Cultural exchange with warm connections in Nagasaki, Japan

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  Hello Workawayers!
  Are you passionate about cultural exchange, love spending time with children, and enjoy sharing your own traditions and ideas? Then you might be a perfect fit for our community!
  We run a small, community-based cultural exchange project in Isahaya City, Nagasaki, focused on connecting local children, families, and people from around the world.
  This project is a great fit for Workawayers who:
  ✔︎ Enjoy interacting with kids and families in a warm, casual setting
  ✔︎ Can live cooperatively in a shared house environment
  ✔︎ Are eager to actively contribute ideas and energy to our activities
  ✔︎ Are flexible and happy to join a variety of activities, from cultural events to outdoor adventures
  
  I’m Akino, a 35-year-old mother of three. I started this project in December 2023 to create a space where people from different backgrounds can meet, learn from each other, and build real connections. I’ve traveled to over a dozen countries and previously volunteered abroad, and now I bring those experiences into our local community by hosting Workawayers.
  This project is best suited for people who enjoy active interaction with children, families, and local people, and who are comfortable with flexible schedules, rather than those looking for a very fixed routine or a lot of private time.
  
  New Update: Our Project Is Growing
  Since December 2025, our cultural exchange community has officially become a non-profit organization (NPO) in Japan.
  In simple terms, this means we are a community-based, non-profit project focused on education, cultural exchange, and social impact rather than making money.
  Becoming an NPO allows us to work more closely with local institutions, and we are now planning to expand our activities by collaborating with kindergartens, schools, and other educational organizations in the area.
  
  How to Apply:
  We receive many messages, so to make the process smooth, please send a complete first message using the application template (found in the “What else” section).
  If your first message includes all the requested information and shows a genuine understanding of our community, and we feel you would be a good fit for an active and meaningful cultural exchange, we often confirm stays after just one message (when we have availability).

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Karitative Arbeit

  Kunstprojekte

  Sprachpraxis

  Unterrichten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Babysitten und Kinderbetreuung

  Zubereiten / Kochen von Mahlzeiten für die Familie

  Hausarbeiten

  Handwerkliche Arbeiten
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  Interessengebiete

  

  Selbstentwicklung

  

  Events & Sozialleben

  

  Kultur

  

  Heimwerken & DIY

  

  Sprachen

  

  Gartenarbeiten

  

  Kochen & Backen

  

  Wandern

  

  Outdoor-Aktivitäten

  

  Gebirge

  

  Camping

  

  Natur

  

  Yoga / Wellness
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  UNO-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, die dieser Gastgeber verfolgt

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  Was ist das?
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Here, you’ll experience authentic rural Japanese life and real community connections.
  You can:
  ・Share your culture and language with local children and families
  ・Experience Japanese customs, seasonal events, and home-style meals
  ・Practice Japanese through daily conversations
  ・Join crafts, cooking, outdoor activities, and local outings
  ・Gain experience in community-based and educational exchange
  
  We believe that cultural exchange is a two-way journey. While you share your world with us, we are excited to share our culture, lifestyle, and hospitality with you!
  
  As a non-profit organization, our project is supported by local members who truly care about cultural exchange.
  They help make your stay in Isahaya more enjoyable by sharing local recommendations, inviting you to events, and sometimes even guiding you around the area.
  Volunteers are genuinely welcomed by the community, not just hosted. The membership fees from these local supporters help cover essential costs such as rent, utilities, and internet for the Workawayer house. Thanks to this support, we are able to continue offering a stable and welcoming place for cultural exchange.
  We hope volunteers remember that the best way to give back is through meaningful interaction—talking, sharing, playing, cooking, and spending time with local children and adults.
  Your presence, openness, and willingness to connect are what make this exchange truly valuable for everyone.

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  Eingetragene Wohltätigkeitsorganisation

  Dieser Gastgeber ist in seinem Land als Wohltätigkeitsorganisation eingetragen und sucht Freiwillige, die bei seinen Projekten mithelfen.

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  Projekte mit Kindern

  Dieses Projekt schließt möglicherweise den Umgang mit Kindern ein. Mehr Informationen findest du in unseren Verhaltensregeln und Tipps hier.

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  Arbeit

  Your main role is to participate in cultural exchange programs and events and actively engage with local children and community members.
  Sharing your own culture, language, or activity ideas is very welcome.
  
  Main programs:
  ■Kids Cultural Exchange Program ( Wed & Thu & Fri, 15:00–19:00)
  We host cultural exchange activities for local children through games, crafts, cooking, storytelling, and language activities. We cook together with the kids and share dinner as part of the program, interacting in a fun and friendly way.
  
  ■Parent & Toddler Cultural Exchange Program ( Tue, 10:00–14:00 )
  A relaxed program for young children and their parents, sometimes including outings such as picnics or short trips. We usually cook and eat lunch together with the children and parents or eat out when we do outings.
  
