Japan
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Help to create and maintain a Garden of Five Continents situated in rural Itoshima, near Fukouka City, rated the 7th best City in the world. We are situated at the top of a small Japanese village and only a five minute walk to the beach. Itoshima is a beautiful place to stay renowned for its many beaches, mountains, countryside and is well known for it Oyster and seafood huts right by the sea.
The owner of the project, Jonathan, lives in England and he visits occasionally. The manager, David, is also English and lives off site. Volunteers will live amongst themselves and cook for themselves. Food is provided according to what is commonly sold and eaten in Japan.
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Help with Eco Projects
Help around the house
The project is in a typical Japanese village and there are opportunities to attend local events or events in Fukuoka. There are buses into Itoshima town from where you can take the subway to Fukuoka and we have a few bicycles for you to use to explore the local area. It can be difficult however to get back to the house using public transport late in the evenings. There is not much interaction with Japanese people or culture at the house or part of the work so how much you get to interact with Japanese people depends upon how much effort you make to do so in your own time.
We have about 12,000 square metres of land separated into different areas overlooking the sea. In some areas we are creating a Garden of Five Continents. Other areas include tea fields, a fruit field, polytunnel and vegetable garden. Help is required in preparing, creating and maintaining all these areas. Work is outdoors all year round in all weather, hot, cold or rain and can be physically demanding, so please only come if you are reasonably fit, healthy and agree to work in these conditions. Work involves cutting bamboo down in the forest, building things such as steps, fences, walls etc, carrying heavy items such as logs, digging, cutting up trees, pruning, watering, weeding, planting, using heavy duty strimmers and whatever else needs doing. On average we have around five volunteers here at a time.
* From spring to winter we always need at least one person who is competent to do regular heavy duty strimming. The strimmers are the metal bladed type and you need to be fairly strong.
English: Fluent
Volunteers will live in a typical modern Japanese house constructed 18 years ago. All modern amenities are provided, shower, washing machine, cooker, bread maker, rice cooker, microwave/oven, internet etc. You will usually be required to share a room with other volunteers. The owner of the project lives in England and visits often and the manager lives off site so volunteers will cook for themselves. Food is provided.
We are only a five minute walk to the nearest beach with its safe swimming and surfing. The area is known for its 'oyster huts', where freshly farmed oysters and other seafood is barbecued on the beach. The world famous Sakurai shrine and the Famatugaura 'sunset' beach are close by. There are mountains to hike and waterfalls within Itoshima and further afield. Fukuoka, rated the number 7 city in the world, is half an hour's drive away, and can be reached by Japan's renowned public transport system. However, there is no public transport to the house late in the evenings. A local resident has given us 3 kittens, just to let those know who might be allergic to cats!
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
We have wifi in the house. The speed and connection is average. You maybe sharing a room with others and there is no dedicated private space to use.
You can park a campervan outside the house and stay in it if you like. You should let us know the size beforehand.
More than two
From the end of summer until beggining of May we work from 7am - 1pm (with a one hour break for breakfast from 9-10) Monday to Friday. From the beginning of May until the end of summer we work from 6am - 12pm (1 hour break 8.30 - 9.30) as it gets too hot.
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.0)
Communication:
(4.9)
