Information du profil
Évaluation d'hôte
100 %
Last replied
29 oct. 2025
Taux de réponse
99.1 %
Usually responds ≤ 2 jours
Feedback
34
ID verified
E-mail vérifié
Offre rémunérée
Badges (4)
Infos
Description
Thank you for visiting my profile!
My name is Shinji. I run a small traditional inn in a remote mountain village in Hida, Japan. The inn is a beautiful old wooden house with a traditional Japanese fireplace called irori. Usually, we welcome only one group per night to ensure a peaceful and personal experience. On special event days, we may host multiple guests to encourage interaction among them.
Surrounded by rich nature, the area offers wild herbs, mountain vegetables, mushrooms, and scenic rice and soba fields. There’s also a small vegetable garden in front of the inn.
Many guests and volunteers describe this place as “magical.”
I’ve been managing the inn full-time for the past 5 years, with help from many wonderful Workawayers. These experiences gave me lasting memories and friendships that I truly treasure.
This year will be my last year running the inn, so I hope to spend it with kind guests and helpful supporters. I am not starting any new projects, but instead focusing on daily tasks, organizing the inn for closure, and reflecting on this chapter of my life.
In the near future, I may start a new project outside Japan. I’d love to make friends from around the world—and maybe visit you someday!
Help Needed:
I'm looking for someone who can assist with a wide range of tasks, including:
* Daily inn operations
* Cleaning, organizing, and preparing for closure
* Removing unneeded items and possibly helping with light demolition of some structure such as a small hut I've built.
If you have preferences or special skills, feel free to share them—I’m happy to match tasks to your strengths.
Ideal Workawayer Profile:
* Experience in hospitality (restaurants, cafes, inns, etc.)
* Enjoys cooking or has experience preparing meals regularly
* Comfortable with cleaning and household chores
* Speaks some Japanese (not required, but helpful)
* Clean and respectful in shared spaces (daily showers required)
* Non-smoker
* Female workawayers are sometimes preferred due to the nature of the work and accommodation, but all applications are welcome
* For a paid position, Workawayers must hold a valid work visa. All hours and tasks are paid at the local minimum wage.
Why workaway here?
Since this is a small inn, you’ll experience many aspects of running a traditional Japanese guesthouse. It could be a valuable opportunity if you’re interested in hospitality or dream of opening your own inn someday.
I’ll be happy to teach you everything I’ve learned over the years. Beyond the work, I hope we can enjoy sharing our cultures, thoughts, and daily life together.
APPLICATION INFORMATION — PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
I will select applicants carefully to ensure high-quality service for guests and a comfortable working relationship. (Note: most of the time, it will be just you and me working together.)
Duration: about 2 weeks to 1 months
If you’re interested, please include the following in your message:
* Your preferred dates (from when to when)
* Why you want to come and how you can contribute
* Your background, experience, and philosophy
* Any dietary restrictions or requirements
I usually reply within 3 days. If you don’t hear from me by then, please feel free to contact another host.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
もちろん日本人も歓迎です！おてつたびも募集してます。日本の原風景のような種蔵にどうぞお越しください。
Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre
Aide dans une ferme
Cuisine/repas pour la famille
Aide à la maison
Entretien général
Centres d’intérêt
Écriture
Dev. durable
Dev. personnel
Ferme
Photographie
Musique
Langues
Bricolage / artisanat
Cuisine et alimentation
Menuiserie
Architecture
Art et design
Sports d’hiver
Sports nautiques
Montagne
Nature
Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre
We can learn and exchange;
- the food and cooking culture.
- the differences in way of thinking, and custom.
- the language, Japanese and your language.
- the way of living in country side in Japan.
- the music (I play the guitar).L’hôte offre un salaire correspondant au salaire minimum
Cet hôte offre l'hébergement et une rémunération.
Aide
The cooking, washing and serving dishes, cleaning, tidy-up things, setting up bed and sheets, setting up flowers, weeding, farming, office work, etc whole general things necessary to run an inn, but your role might be adjusted depending on your experiences and preferences.
Langues
Langues parlées
Anglais: Courant
Japonais: CourantCet hôte propose un échange linguistique
Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il souhaitait faire partager sa propre langue ou en apprendre une nouvelle.
Contactez-le pour en savoir plus.
Hébergement
You will have your own clean and cozy guest room at the inn, with either a bed or a futon (Japanese-style mattress).
Meals are mostly simple and plant-based, using vegetables, grains, and seasonal ingredients. We usually cook and eat together, and we don't prepare individual meals. Shared mealtimes are a great opportunity for communication and connection.
