Kodai Hasu no Sato

Blessed with an abundance of paddy fields, the city of Gyoda has been using some of its agricultural land as a gigantic outdoor art gallery since 2008. Created using rice plants of differing colours, these images are too big to make out from ground level, so you'll need to climb the tower here (¥400, ¥200 for children aged 6-15) to view them in their full glory. While mid July is the best time to visit, the images remain visible until mid October.