  ■Community events / day trips / potlucks / camping / school visits ( About once/twice a week)
  We regularly organize community events such as potlucks, day trips / seasonal gatherings, outdoor activities, and occasional visits to kindergartens or schools.
  These activities are often included in our weekly schedule (about twice a week) and are an important part of building meaningful connections with the local community.
  
  
  - Activities usually run 5 days per week, about 3 - 5 hours per day
  - 2 full days off per week
  - Days off are not always fixed, as events vary by week
  - Volunteers are expected to help for around 20 hours per week.
  - In weeks with special programs or events, helping hours may be higher, and we will balance this by adjusting the schedule in surrounding weeks.
  
  During school vacation periods (such as summer break or winter break),
  our regular Kids and Parent & Toddler programs may be replaced by special programs.
  Schedules and formats during these periods may differ from the usual weekly structure.
  Flexibility is especially important during school holidays.
  
  If you have travel plans or special requests, we are happy to discuss and adjust the schedule as long as we know at least one month in advance. A monthly schedule can be shared around the middle of the previous month upon request.
  
  Housekeeping
  As this is your home during your stay, volunteers share daily chores such as cleaning, laundry, dishes, garbage, compost, and gardening.

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  Sprachen

  Gesprochene Sprachen
  Englisch: Fließend
  Japanisch: Fließend
  Spanisch: Grundkenntnisse
  Französisch: Grundkenntnisse
  Thai: Grundkenntnisse

  Dieser Gastgeber bietet Sprachaustausch an
  Dieser Gastgeber gibt an, dass er dir gern seine Muttersprache beibringt oder selbst eine Sprache lernen möchte.
  Bitte wende dich direkt an ihn, um weitere Auskünfte zu erhalten.
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  Unterkunft

  You’ll stay in a small, dedicated Workawayer house where we also host programs and events.
  Our family lives about 1.6 km away, and I am always present and involved in all programs and activities. My children often join the programs as well, and for weekend events, my husband usually participates too. We regularly spend time together through activities and outings.
  
  The house includes:
  ・One bedroom (2 beds)
  ・One living room (1 bed, separated by a curtain)
  ・Shared kitchen, toilet, and shower
  
  We usually host 2–3 volunteers, so comfort with shared living and communication is important.
  The nearest train station, JR Nishi-Isahaya, is a 14-minute walk (950m) away.
  There’s a 7-Eleven about 10 minutes on foot (750m), and a supermarket about 23 minutes away (1.7 km). For fresh bread lovers, the popular bakery Kamando is just a 9-minute walk (650m)!
  When you arrive in Isahaya on the first day, I can pick you up at JR Nishi-Isahaya Station, Isahaya Station, or the Isahaya Interchange bus stop.
  If you're flying into Nagasaki Airport, you can take a bus to Isahaya Station.
  
  Food
  We always provide basic ingredients such as rice, seasonings, and local members often share vegetables or other foods with us.
  We cover the cost of ingredients for meals shared during cultural exchange programs and events. For these shared meals, we decide the menu together with our volunteers. We would love for you to introduce dishes from your home country or suggest Japanese foods you'd like to try!
  
  You are free to use any crops from our small garden as well. (Please note, depending on the season, there may be limited harvests.) If you help out in the garden during your stay, it would be a great gift to future volunteers!
  
  Outside of program meals, you are responsible for your own food expenses and eating out.
  We respect individual dietary choices, such as vegetarian diets. We do our best to be creative and inclusive—for example, by cooking vegetarian-friendly Japanese dishes together whenever possible.
  That said, in a community-based setting with shared programs and events, we may not always be able to accommodate all dietary needs at every meal.
  If suitable options are not available on certain occasions, we kindly ask volunteers to take care of their own meals at those times.
  
  We appreciate your flexibility and encourage you to share your own food culture with us and the community!

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  Was noch ...

  Thank you so much for reading all the way!
  If you would like to apply, please copy and paste the following template into your message and fill it out:
  
  ★Application Template★ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
  1. Available dates:
  (Example: June 1 – July 22)
  2. Self-introduction:
  (A few sentences about who you are, your background, and your interests)
  3. Why you would like to stay with us:
  (What attracted you to our project and community?)
  4. Skills or cultural ideas you can share:
  (Any skills, hobbies, cultural experiences, or activities you would like to introduce)
  5. What you would like to experience during your stay:
  (This could be cultural exchange, daily life with locals, working with children, improving your Japanese, outdoor activities, or anything else you are curious about)
  ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
  
  Please be as specific as you can.
  Applications that include all of the above information will be given priority.
  Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions before you apply.
  Thank you so much for your understanding — we’re very excited to meet you!

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  Etwas mehr Information

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    Internet Zugang

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    Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

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    Wir besitzen Tiere

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    Wir sind Raucher

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    Familien möglich

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  Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen

  We have Wi-Fi and can host digital nomads. However, please note that our programs run at scheduled times, and participation in these programs is required. If you have fixed working hours that cannot be adjusted, it may be difficult to match our schedule. You are welcome to do your own work during your free time.

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  Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

  Dieser Gastgeber bietet Platz für Wohnmobile.

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  zwei

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  Meine Tiere/Haustiere

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