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Host rating
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Last replied
15 Jan 2025
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Description
7 years ago we started our project with a dream of creating a sustainable homestead-school overflowing with fun, learning and abundance.
We live in a quiet rural neighborhood with lots of trees and greenery, about 3 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. Our property sits on 1000 square meters and we also have a large field nearby for farming. We started with a typical Japanese country garden of ornamentals, Japanese plum, persimmon, and summer orange. We’ve since added blueberries, strawberries, Juneberries, pear, pomegranate, paw-paw, hazelnut, figs, banana and more. Our design is loosely based on the principles of permaculture and forest gardening, and we don’t use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.
At present, we also keep 5 chickens, some European bees, and a rabbit. We do some annuals such as peas, parsnips, potatoes, carrots, beetroots, onions, eggplants and tomatoes.
With 2 elementary-school boys, play is especially important to us. In the garden we do tree-climbing, and cooking on the fire, and we make frequent trips to the beach for surfing and skateboarding.
The house was built by master craftsmen 40 years ago in the traditional Japanese style, and we have since renovated the main living area to create a spacious kitchen-dining room with a wood burning stove. We also have a traditional 2-floor storehouse on the grounds which we use as a classroom.
On Wednesdays we hold a small market selling vegetables, eggs, home-roasted coffee, sweets and whatever else our members bring to sell. As you can tell, food is important to us. As much as possible we use homegrown/local, organic, and fairtrade ingredients. And my wife loves to cook up feasts using these ingredients, which occasionally feature locally-sourced game including deer and wild boar. Meanwhile I roast organic fairtrade coffee beans. There’s always a good meal, a strong cup of coffee, and something going on at our house. It’s lively but relaxed, peaceful but comfortably shambolic!
We started hosting Workawayers in September 2022 and it has been an amazing and transformative experience. We love Workaway, and have only had one real problem with it - getting too many requests from too many amazing people, especially as Japan has become an increasingly popular tourist destination. I simply do not have time reply to all the requests.
Below is a list of skills and projects. Please only send requests if you have actual experience and skills in these areas. Workawayers should be able to intitiate and carry through work in this area without much supervision.
In your initial message to us, please state clearly your skills and experience. If you don’t, I’m sorry but I will not reply. As of October 2024, we are looking for Workawayers with the following experience and skills:
> Permaculture design and implementation
> Arborism and fruit-tree pruning, teaching of arborism
> Mycology and mushroom cultivation
> Construction: outdoor shower, treehouse , porch, deck
> Renovation: external mud wall and wooden cladding
> Natural gas system design and construction
> Rainwater collection system design and construction
> Water drainage system design and construction
> Lighting work and installation
> Teaching of Alexander Technique
> Teaching of guitar, clarinet, or music production
> Nature education programme design and implementation
> Teaching of EFL, getting teaching materials manufactured
> Producing and publishing picture books
If you have the experience and skills, are good at working with minimal supervision, like kids, respect our dream and the concept of fair trade, and like to get stuck in to all kinds of projects, we’d love to have you!
*Also please state whether you will be coming with travel insurance in your message.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Want English guidance about Japan? We are a multicultural family, with me being from the UK and my wife from Japan. I have lived in Japan for 23 years, speak Japanese fluently, and run a successful small business. We can help you understand Japan. Also, my adult students would love to meet you and talk with you in English.
Want to learn Japanese? Our family switches between English and Japanese from moment to moment. You’ll pick up many Japanese expressions from the context.
Want knowledge of homesteading, permaculture and sustainability? You can learn from our successes and mistakes. And we have many local friends working for a more sustainable community, many of whom gather at our Wednesday market.
Want to learn to surf or tree-climbing with ropes? We’re set up for beginners.
Want to learn organic beekeeping or raising chickens in your backyard? We can show you how.
Want to learn English? Just join in my classes!
Want to learn cooking or coffee-roasting? That’s possible too!
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
> Permaculture design and implementation
> Arborism and fruit-tree pruning, teaching of arborism
> Mycology and mushroom cultivation
> Construction: outdoor shower, treehouse , porch, deck
> Renovation: external mud wall and wooden cladding
> Natural gas system design and construction
> Rainwater collection system design and construction
> Water drainage system design and construction
> Lighting work and installation
> Teaching of Alexander Technique
> Teaching of guitar, clarinet, or music production
> Nature education programme design and implementation
> Teaching of EFL, getting teaching materials manufactured
> Producing and publishing picture books
+
Garden maintenance: caring for annuals and perennials, making beds and paths, making compost, pruning, planting, weeding, harvesting, pickling, woodchopping
Home maintenance: cleaning, cooking, DIY
Childcare: play with our kids and teach them cool stuff
Chicken care
Art: Yes, please!
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Japanese: Fluent
German: Beginner
French: Beginner
Accommodation
We have 2 traditional tatami rooms with futons where we can accommodate up to 3 workawayers. Bathroom facilities are shared.
We eat breakfast at about 7:30AM and dinner at about 7:30PM. Lunch is around noon.
A typical breakfast: yoghurt with fresh fruit, toast or pancakes, coffee
A typical lunch: vegetable stir-fry on rice topped with a fried egg
A typical dinner: fish, rice, soup, a fresh vegetable dish or two
What else ...
Time off: Surfing, skateboarding, cycling, fishing, hiking, local trips by train, cafes and restaurants, day trips to Tokyo.
