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Host rating
70 %
Last replied
5 Jul 2017
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Description
I am a mother of two children (a 6-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter). Japanese is their native language. They are beginners in English and can speak a little Chinese.
We are considering living abroad in the future, so we would love to give them opportunities to get used to hearing and interacting with native English speakers in everyday life. We hope they can play, explore, and build friendships naturally.
Our home is a traditional Japanese house (kominka), which may feel quite different from Western homes. This house is not used as our main residence at the moment, so we are slowly maintaining and improving it. During your stay, we would really appreciate help with small DIY projects and simple maintenance around the house. Nothing professional — just light and safe projects that we can do together.
We usually ask for about 3 hours of help per day, around 4 days a week. The rest of the time you are free to explore Osaka, relax, or spend time with us and the children.
While the adults are doing small DIY projects or tasks around the house, help cooking and eat together , it would be great if our children could play together and become friends. If you are travelling with children, it would be nice if they are around a similar age to ours, but it is also perfectly fine if they simply enjoy playing with younger kids.
Families with children are very welcome. However, please note that the house has some steps and glass sliding doors, so very young babies or toddlers may require extra supervision.
The house is located in Osaka, one of the most vibrant and friendly cities in Japan. In your free time you can explore local neighborhoods, enjoy Japanese food culture, visit temples and markets, or take short trips to Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe, which are all nearby.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Plant care
Languages
DIY & crafts
Nature
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Stay in residential area and explore like a local. You can learn about local atomosphere.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
🌿 Spring Family Cultural Exchange Stay (Osaka, Nishinari | May 2–6)
We are hosting a short-term, family-style cultural exchange in our 100-year-old traditional Japanese house (kominka) in Nishinari, Osaka.
This house is our vacation home, and during this period we will be staying there together and sharing daily life.
This is not a job, but a shared living experience — similar to a homestay, where we spend time together as families and share daily life.
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📅 Dates
Check-in: May 2, 2026
Check-out: May 6, 2026 (morning)
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🏡 About the Experience
You will stay with a local Osaka family and experience real everyday life in Japan.
In our 100-year-old traditional house, we share daily routines, meals, and small projects together in a relaxed, homestay-style atmosphere.
This is not a tourist stay — we value sharing real life.
Our goal is to enjoy cultural exchange while creating a natural English environment for our children through everyday interaction.
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👨👩👧👦 Who We’re Looking For
We can host one family (up to 3–4 people).
We prefer a native English-speaking family (UK, USA, Canada, etc.) with children.
Most of our children’s friends are around 5–6 years old, so children of a similar age may find it easier to connect and play together.
We are also happy to welcome older children (up to around 10 years old) who enjoy spending time with younger kids and are comfortable in a shared family environment.
We are not looking for childcare, but natural communication as part of daily life.
Our children are currently learning English and are not fluent yet.
They can be a bit shy at first and may not speak much English yet, but they are curious and enjoy listening and gradually building confidence through interaction.
We especially welcome guests who enjoy hands-on activities such as DIY or home maintenance.
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🔧 Help & Activities
We would appreciate some light help as part of daily life, such as:
• Cleaning and organizing shared spaces
• Light to moderate DIY (simple plaster touch-ups, small repairs, etc.)
• Occasional help with simple cooking or meal preparation
All tasks are safe, manageable, and done together — this is not professional construction work.
We plan around two help sessions during the stay, approximately 5 hours each.
We will take breaks and work together at a relaxed pace.
If you enjoy spending time with children, we would also appreciate simple activities such as reading English picture books or playing together in English.
(This is not formal teaching, just natural interaction.)
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🕊 Free Time
The rest of the time is free.
You are welcome to go out together, or spend time independently, depending on your preference.
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🍽 Meals & Living
Accommodation is provided in exchange for help.
Meals are generally self-managed.
You are welcome to use the kitchen and refrigerator freely.
If you’re interested and the timing works, we may also enjoy potluck-style dinners together.
There may also be opportunities to have potluck meals with local friends.
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🛏 Room
You will have a private room on the second floor.
The toilet, bathroom, kitchen, and living room are shared spaces.
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🌳 Daily Life
We value everyday experiences as much as the activities.
For example:
• Visiting local home centers and supermarkets
• Going to nearby parks
• Exploring Osaka neighborhoods
• Visiting places like the zoo with children
If you’re interested, there may be opportunities for children to play together with our friends’ children.
We may also enjoy cooking simple Japanese dishes together, such as okonomiyaki.
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📶 Connectivity
There is no Wi-Fi in the house.
