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Any wwoofers out there? - danieldesu - 2009-06-14

Has anyone ever tried the wwoof program in Japan?
http://www.wwoofjapan.com/main/index.php?lang=ja

I heard from a friend of a friend about someone working on a farm in Japan in exchange for room and board, and thought it might be an interesting experience, and a good chance to learn Japanese and live with a Japanese family. It seems like this wwoof company is the main program to set this kind of thing up (or maybe it was just the first one I came across). Has anybody done this before or even heard about it?

Any wwoofers out there? - danieldesu - 2009-06-15

I'll take that utter silence as a... yes? Anyway, I'm thinking about doing it in August, just wondering if anybody had any good or bad experiences to share.

Any wwoofers out there? - Mesqueeb - 2009-06-15

I am an AFS exchange student. ^^

http://afs.org

ftw!

Any wwoofers out there? - captal - 2009-06-15

I've heard about it. I also read yesterday that some of the Japanese schools offer programs in conjunction with wwoof (that is, you can come over, do wwoof and study Japanese too- but still pay money for the schooling).
see here: http://www.genkijacs.com/wwoof.htm

Any wwoofers out there? - danieldesu - 2009-06-15

Mesqueeb, thanks for the link!

captal,
That looks like a good program, but doesn't seem like it will work during the time frame of when I will be there... plus it is a little expensive. I wonder if I should just try and do a homestay. I don't mind the physical labor, but I also don't want to end up in a situation where I am alone for 6 hours a day picking weeds or something. It is the fact that I really would have no clue what my daily life would be like that worries me, that's why I was hoping to hear from someone who has done it before...

Anyway, anyone with good homestay experiences? Do host families provide food?

Any wwoofers out there? - Larz0rz - 2009-06-16

Hi danieldesu,

I went over to Japan at the end of last year and was planning on doing wwoof but never got the chance.

I went to a language school for two months while doing a homestay and then I was supposed to stay on two different farms in the area but I was unable to contact them again.
(These farms were already contacted before I left)

I spent my third month there looking for new farms to go to after renewing my 90 day visa.
I eventually found some farms but renewing my visa didn't go as planned.
As you may know, in order to renew the 90 day visa you have to leave the country.
Luckily I was on Kyushuu so South Korea was only a 3 hour boat ride away.

When I tried to come back into Japan I was taken aside and questioned by an immigration official.
Long story short, it became obvious that he wasn't very keen on letting me into the country.
Once he found out I was planning to do WWOOF and I explained (by way of an interpreter) what it was, he denied me entry.
You aren't allowed to work on a 90 visa waiver, but WWOOF is all volunteer work and there is no "payment" unless you count housing and food.

Anyway, I'm telling you this just in case you are asked about it when you come to Japan.
I'm pretty sure I just had bad luck with immigration and just happened to get a guy who was on a power trip or just didn't take kindly to me for some reason.

Someone I know did do WWOOF, stayed on a bunch of farms.
I'm sure the experience is different depending on the farm but my friend had a great time.
Also when you sign up to the wwoofjapan website there is info about each host farm (and sometimes pictures) that should give you an idea of what sort of work you would do there.

Any wwoofers out there? - danieldesu - 2009-06-16

Cool, thanks for the info, Larz0rz! I wondered about the visa thing and figured that immigration people might not "get" the idea behind wwoof. I may register and check out what's available just in case (although $40 seems a little steep), but right now I am thinking mostly homestay. How was your homestay experience?

Any wwoofers out there? - Kaede - 2009-06-16

captal Wrote:I've heard about it. I also read yesterday that some of the Japanese schools offer programs in conjunction with wwoof (that is, you can come over, do wwoof and study Japanese too- but still pay money for the schooling).
see here: http://www.genkijacs.com/wwoof.htm
This isn't really related to the topic, but I just wanted to say I recently got back from 5 weeks of studying at that school (GenkiJACS), and I loved it. I didn't do the WWOOF course, just the regular conversation/grammar courses. The teachers and staff are great, you make friends with the other students almost immediately, and Fukuoka is amazing. I didn't want to leave (in fact, I'm planning on moving to Fukuoka....as soon as I can find a job).


...Okay, back to the main topic now Big Grin I have a friend who did WWOOF a couple years or so ago, I think? She worked at an organic restaurant, and from what I remember, she liked it well enough. When I was just at GenkiJACS, one of the other students did some sort of farmstay after he left the school, and he hated it. But that might have just been because he was lazy and didn't like having to work.


Edit: About homestays, I didn't do one myself, but several of the other students were, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it, as far as I could tell.

Any wwoofers out there? - captal - 2009-06-16

Kaede Wrote:This isn't really related to the topic, but I just wanted to say I recently got back from 5 weeks of studying at that school (GenkiJACS), and I loved it. I didn't do the WWOOF course, just the regular conversation/grammar courses. The teachers and staff are great, you make friends with the other students almost immediately, and Fukuoka is amazing. I didn't want to leave (in fact, I'm planning on moving to Fukuoka....as soon as I can find a job).
I just did a free trial lesson yesterday with a teacher named youko (陽子)- really nice, helpful, friendly and easy to understand. My god, Japanese teachers (and fluent foreigners) are so much easier to understand than everyone else. We talked in Japanese the entire 50 minutes and I only didn't understand her a couple times.

Kaede- what did you think of the regular course? I'm most concerned about improving my listening and speaking ability, so I wasn't sure if the regular intensive course would be helpful. What were the grammar and conversation classes like? What level did you attend?

I'm only hesitating because of the price- 3.2万 for the regular class per week or 4万 to add a private class every day as well. That's a lot of money for a poor English "teacher." Since I am a resident of Fukuoka, that's the only cost I have to pay (aside from registration) and I might also have the ability to mix and match- that is, only do the conversation classes and private class of the intensive course. We'll see- aparently I need to talk to a guy named Evan.

Any wwoofers out there? - Devodev - 2010-05-09

This thread is old as heck, but I figured I'd throw my two cents out there just the same.

Anyway, I am a WWOOFer! I've WWOOFed in Japan for both of the past two summers and I certainly would recommend that anyone who has an interesting in the WWOOF part, and not just the Japan part, give it a shot. It's such an excellent experience. Surely, where you go, when you go, and how you go about your time at your host will really affect how your own personal experience is, but I feel that if you put some research into it, communicate with your host in detail about the arrangements before you go, and head out with the intention of getting down and dirty on the farm, that you will have a memorable experience.

Personally, I WWOOFed both in Tochigi and in Osaka, and my hosts were quite welcoming. It can be really hard work, and you might find yourself working far past the "5 or 6 hours" that some WWOOFers think is in some imaginary contract somewhere, and you might find yourself tired and missing the comforts of home. But you really do get out what you put in. I was able to ride horses, practice kendo, dance at the local Bon Odori festival, meet lots of people, learn a lot about Japanese customs and farming techniques, and get in quite a good amount of Japanese practice. It's a very wholesome experience, and it doesn't feel at all "touristy."

I plan to continue WWOOFing again in Japan more in the future!

Oh, and I had done WWOOF on a regular 90 day tourist visa each time. Just tell them that you're coming to Japan to have a visit with a host family (because you are) and you should be all set.