Local sights: Historic wood carvings, one of which inspired Hokusai's Great Wave woodblock design. Kiyomizu Temple, a largely unknown gem of a temple. Brown’s Field, the home of macrobiotic food in Japan. Various beaches for all levels of surfer. Firefly-viewing in June. Yoro River waterfalls and river swimming. Utopia clifftop walk with stunning ocean views. Lots of great value-for-money golf courses if you’re into that. Nakadaki Art Village with regular live events. Taito Lighthouse, with panoramic ocean views.
Transport: 2 standard bicycles available. 15 minutes walk from the nearest train station. Tokyo Station reachable within an hour and a half. 2 hours to Narita Airport. 2.5 hours to Haneda Airport.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (19)
For us, the time spent with the Pott family was like a dream filled with colorful images, the likes of which we have never experienced before. As we said when we said goodbye, it is difficult to describe in words the love that has developed within us during the time we… read more
Dániel did a lot of grass-cutting, path-making, and wood-chopping. He also made a dubstep edit of a piece of music I produced 13 years ago - and it'll be interesting… read more
They worked so hard; cutting grass, pruning, collecting rubbish, weeding beds, levelling an access road, making compost bins, starting a mandala garden and making a hugulkultur, and planting sorghum, hairy vetch, parsnips and peanuts. And that’s just outside!
Inside… read more
Photos
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For us, the time spent with the Pott family was like a dream filled with colorful images, the likes of which we have never experienced before. As we said when we said goodbye, it is difficult to describe in words the love that has developed within us during the time we… read more
Dániel did a lot of grass-cutting, path-making, and wood-chopping. He also made a dubstep edit of a piece of music I produced 13 years ago - and it'll be interesting… read more
They worked so hard; cutting grass, pruning, collecting rubbish, weeding beds, levelling an access road, making compost bins, starting a mandala garden and making a hugulkultur, and planting sorghum, hairy vetch, parsnips and peanuts. And that’s just outside!
Inside… read more
> made a gorgeous and unique window for the door of our compost toilet
> made a hand-washing… read more
I got the opportunity to apply a decent range of different permaculture-related skills through different projects, primarily focusing on improving the newly… read more
We was able to install the compost toilet in the jungle area we hope you will have a good time with it. The base will survive a verry… read more
She helped in the garden: cutting grass, starting the mandala gardens and hugulkultur, and planting sorghum, hairy vetch, parsnips and peanuts. She weeded the beds and worked on our blueberry patch. And she looked after the chickens every day, giving me a very welcome break from those tasks.… read more
They came on a mission to make something incorporating Japanese joinery. They designed and made 4 stackable whiteboard-holder-cum-chair modules for my classroom.
During the project, they encountered a few frustrating moments achieving the precision they… read more
As soon as we arrived at the house we found ourselves eating outside by the fire followed by an impromptu jam session and we felt like we had come home.
Satsuki provided the best food that we have experienced as… read more
They worked really hard and professionally, making a new pantry and beautiful gateway-cum-storage shed! Listening to them working happily together was a joy too!
We had so much fun with them. They fit in so… read more
He washed lots of dishes and made delicious pumpkin pie and spicy cod roe pasta. And he researched and got us starting to make delicious flavored honey wine.
He cast a spell on… read more
She also helped indoors, cooking meals, washing up, decluttering,… read more
They worked cheerfully: making bamboo fencing and helping to harvest honey, plant seeds, weed garden beds, prune trees and hedges, make a green curtain, and make a new garden bed. They also helped a lot in the kitchen.
They were up for… read more
Rob is very knowledgeable about permaculture and we learnt so much from him, thank you for your patience with us beginners!
We loved the variation of… read more
Work-wise, she pruned trees, helped care for the chickens, collected loads of leaves for mulch, and chopped lots of fruit. She helped extract honey, make persimmon chutney and pickle roselle, and washed up and sorted laundry like a champion.… read more
We had the freedom to get involved with anything that interested us, with clear direction when needed.
Digging… read more
She treated us to delicious homemade limoncello, minestrone soup and tiramisu! Yum!
And she was… read more
We spent 3 weeks with the wonderful Pott family, who welcomed us into their home. They showed us much love and gave us a lot of inspiration, we didn't really want to leave...
We were exposed to many aspects of rural Japanese culture and were blessed to meet many lovely,… read more
First she took on an oyster mushroom cultivation project. She made up various mixes of straw, coffee grounds, sawdust, and spore mix, keeping precise notes of her whole… read more
There is a list of things to help with so we could choose how we wanted to help.
One of my favorite projects was the green rooftop.
Rob & Satsuki were always happy to explain more about their project and everything they… read more
Rob & Satsuki have a lot on their plate, intentionally so. On top of being attentive parents to Kaimu & Hanon, Rob runs English classes to local kids / folks, and both cultivate their farm whilst hosting communal gatherings in between, as well as a weekly… read more
We shared stories over delicious food, great beer, fun games, drawing sessions, shared projects and while exploring their… read more
On the 3rd day after he’d finished a repair job we’d asked him to do, he decided to help us build a bike shed out of recycled wood. The wood was really old and difficult to work with. He was… read more
What a charming couple! Andreas & Sofia came after a really busy time for us (with 3 workawayers staying) and left just before we made a trip to the UK. I couldn’t have imagined better guests for that slot. They are so gentle, calm, helpful, polite and cheerful!
Also, their communication before the visit was flawless. I… read more
We felt at home right away, and what a home it was! The house is extremely beautiful, built in traditional Japanese… read more
Tristan and Maeva are delightful!
Tristan built a unique chicken tractor with Japanese-style features, a wall to our gazebo with storage and a fold-down table, and helped with the carpentry aspects of another Workawayer's project. He also made a delicious Beef Bourguignon!
Maeva used her architectural skills to make… read more