I provide the ingredients—using leftover vegetables in the fridge—and we cook together or take turns cooking. I’m happy to eat almost anything, and I always enjoy trying new dishes. While I don’t serve meat to guests at the inn, I personally have no problem eating it if you’d like to cook something with meat for us to share.
When guests are staying, we usually eat the same food as them, so you’ll have the chance to experience the kind of meals we serve here.
I also hope you can share your favorite dishes with me! (Even something simple is perfectly fine—my cooking is simple too.)
Let’s enjoy exchanging food and culture through cooking together!
Autres infos...
🚌 Transportation & Free Time
Please note that public transportation in this area is quite limited. On your days off, you’ll mostly be spending quiet and peaceful time in the village.
If you’d like to travel somewhere during your holidays, you can probably take the train to the nearest city, Hida-Furukawa, or Takayama.
I will do my best to drive you to and from the nearest station to the inn whenever possible.
The closest station to the inn is JR Sakakami Station (坂上駅).
For your first visit, please come to Sakakami Station on your own—I’ll pick you up there by car! :)
🧘♂️ A Bit About Me — My Personality & Philosophy
(0) I'm a 42-year-old Japanese guy :)
(1) I’m usually quiet and thoughtful—not very talkative—but I can also be active, adventurous, and I love sharing experiences with people.
(2) I enjoy meeting new people and learning from different perspectives and ways of thinking.
(3) I value freedom and diversity. I enjoy being around open-minded, free-spirited people who may be very different but still respect each other’s opinions.
(4) I’m a creative person and like doing things myself. Even though I was just an amateur, I built a small house and a hut on my own. One of my mottos is: “Anything is possible if you aim for it.”
(5) Another motto of mine is: “Simple is best.” I find beauty in simple things—simple life, simple designs, and simple actions.
(6) I also live by the Japanese idea of “Mottainai”—I try not to waste anything.
(7) I’m inspired by the philosophy of natural farming and try to apply it in small ways on my little farm.
(8) I love trees and wood—as life, as art, as tools, and as energy.
(*) Before managing the inn, I worked as a research engineer for 8 years. But at some point, I felt the need to step away from technology and return to something more natural and essential. That journey eventually led me to this inn, where I’ve been building meaningful connections with people ever since.
🌏 Final Thoughts
I'm quite an open-minded person, so please feel free to share your ideas with me. For me, the most meaningful and interesting part of life is the exchange of souls—the deep sharing of who we are.
I hope we can create warm and unforgettable memories together.
Informations complémentaires
Accès Internet
Accès Internet limité
Nous avons des animaux
Nous sommes fumeurs
Familles bienvenues
Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads
Good wifi connection with the optical line.
Espace pour garer des vans
Cet hôte a de la place pour les vans.
Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?
Un
Mes animaux
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback (18)
He is good at cooking, smart and is efficient to work in a busy environment and good to help for any chores.
He also shoot wonderful photos and videos and kindly edited the videos in a professional quality to give it to guests and us.
Even though it was a short period for him to be here, I appreciate his contribution.… read more
Shinji love to share his knowledge and it was a really interesting and enriching experience to help him, especially the… read more
He was not only a willing helper but also his kindness and positive attitude is impressive.
He is easy for anything and feels happiness and always has smile with his face and that eased my mind too.
He was not very used to this kind of business and way of cleaning in Japanese way at the beginning but I think he has learned… read more
The daily routine was full of movement and meaning. I spent most of my… read more
She was good at every aspect about the inn business and countryside life, cleaning, preparing rooms, cooking, and field work, etc,,, which is much more than what I can expect for a helper but what I really appreciated.
Julia is also very cute,… read more
Photos
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback
Ce sont des évaluations supplémentaires en option lorsque les membres laissent un feedback. La note moyenne pour chaque option est affichée.
Exactitude du profil:
(4.9)
Échange culturel:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.9)
He is good at cooking, smart and is efficient to work in a busy environment and good to help for any chores.
He also shoot wonderful photos and videos and kindly edited the videos in a professional quality to give it to guests and us.
Even though it was a short period for him to be here, I appreciate his contribution.… read more
Shinji love to share his knowledge and it was a really interesting and enriching experience to help him, especially the… read more
He was not only a willing helper but also his kindness and positive attitude is impressive.
He is easy for anything and feels happiness and always has smile with his face and that eased my mind too.