Also, mobile signal may be weak indoors depending on the carrier.
In our experience, UQ Mobile and SoftBank worked relatively well, while Rakuten Mobile had weaker reception.
This is for reference only, as coverage may vary. We recommend bringing a pocket Wi-Fi if needed.
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🏡 About the House
As this is a 100-year-old traditional house, some parts (such as sliding glass doors) are delicate.
We are looking for guests who are respectful and mindful of shared spaces.
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👶 Family Environment
As we have young children, the house can be lively at times.
We hope to welcome guests who are comfortable in a warm and family-oriented environment.
We usually go to bed around 9:00 pm and wake up around 6:00 am.
We appreciate a calm and quiet atmosphere in the evenings, and guests with a similar rhythm may find the stay more comfortable.
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🤝 Community
From time to time, local friends with children may visit.
It can be a nice opportunity for children to play together and experience local life.
Visits are small, occasional, and we maintain a calm, family-friendly atmosphere.
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💬 Before Booking
Before confirming the stay, we would love to have a short Zoom call to get to know each other.
This will be a casual and friendly conversation, not a formal interview.
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🌱 Final Note
This is our first time hosting in this way, so we expect to shape the experience together as we go.
We hope to create a comfortable and meaningful time for ever
Languages
Languages spoken
Japanese: Fluent
English: Intermediate
Chinese (Mandarin): BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
English , Chinese
Accommodation
One room for a family.
one or two beds available and also Japanese style floor Futon .
What else ...
While the main focus is on local everyday life in Nishinari, there are also popular areas nearby.
Places like Dobutsuen-mae, Tsutenkaku, Spa World, and Dotonbori are within easy reach, so you can explore them during your free time if you’d like.
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
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (13)
Wish you the best in anything you'll be involved.… read more
Also he is very energetic, happy, polite, reliable, responsible, friendly and super clean person.Always good attitude and positive thinking and he has good work ethic. He is very mature.
He never complain… read more
She always try to understand what I want and try to make it possible. It was very very helpful to have her as a volunteering for a month. Thank you Alison.
Within that structure, I was… read more
I was really happy to share time with him. I strongly recommend him to other host.
He is good at computer too.
Hope to see him again in the future.
Thank you Gonzalo.
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
Wish you the best in anything you'll be involved.… read more
Also he is very energetic, happy, polite, reliable, responsible, friendly and super clean person.Always good attitude and positive thinking and he has good work ethic. He is very mature.
He never complain… read more
She always try to understand what I want and try to make it possible. It was very very helpful to have her as a volunteering for a month. Thank you Alison.
Within that structure, I was… read more
I was really happy to share time with him. I strongly recommend him to other host.
He is good at computer too.
Hope to see him again in the future.
Thank you Gonzalo.
When I give him training, he really try to understand things I trained.
It was very helpful during he helped me.
Thank you very much Luc.
The work is really easy because the hostel is really small
I was living in a sharehouse 15 min away by bike and had a lot of days off so it's cool if you want to discover others city like Kyoto, Nara..
When he had irregular situation during he was helping me, he always tell me situation and ask how to deal with them each time. I never have to worry anything when he was helping me. I was really able to depend on him.
Also once I / other staff give him training for the… read more
I hope to see you again one day ! =)
Also pick up job very quick. I could even ask her to teach new coming volunteer people.
I really want her to come back again.
Thank you Mia :)
He is very clean , tidy and very hard working , do a lot of effort to learn new things.Also very punctual.
He got good review from guest of hostel. It was very helpful that he volunteer here.
I already miss him and wanting he come back again soon.
I strongly recommend him for all the host.
Thank you very… read more
Also they use hostel staff room very clean.
Emma is very good at cleaning, Seb is very good at customer care.
I would like they come back again in the future.
Thank you very much for helping my hostel and I am happy to hear you two enjoyed staying… read more
But dont worry, she is very mature and smart.
She can imagine what host want from her. working hard and very helpful. also calm and friendly. She will get on well with everybody.
Her cleaning skill is perfect (My cleaning standard is hotel level ).
I strongly recommend… read more
Since the hostel itself is rather small I got to stay in a sharehouse, where I had my own room and a bike for myself... which I found rather convenient, given the fact that I've been travelling for about seven months now. The work itself was alright, not too much, and very clearly explained with to do lists… read more
He can do detailed job such as cleaning , tidy up things, fix things (bike , pipe of washing machine ), also good cook. He cooked for everybody in hostel sometimes.
Punctual, always on time.
Thank you very much for helping our small hostel.
I hope you come back to Osaka again.
Mayumi
