Annika

Germany
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
Travelling
My next destination:
Japan - from Mar 2025 until Mar 2026
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Description
Hello!
My name is Annika, I am student from Germany who just graduated from a Masters in Geocology. I will spend the year of 2025 in Japan to deepen my language skills, visit old friends and make a lot of new ones.

I love animals, nature and moving my body so I would be keen to try some physical outdoor work - I have done some before (gardening and field research) and liked it a lot. I have knowledge of ecology and soil sciences and would like to spend my future job with working in nature conservation. I love all kinds of outdoor sports like skiing, climbing, hiking, swimming, snorkeling.
I can speak German and English fluently. My Japanese Level is around N2 (I have studied it many years and lived in Japan for one year when I was 16, but it needs some refreshing). I also understand and speak spanish on an intermediate level.

I have experience in working in a guest relations at trade fairs and in a hostel in Okinawa, I am clean and tidy and do all my tasks responsibly and with great care.
Interests
Books
Politics / Social justice
Yoga / Wellness
Water sports
Sustainability
Plant care
Nature
Outdoor activities
Languages
Mountain
Hiking
Gardening
Farming
Cooking & food
Camping
Beach
Adventure sports
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Japanese: Intermediate
More details about my language interests
This workawayer has indicated that they would be interested in sharing their language(s) or learning a new language. You can contact them directly to discuss this.
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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
DIY and building projects
Life at a Farmstay
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
Eco Projects
Helping around the house
Art Projects
Babysitting and creative play
Able to teach about:
Languages
More details about your skills
- administration (office work)
- languages (English, German, Japanese, Spanish)
- garden work experience
- drivers license
- ability to learn and adapt quickly
- cooking
Age
29
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

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24 Oct 2025

Left by host (Enjoy country life and ...) for Workawayer ()

Thank you so much for your lovely message! Your words are so perfect that we might use them for our own promotion lol.
Annie has such a bright personality, great stamina, and always gives her best in everything, so it was a big help for us in many situations. She’s also fluent in Japanese and well-understands the humor that’s unique to Japanese… read more

(Excellent )

23 Oct 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Enjoy country life and ...)

If you want to make connections with local people and feel as part of a community, this is the place to go. Honestly, the work is not hard, and it is so divers that it does not feel like work at all but more like you participating in a lot of experiences. Sometimes the "work" consists of you just joining a fun community event and talk with people… read more there. You only have to bring open-mindedness, motivation and enthusiasm to try everything, talk with everyone and learn. Maybe you can even think of some nice things/events to do together with the people of the Ibasho :)
The staff is amazing!! There are a lot of staff members that you will get to know over time and all of them genuinely want you to have a good time, which makes this environment so lovely. I feel like I did not give back enough in return to what I received. I received a lot of inspiration also for my personal future and I feel like I gained another home in Oda, to which I would love to return again as often as possible. This NPO has had approximately 100 volunteers from various countries over the last years and many of them keep coming back, so you might not only get to know locals but also former volunteers :)
If you speak intermediate Japanese (N3 or more) it will be easier for you to connect with everyone. If you almost can not have conversations in Japanese, staying at the Ibasho might feel a bit tiring and excluding for you, because all conversations are held in Japanese. So I recommend to come with a good basis and then, your Japanese will improve even more! :)
If your motivation to come to Oda is primarily the environmental conservation work, I would recommend not coming in summer though! The shoulder seasons will be your best bet to go outdoors a lot. In summer (July-September) the weather was very hot and humid, so most of the time I had to wait until the evening to be able to go to the sea or outside in general. Also, there are probably not as many school events in summer. However, I still had an amazing time and learned to live with the heat! And we still did some outdoor work once in a while in the early mornings :) In the end, once you got used to life in here, time passes by too quickly, so I recommend to stay as long as you can!
I am very thankful to everyone I met here who made my time in Oda this great. Thank you so much Yocchan to have selected me as a volunteer and introducing me to a lot of people, I hope to be back soooooon!!!!

(Excellent )