updated  

Quiet life and simple chores in our house and gardens in Ome, western Tokyo, Japan

  • Favourited 1129 times
  • Last activity: 19 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 1 month

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Details

  • Description

    Description

    We are currently accepting applications for June! Between June and September, we usually need a big help in our gardens.

    We typically decide whom to host approximately a month and a half
    or two months before the expected arrival date. We may not be able to respond if you send us applications before that.

    Thank you so much!

    -----------
    日本人の方でもOKです。

    Hello! Thanks for reading our profile!

    We appreciate so much people who send great messages! We really enjoy reading them. Unfortunately we can host only one person at a time and have to send rejection messages to many people. Please do not get discouraged even if we cannot host you.

    ——-
    We only host solo travelers.

    Please read our profile carefully. We won’t be returning messages whose sender has obviously not read it.
    日本人の方の滞在も歓迎しています。(We welcome Japanese travelers, too!)

    We are grateful to receive lots of inquiries. However we are afraid that many people have very brief profiles which give us too little information about her/him, with just a few photos, without any review. Please give ample information in your profile so we can get to know better your personality, character, your values, your dream etc..

    We CANNOT host anyone without a travel insurance. Medical care in Japan is NOT free. We do not accept anyone reckless enough to travel around without proper insurance!

    PLEASE avoid cancellation as much as possible!

    Please note that it is absolutely NO SMOKING at our place, including the garden and the vicinity.

    —-
    About us

    We are a married couple, MITAKE Naoya and Emi. You can address us as "Mitake-san" and "Emi-san." We moved to the VERY western part of Tokyo in 2016, closer to the mountains and the Tama River, to enjoy life in the natural environment. We are still in Tokyo with convenience stores and grocery stores, but the atmosphere is almost rural, though still accessible and commutable to the city center. Both of us commute to the city center. Emi is a clinical psychologist and works for a middle and high school for girls in the center of Tokyo, and MITAKE teaches comparative politics at Komazawa University. Mitake has lived in Dallas, Texas, USA from 1981-1982 as an high school exchange student, and spent 1 year in Belgium during the 90s. He is also a PQ coach (mental fitness coach), and enjoys providing coaching sessions to young people

    Emi loves to paint, to play piano, and she makes stained-glass works. Many workawayers have joined the lessons she is taking and they loved it. She loves the works of MURAKAMI Haruki. MITAKE loves to play and watch tennis and a huge fan of Roger Federer. He is a long time fan of Queen, too. Both of us have lived in San Diego, California, USA from 1999-2001 when Mitake was a visiting scholar at UCSD. We both love nature and enjoys gardening.

    We know a bit about what it is like to become workawayers as we ourselves have workawayed in Cambodia and Uganda. We have already hosted many travelers from many parts of the world including the ones we hosted in the city center when we lived in a condo there.

    We believe Workaway is the one of the best ways to travel. It allows us, both hosts and stayers, to have great chances for cultural exchanges and learning from each other. We are glad to be able to meet travelers from around the world and hear their interesting stories, and give them opportunities to experience life in Japan. We get most joy when we see Workawayers go out there, explore the area and venture into having fun interactions with locals in Tokyo.

    So, we would like you to state in your application your intention of coming and staying at our place and would also like very much to know how you would like to spend your free time here. Considering the fact that there are so many applicants, we would rather give chances to people who have clear intention of exploring our area, enjoying our neighborhood, and see and get to know our country, and thus make the best out of staying at our place!

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    You can experience a totally different Tokyo here. While you can still go to the city center easily (we do commute there), the area is quiet and full of nature. By exploring the area, you might find different cultural aspects of Tokyo. We believe we communicate very well with people with different backgrounds. And being in the education field, we can take any question you might have on Japan, or whatever. We enjoy stimulating and inspiring conversational exchanges to each other.

  • Help

    Help

    --------
    Typically, we give priority to individuals who can commit to staying for four weeks. On occasion, we may host for a shorter duration, such as a week, when additional assistance is required alongside a Workawayer. Throughout the winter months, we generally refrain from hosting, given the limited gardening needs and the high utility costs for heating. However, exceptions may be made for hosting one or two Workawayers for a brief period based on specific needs.

    We prioritize individuals aged 25 or above, emphasizing a certain level of life skills and social aptitude, who are capable of conducting chores independently. Preferably, candidates possess valuable job experiences, although we don't rule out younger applicants. Previous Workaway experience is a plus.

    We seek Workawayers who are friendly, talkative, and outgoing, as well as environmentally conscious, dedicated, and humble. The ideal candidate is willing to learn new things, proactive, respectful, and cooperative in maintaining the quiet and clean environment of our house.

    We mainly ask for help in the area of house chores and gardening. Please describe specifically your experience of cleaning and tidying in the house and gardening in your application.

