the town hall. The villagers cultivated and used four different types of heirloom and modern strains of rice to create a giant picture in the field. To allow viewing of the whole picture, a mock castle tower 22 meters high was erected at the village office. In 2006, more than 200,000 people visited the village to see the art. To encourage visitation outside of rice growing season, the village began using the same fields for winter rice paddy art in 2016. The designs are created by compressing snow into patterns by walking on it with snowshoes. Notable people from Inakadate Tochinoumi Teruyoshi, sumo wrestler References External links Enchanting Murals bring Japan's farm to life' September 3, 2017, NTRJournal Villages in Aomori Prefecture