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Host rating
80 %
Last replied
11 Sep 2025
Feedback
22
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Host offers payment
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Description
Are you passionate about teaching English, cooking, DIY projects, or marketing? If you have skills or interest in any of these areas, we’d love for you to contribute to our project.
ABOUT US:
Come and experience the beauty of the Japanese countryside in Kagawa, Shikoku.
Our project brings together international travelers and locals to create a space for cultural exchange, language learning, and community building. Based in a renovated school building, we are more than just a place to stay—we offer a hub for creativity and connection. Here, you can meet fellow travelers, collaborate with Japanese residents, and contribute to meaningful projects such as DIY renovations, English lessons, community events, and more.
Our goal is to reimagine rural Japan as a welcoming destination for both travelers and future international residents.
Japan is currently experiencing two significant changes at once: Population decline and urban migration. Rural areas like Kagawa are at risk of fading away. We see our work as one small but important step toward preserving the traditions, culture, and slower pace of countryside life.
Life in Kagawa—surrounded by rice fields, mountains, and peaceful rural landscapes—offers a very different side of Japan compared to Tokyo or Osaka. We have bikes you can use to travel and cars available for rent, so getting around the countryside is easy.
If our project resonates with you, we believe your time here on Shikoku Island will be unforgettable. You’ll experience a unique mix of culture and nature while connecting with like-minded people who share your passion for community and exchange.
OUR CONDITIONS
1. Workawayers will be asked to help 4 hours a day, 5 days a week (20 hours total).
2. Payment is 970 yen per hour.
3. We provide room and board.
4. Workawayers will be required to stay for at least one month. Unfortunately, we cannot host stays shorter than one month. Longer stays are preferred and more likely to be accepted.
5. Workawayers will be responsible for their own travel insurance for the length of their stay.
6. A Working Holiday Visa is mandatory.
If this project excites you, send us a message introducing yourself and describing how you’d like to contribute. Suitable candidates will be invited to a follow-up meeting where we will discuss the details of the position.
Thank you for showing interest in our project. We look forward to getting to know you!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Videography
Technology
Sustainability
Self development
Events & social
Culture
Charity work
Art & design
Gardening
Languages
Photography
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Blogging
Mountain
Nature
Hiking
Cycling
Beach
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
There are numerous opportunities to interact with Japanese people through English classes and regular events, as well as in the local community. Our goal is to create a community where people from diverse backgrounds can work and live together, to bring more diversity to Kagawa.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage
This host offers accommodation and payment.
Help
The help is varied, so we would love to hear about your skill set in the application!
Routine tasks :
1. Running English camps for local middle/high school students and English conversation classes for various Japanese locals
2. Renovation and maintenance of Japanese houses and the school (cleaning, painting, DIY)
3. Cooking, cleaning, and dishwashing
4. Event planning & Hosting events
5. Social Media and Marketing
6. Interactions with the local community
7. Organization tasks
You are also welcome to start your own project to improve this project.
You are all set if you can speak casual conversational English.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Japanese: Fluent
Accommodation
There is a staff share house located about 5 minutes on foot from the school.
One house is shared by 3–4 people. The kitchen, bathroom, and toilet are shared, but each person has a private bedroom.
Men and Women are separated into two sharehouses. If you are a couple, please consult us in advance, and we can arrange a separate house.
We provide you with 3 meals a day. Lunch and dinner will be eaten together, food will be available in the kitchen for breakfast, and your own cooking.
What else ...
GREAT SKILLS TO HAVE (not required):
Conversational Japanese
Cooking Skills
Teaching Skills
Driver's license (valid in Japan)
Digital marketing and social media skills
Creative Skills
Organizational Skills
WHAT TO DO AROUND SANUKI:
Try the Sanuki Udon! It's famous all over the country.
There are multiple Onsens (hot springs) in Sanuki, one is very close to our school!
Climb and hike the nearby mountains.
There is a beautiful beach you can reach by bicycle!
The last three temples of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, or O-henro route, are located in Sanuki!
There is a dolphin center where can even feed them, and in the nearby river, you can see turtle families everywhere!
You can reach the next biggest city, Takamatsu, easily by train (the train station is located 3 min from the school): Karaoke, bouldering, round 1, bars, shotengai, whatever you could wish for!
There are also FREE BICYCLES available for the Workawayers! If you have a valid driver's license, cars are also available for up to 4 hours for free per week, or longer to rent.
How to get to Sanuki:
Sanuki is located in Kagawa prefecture on Shikoku Island, one of Japan's four big islands across the strait to the south of Hiroshima.
From Tokyo, there are direct flights to Takamatsu (the capital of Kagawa).
From other areas of Japan, we recommend either taking the Shinkansen or highway buses.
Don’t worry if you aren’t comfortable with public transportation—we will help you!
We can also arrange pick-up at TAKAMATSU AIRPORT or TSUDA HIGHWAY BUS STOP if needed.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Wifi connection is stable in the school. Digital Nomads are more than welcome to join.
Space for parking camper vans
There is free parking right in front of the school!
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (15)
Everyone was so nice and I only have good memories about this place ! I met so many friends there !
The work environment was really good and we were free to share our ideas and create new things. The food and accommodation were really nice too !
I absolutely loved organizing… read more
The area is calm and beautiful, surrounded by nature, and the local people are kind, respectful, and always welcoming. The accommodation was cozy and comfortable, and the working hours were… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.6)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(4.9)
Everyone was so nice and I only have good memories about this place ! I met so many friends there !
The work environment was really good and we were free to share our ideas and create new things. The food and accommodation were really nice too !
I absolutely loved organizing… read more
The area is calm and beautiful, surrounded by nature, and the local people are kind, respectful, and always welcoming. The accommodation was cozy and comfortable, and the working hours were… read more
The staff were warm, friendly, and open-minded, and the work was… read more
There are many tasks you can choose between. Such as: planning events, diy, cleaning, social media marketing and cooking. You can do what you’re good at! 🙌
Me and Olivia were the cooks for the entire month and I feel like I got to… read more
Tasks vary from… read more
I stayed here for almost 2 months starting August 2024. I will treasure those memories forever. It was a great opportunity to interact with both a lot of foreigners, as well as the local Japanese residents. I always felt that my feedback was valued, and my work was respected. I would… read more
Furthermore, Her assistance in our marketing is very good she come up with a new content and creative idea for our… read more
After doing volunteer jobs in city hostels, I wanted to escape to the countryside to get a more communal experience - and I definitely did!
The team, the residents of Sanuki city and the rest of Kagawa prefecture and my fellow volunteers… read more
Signe’s dedication to teaching and her ability to engage effectively with both the team and the students have been truly impressive. She has demonstrated a strong understanding of the material, significantly contributing to a positive learning environment… read more
The location was very good, near the train station to head into the city and a 20-minute cycle to the local beach. It was a real slice of the Japanese countryside.
I was doing a mixture of social media posting and content creating, teaching locals English at the local English club (which was very… read more
Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are deeply appreciative of your involvement. Thank you for being such an essential part of our team and for making a positive difference in the lives of those we serve.
Immersing myself in an old elementary school and mingling with the locals was a unique sensation, made all the more so by the staff who listened to every need.
I'd definitely recommend it!
We were just starting to use Workaway and many things may not have been in place, but they rather enjoyed the environment.
He also suggested a lot of things for us to do.
The day before he left us, he received a letter from local resident that he had interacted with, which shows his upbeat personality.
We… read more