    Many people seem to think cleaning and tidying is easy and anyone can do it. Yes, anyone can, but some people are better than others. We want to welcome people who are GOOD at cleaning and tidying (as we are NOT!). Please describe specifically your experience of cleaning and tidying in the house in your application.

    The help with daily house chores includes various tasks, such as cleaning toilets and bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, wiping the floors, cleaning windows, grocery shopping, possibly cooking, and other house-related chores. Additionally, there might be small maintenance or repair tasks.

    We have no pets, no kids, no elderlies living together in the house.

    Gardening includes weeding, insect control, plowing, relocating plants, small-scale landscaping, etc. Please be prepared to undertake these tasks, including dealing with insects, especially in early summer. Specific descriptions of your experience in these areas are welcomed here.

    We welcome Workawayers who love cooking. This doesn't imply that we exclusively accept individuals with exceptional cooking skills, nor does it require you to cook for us constantly—this, in fact, doesn't happen too often. You're not obligated to eat with us all the time either. Instead, our experience has shown that individuals with good cooking skills often possess excellent communication skills, making their stay more fruitful. Moreover, they tend to spend less of our money on food. Please honestly inform us if you have good cooking abilities, as it is preferable.

    Additionally, we request Workawayers to provide clear instructions to the next Workawayer.

    You spend approximately four hours in helping us in the mornings, and 1hr in the evenings. On the days you help us, you need to be READY TO START by 7 am or so. In the summer, we might ask you to be ready as early as 5 am (as happened during the hot summer of 2023!). You certainly need to be an early riser!

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Japanese: Fluent
    French: Beginner

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We are located in the western part of the City of Ome in the Tokyo Metropolis. It generally takes about 1 hour and a half to get to our place from the city center such as Shinjuku or Shibuya. About 6 minutes from the nearest JR train station.

    Please note that our place is very quiet, and you will spend a significant amount of time on your own during your stay, as we commute to work in the city center and do not have children.

    Depending on the situation, your room arrangement may vary. We have traditional Japanese rooms as well as rather westernized style rooms. Sometimes you will get your own room but we cannot guarantee it as guests from other venues have priority. When we have no guests you can have a large Japanese room to yourself, but other times when we have other guests and/or helpers, you may need to share space with others, and/or to sleep in the space where others use as common space during the daytime. Please note that Japanese rooms are not as private as in Western houses as they are separated only by paper sliding doors. Toilets and bathrooms are common.

    Other guests may be present at the time of your stay. In fact, it may be possible that you meet some students I teach at my university and former students who have graduated recently.

    Please acknowledge that when other guests come or when we want to use the space, you may need to vacate the room you sleep temporarily during the daytime.

    We generally offer reasonably priced food for all meals you have at our place, including lunches (excluding ready-to-eat food, expensive meat or fish, fancy desserts, and alcoholic beverages). Please note that we would appreciate it if you could consume white rice as much as possible, as it is the staple food of Japan (allowing you to learn our culture) and also the most economical option.

    We are usually unable to cook for you, but you are welcome to cook for yourself in the kitchen. You can do your own grocery shopping using our bicycle.

    You don't eat together all the time, but, of course, we enjoy cooking together and eating together, anytime when our circumstances and schedule allow us. In fact, those are the moments we have enjoyed most until now! We love it when Workawayers cook their home country's food for us, though it's not necessary to do so all the time.

    Please note that it is absolutely no smoking at our place, including the garden and the vicinity.

    Generally, walls in the Japanese houses are thin and ours is no exception: please keep it down, especially at night. No music, no dancing !!

    The railroad track of the JR Ome line is just in front of us. Normally, people do not mind the noise and some vibration when the trains pass by as the service is infrequent here and the trains are short. But if you are extremely sensitive, you may be advised to consult us beforehand. Also, do NOT enter the railroad track.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    You can have fun outdoor activities, such as rafting, canoeing, and so on in the nearby upstream of the Tama River, which is beautiful, though some of them are unfortunately a bit pricey. Walking, bicycling, hiking in the mountains are also available. Visiting shrines and temples nearby including the famous but less touristy Mitake Shrine. The Okutama Lake is about 30 minutes away by a train ride. And of course, you can visit the center of Tokyo once in a while if you miss the crowd and vibrant atmosphere there anytime, though it does cost about 1000 yen one way for the JR train ride.

    We cannot guarantee, but if our schedule permits, we would love to take you around!!

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 451748822118

Feedback (26)



Photos

Feedback

These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.

Accuracy of profile: (5.0)

Cultural exchange: (5.0)

Communication: (5.0)













































Hepl in a traditional Japanese farmer village in Fujieda, Shizuoka
Help a family on a small farm with a magnificent view of Mt Fuji, Japan