Looking for help in the Japanese Mountain in Nozawa Onsen, Japan

Japan

Favourited 178 times

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Feedback
2
Last activity
14/05/2022
Host offers payment

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Availability

2022

Min stay requested: 1 month or more

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Description
We are a Japanese family based in Nozawa Onsen, a traditional Japanese village, located in Nagano prefecture, which takes around 2.5 hours from Tokyo.

This town is famous for its reliable powder snow and public hot spring baths (onsens), of which there are 13 freely accessible throughout the town. Come enjoy the powder and experience the hot spring yourself!

We operate a small food court in town and in winter season, we need a hall staff to liaise with our customers as most of them are foreigners.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help around the house
Language practice
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Rural life style of a Japanese family.
Chances to learn Japanese and interact with multicultural people.
Indulge in the onsen culture, experience the traditional architecture with temples, shrines, traditional ryokan, and beautiful nature/snow at the same time!
The unlimited variety of slopes and courses will ensure you to enjoy the ultimate in skiing, snowboarding.
Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage
This host offers accommodation and payment.
Host has indicated that they will pay at least the minimum hourly wage of their country for each hour worked and that accommodation will also be provided. They are asking for help with a business or business activity. Contact the host directly via the site messenger for more information and details about the wage provided. Any arrangements should be agreed in advance with your host.
Help
We operate a small scale food court in town, and in winter, it's always packed with tourists and snow enthusiasts.
Hence, we need a hand in guiding and mainly mingling with the customers to give them an idea how the independent stalls work. Some general cleaning will be needed.

Hall Staff / General Helper
Work Description : Clean tables and guide customers
Period of work : Mid Dec - end of February/early March
Minimum stay : 1 month
Working Hours : 5pm - 9pm
Language Skills : Basic Japanese is a MUST for daily communication and understanding tasks.
Visa : Working Holiday Visa holder preferred.
Languages spoken
Japanese: Fluent
English: Beginner
Accommodation
Private Japanese Tatami Room with toilet. Food and share access to lift pass.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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Feedback left by and about host (2)

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

Accuracy of profile:
(4.5)

Cultural exchange:
(5.0)

Communication:
(5.0)

16/03/2020

Left by Workawayer (Roxas) for host

My stay in Kongou was amazing and I would strongly suggest everybody to go ! The family is charming, the work enjoyable, and the accommodation is really nice.

The work consist in working in a food market. It is a big place with several food stands, and the public is free to take the food in whichever stands they prefer and to eat on the table of… read more kongou. So basically, the work is to welcome them, explain to them how it works, serve the food, do the dishes. The atmosphere is pretty laid back, all the workers (mostly seasoners) are young and fun. When it is calm, you can just discuss with your friends, the customers, your colleagues, or Yamazaki and Miluki and their children. They only speak japanese, so of course it is better if you have at least a basic level of japanese. But for the work, it is not necessary to be very good at it. You have to work from 5 to 9pm, as it is said, 6 days a week.

In exchange for the work, you have delicious free food and accommodation. You will live in a house with the others workawayers only (usually 3 in total) in a big 2-floors traditional japanese house. It is an ancient soba restaurant ! So it is sliding paper doors and walls, tatami floor, and futon. It can get quiet cold, because those sort of house have no isolation ! But there is a heater and a kotatsu in every room, so as long as you put in on it is good. There is no wifi, but it is easy to get the wifi password from the hotel next to the house and the signal is good depending on the room ;) There is no shower room ; so to bath, you have to go to the 13 free onsen around the town. There are 2 of them at 2mn by foot, and most of them are at 10mn, so it is not really a bother though !
The food is really extraordinary : when you work, Miluki and Yamazaki prepare the dinner and it is fabulous. i have never eat the same thing twice and I stayed for 1 month ! It is really traditional and familial food, so it is the best to discover japanese cooking. For other meals, the family will bring you to the supermarket once a week (ask them) and they will pay for the basic food (bread, natto, pasta, rice, etc). Snacks or special things will be paid by yourself. you have food and accommodation only.

I really appreciated how Miluki and Yamazaki tried to connect with us. They are a really lovely family who want to know you better, and who will joke around. They want to put you at ease and will assure that your stay is good. They are really accommodating if you ask something : we wanted to go see the monkey park, go to a karaoke bar, etc, and they always searched and found things for us. Despite the language barrier, they still put the effort to communicate with us everyday. Some days they are very busy, since they prepare the food by themselves and work everyday, but they are always smiling. The two children are very cute and independent ! If the little girl takes a liking to you, you will get to play with her :)

About Nozawa onsen as a whole : so it is a small village, and there is indeed not a lot of things to do. There are a lot of ski slopes, not a lot of hiking trails during the winter except around hokuryu lake (closed due to the ski slopes -and no, you cant go off trail because the snow goes up to your waist so you are basically swimming (i tried)). You will have a free pass for the ski slopes that you will share with the others workawayers, and if you have a WHV and you register at the city hall it will also be free for you on wednesdays. The material rental is normally not free, so bring your own or pay. However, the family can try to discuss with some of the rental shop owners to get it to you for free -but it is not a 100% sure thing, and it wont be every day. There is normally snow boots and snow pants in the house left by previous workawayers, but ask before to be sure it is still here. i have to say prices are high in nozawa, like ski resort prices are.
The highlight of the village for me was definitely the onsen : everything free, and pretty hot ! If you want to live in a traditional japanese village though, maybe Nozawa in winter is not for you : 80% of the population are australian tourists during this time. Most of the shops cater to them, so expect a lot of australian bars, restaurants, etc. If it doesnt bother you, you will have a great time. It is easy to make friends because everyone go to the bars every night.

i really enjoyed this experience and definitely want to come back to know how the kongou family is doing ! With the friends I made here, we are planning to come back in summer :)) If you enjoy contrast, like the cold snow with the hot onsen, and the screaming tourists with the tranquil old locals, and the slow kind of life during the day and the hectic night life during the night, this workaway will definitely be for you.

(Excellent )

13/03/2020

Left by Workawayer (Jacob) for host

The two months I spent Working at kongou was an amazing experience, Yamazaki san and his family are so welcoming and the dinners prepared for us were so varied and delicious everyday it was somthing new almost everytime!( my favourite was definitely the soba!)

The work itself is very easy some light waiting cleaning tables and translating when… read more

(Excellent )

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