mysterious, and it is said that farmers will raise the rice fields, plant seedlings, care for them, harvest them when they are golden brown, and as soon as they are harvested, migratory birds will fly in from the Russian Far East, and 90% of the migratory birds that fly to Japan will overwinter around Izunuma. Mt. Kurikoma in neighboring Kurihara City is covered with snow, and when the snow cover begins to fall, spring comes, migratory birds return, and rice planting begins again... I can imagine the story of this rice, and I feel that my dictionary of "Meikyo Shusui" will be filled.
You can stumble upon a country elevator on your way through the charms of Tome City, or you can go deep and explore only the seven country elevators. And you can also go around changing the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
The rice fields spread out, and the road makes you want to drive with the windows open (sometimes the fragrant smell of compost is also a pleasure).

This road pays homage to Shikoku's "Shimanami Kaido" and calls it "Tome Tome Farm Road" in my heart. Rather than pointing to any one road, it is safe to say that the road in Tome City, where the rice fields spread, is the Tome Rich Farm Road.
The next time I have another opportunity like this, I would like to introduce you to one of the four forestry cooperatives in the city. Have you ever heard of "Sorashi"?