He was not very used to this kind of business and way of cleaning in Japanese way at the beginning but I think he has learned… read more
The daily routine was full of movement and meaning. I spent most of my… read more
She was good at every aspect about the inn business and countryside life, cleaning, preparing rooms, cooking, and field work, etc,,, which is much more than what I can expect for a helper but what I really appreciated.
Julia is also very cute,… read more
Since it was the season with much snow, we did a lot of work of snow shoveling.
It was a tough work but she tried her best and listened well to the instruction when it is given, and she could also be self-directed when the… read more
He came in a busy period and he is very willing to help, being responsible, and a very gentle person.
I was really comfortable to share and work with him.
He was also very eager to learn Japanese and he was actually good enough, I was surprised with that considering the short amount of period he learned Japanese but it… read more
He did not just help for the regular tasks for the operation of the inn, but also helped to design and implement a new check-in system at the inn.
He is very smart, talented, and was willing to help.
Because he is always very curious for anything and ask a lot it made… read more
The inn is… read more
The inn is located in a little paradise in japanese mountains, and the people here have their hearts in their hands.
Shinji is very welcoming, altruistic and very open-minded, he's a pleasure to work with and there were other very nice Workaways too.
You will learn a lot about… read more
He is always happily helpful for anything and I was amazed by how hard working he is.
He is wise, also very gentle and cheerful person so made the time and place here so warm and peaceful.
I am very sure he will success and be appreciated wherever in any type of place and job he might be involved with.
It was my great… read more
She was an illustrator and she once could draw a beautiful illustration on a postcard and gave it to the guest kids and they were so happy about that. I appreciate her character contributed making a gentle atmosphere at the inn.
It seems that the work… read more
the work: it was winter time, so we did alot of in-house tidying and cleaning. when guests came, we cooked for them and had conversations with them, sharing with them what we knew of Hida/the inn/japanese culture. it requires hard work and… read more
She was good at any chores around the house.
She is friendly and attentive so it was really good to work with her to welcome the guests together.
In addition, since she was a graphic designer I asked her to make an instruction material with video for new helpers about how-to cleaning at the inn. I just expected a simple… read more
She is humble, doesn't talk much, doesn't request anything, but what I liked is she listens very well and tries to help.
She is also smart and was good at any types of chores. For example, even though I don't explain everything especially when we are cooking (too busy to explain everything at… read more
It might takes a lot of effort and time… read more
She helped me for regular general tasks around the inn for welcoming and serving for guests.
Also since I had a Wwoofer within the same period, we experienced more irregular fun time for cooking and eating very special delicious dishes for ourselves!
I feel I couldn't have very well introduction for every task… read more
It is a beautiful quiet village that feels like straight out of a Ghibli movie. Waking up to the mountains engulfed in thick clouds is a sight to behold. The Inn itself is just as beautiful, the old wood and Irori fireplace giving off earthy scents that immediately make you feel at… read more
She is very lovely, kind, and joyful for every moment, naturally being herself. Always positive!
She was very capable for anything like cleaning and help in the kitchen.
She has a good self-discipline and she can work in a good manner even if I didn't ask her explicitly especially when I was sick for a… read more
We developed the Goemonburo (outside bath) together.
She was a graduate student in major of architecture, then she helped a lot.
We really had a good time to discuss the design of the architecture,
We both were flexible for ideas, and pondered about the best… read more
Joining during the off-season in early April 2023, I had the opportunity to contribute to various maintenance and preparatory work of the guesthouse, both indoors and outdoors. From renewing shoji, making 7kg miso and spring cleaning of the… read more
On our… read more
It was a great help for me to host them, also was a great pleasure to share a good time together.
It was unforgettable memory that we went to watch a waterfall and played there, working in the vegetable field tying the strings to support cucumber stem, playing… read more
Since she was really good, we planed together to hold a French cafe event to serve chou à la crème, flan, etc, also using the special ingredients grown locally here.
Many people visited us and it was really a good and memorable experience!
She said she is interested in traveling world and cooking dishes… read more
We built a Goemon Buro (outdoor bath) that you may enjoy. Everything was great, starting with the building in which Shinji lives and the atmosphere there. If you're looking to live like in a Miyazaki movie, you've come to the right place.… read more
It was also a pleasure to come to the village, as it was such a rich experience. The village itself is small and comfortable, the people are nice and the food is good! Cooking together always brought me a lot of joy as I discovered some Japanese dishes and I as well could share my own recipes (or… read more
She is also thoughtful and very caring to any people.
She is willing to serve for the human wellness.
I actually had some problem during she stays and I’d been depressed by the event,
But she could heal me, and she made me have a right mindset to cope with the… read more
