Vineyard workers harvest grapes at Hokkaido dawn

Cold silver light from the first dawn washes over the edge of a tea plantation in Hokkaido, where vineyard workers bend over rows of grapevines. A light drizzle coats the dark green leaves and the rough wooden crates stacked nearby, creating a slick sheen on the bark. The workers wear heavy, weathered jackets in muted earth tones, their hands moving with practiced rhythm to pluck clusters of deep purple grapes. Beside the vineyard, the orderly, flat-topped bushes of the tea plantation stretch into the mist. Droplets rest on the stems and drip from the brims of their hats onto the damp soil. at the edge is a single wooden crate, half-filled with fruit, resting on the wet, gray earth.