Enjoy a slow-life retreat and help around the house in rural Tsumagoi, Japan

Details

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  Description

  Hello Workaway people.
  
  This is going to be an unusual listing because... it's actually all about washing dishes. But more on that later!
  
  First things first, we ONLY host female volunteers, and DO NOT host couples. No exceptions.
  
  Now, the short version:
  
  We are a quirky, unconventional international couple (+2 international? cats) that - after many varied life experiences - decided to buy a large house and move to rural Japan. We own a few businesses, are focused on personal development, and have everything we want out here except for good company: pleasant, communicative, respectful, curious, and open-minded people also interested in personal growth… who can help with the dishes! (see, it's really about the dishes).
  
  Now for the longer version. Please read in detail since the details are important. If it feels like we are trying to put you off or scare you away… that’s because we are! Your time is valuable, so we want to make sure that this is a good fit. It would be awful to fly halfway around the world only to find yourself in a situation that you don’t like!
  
  More about us
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  As mentioned above, our focus in life is personal development. We’ve been through a lot and are complex people with complex backgrounds.
  
  Akiko was an internationally performing classical musician. Alex was a high school drop-out. How did they end up together in the forest in Japan?!
  
  Our journeys have been filled with growth, challenges, unexpected turns, and the pursuit of self-understanding - leaving us with little tolerance for superficial interactions.
  
  We thrive on open-mindedness and enjoy delving into discussions on a wide range of topics, even those considered personal or taboo by some. We enjoy interesting, challenging, deep conversations that help us understand ourselves and the world around us better.
  
  It’s not all about talking, however. We also do our best to put what we learn into practice by living a deliberate, healthy lifestyle. We exercise regularly in creative ways (hikes, yardwork, animal flow practice, yoga, etc), eat healthy homecooked meals, keep a regular sleeping schedule, practice mindfulness as part of our daily life, and minimize unneeded stress. At this point, we probably spend more time petting our cats than we do “working”. In fact, the only that consistently stresses us out is.. dishes.
  
  This lifestyle isn't for everyone and might seem like heaven - or hell - depending on who you are. Heaven? Keep reading.
  
  House Rules
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  Absolutely no smoking, whether inside or outside. If you smoke at all, this isn’t the place for you, as we can’t stand the smell even on people’s clothes.
  
  No guests. This is our house, so please do not feel free to invite strangers (to us) to it.
  
  Quiet hours. We really like peace and quiet, especially in our house, so we ask our guests to keep things very quiet between the hours of 8:00pm and 8:00am. That means walking quietly, closing doors gently, and a few other things.
  
  There will likely be unexpected situations that come up where we ask you to do (or, more likely, not do) something. If that makes sense to you, it’s all good. If you are the kind of person who thinks they should behave however they want at someone else’s house, this won’t be a good fit.
  
  Oh yeah… Akiko’s pretty picky about how the dishes are done :)
  
  Type of Person
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  If you are a ‘party’ person who loves drinking, this probably isn’t a good fit.
  
  If you are just looking for a place to crash, do your work, and don’t really want to interact with people around you, there are better places for you than this one.
  
  If you tend to complain a lot, are easily offended, or have a generally negative attitude towards people, we aren’t the right place for you.
  
  If you are very rigid in your opinions or beliefs, it won't work out.
  
  If you hate doing dishes… yeah, you know what I’m going to say.
  
  Scheduling
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  We don’t celebrate many holidays, so if you find yourself wanting to travel during something that would normally be considered weird, just go for it - we may be available.
  
  We don’t like to commit to things long in advance, so please don’t reach out to schedule something months and months in advance. Closer to the date is better, though if you reach out about something tomorrow, we likely won’t be able to accommodate that either.
  
  Screening
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  Yes, we have a screening process! This is just as much for you as it is for us, as “chemistry” is pretty important when you are planning to live with someone - even if for just a few weeks!
  
  Sometimes things seem great on paper but don’t work in real life, so if it seems like we might be a good fit after the initial email exchanges, we’ll ask you to hop on a quick video call with us.
  
  Don’t take it personally if you don’t pass our screening - we might not pass yours! I’ve interviewed hundreds of people for my business, and am pretty good at screening for personality conflicts. If you don’t like us.. you’ve just saved yourself a trip!
  
  What to write to us:
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  Ok, so after all this, you still want to visit? Great.
  
  Some people don’t know what to write, so here are some questions that help get you started:
  
  What about our profile resonated with you? What do you want to learn? What do you like about the environment we have? What do you hope to get out of your stay here? What skills do you want to bring, or do you want to learn while you are here?
  
  Most importantly.. how do you feel about doing dishes??

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Technology

  

  Self development

  

  Writing

  

  Music

  

  Languages

  

  Cycling

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Fitness

  

  Books

  

  Animals

  

  Carpentry

  

  Cooking & food

  

  DIY & crafts
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  One thing you won't learn is any Japanese or Japanese culture :)
  
  We are basically an American house in rural japan. If you are interested in personal development, business, mental health, psychology, or fitness, and want to experience the 'slow life', this might be the place for you to stop by.

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  Help

  As mentioned above, we don't have a specific 'job' for volunteers to do.
  
  We might ask you to help with cooking (if you want to eat), cleaning around the house.. and dishes. We both hate doing dishes!
  
  Aside from that, the house we bought is a bit old and needs some repair, yardwork, and property maintenance. There will be some physical labor, so if you don't like getting your hands dirty, this probably isn't the place for you.
  
  That being said, we will provide you with work clothes so your stuff doesn't get dirty, won't ask you to do something beyond your skill set, and whatever you will be doing, one of us will be doing it with you - it's not like we'll be sitting around sipping on margaritas while you are hauling rocks.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Japanese: Fluent
  French: Intermediate
  Russian: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  We have a pretty big house that's a work in progress, so depending on when you come here you might stay in either:
  
  a) a small, separate, 3 bedroom guest house right next to ours. This house is used by both paid guests and volunteers - but not at the same time. When we don't have paid guests, the house is all yours, and has all the expected amenities such as a shower, bathroom, kitchen, etc. When we *do* have paid guests, you will instead stay in:
  
  b) an absolutely huge, 33jo activity room covered with tatami. This room is in a separate 'wing' of our main house and comes with its own bathroom. 33jo (tatami) is ~50 square meters, or 575 square feet, so you'll have waaay too much space, mostly to yourself.
  
  We like things peaceful, so there won't be too many people around, but there might be a time that you have to share either the guest house or the 33 jo room with another volunteer.
  
  Please keep your expectations low and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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  What else ...

  Let's be honest - this area is *boring*. If you are looking for the excitement of the big city, you won't find it here.
  
  If you are willing to walk, however, you can find some cute cafes, a ramen shop, a jewelry maker, and other hidden gems.
  
  There is also an inexpensive (~800 yen!) but good-quality onsen in a nice hotel less than 10 minutes walk away.
  
  If you want more, you'll have to drive or have us drop you off at the local bus stop that has buses that run between the famous Kusatsu Onsen, and then go all the way to Tokyo or Yokohama.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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