Farm-life in Japan

It's been a few days since I left the farm i Shikoku. It was a great experience, working at the farm - the hosts were kind, the jobs were, for the most part, interesting, and the view was great.

I left Tokyo by ferry in the evening at the 25th, arriving in Tokushima city on Shikoku 18 hours later. A train-ride later, and I was in Kochi city. The city seemed like a nice place, with the brave youth trying a "hello", the palm-trees lining the boulevards, and always a view to a mountain.

A view of Tokyo Harbour

On the ferry from Tokyo to Tokushima - windy!

The coastline of Japan

At a train-stop between Tokushima and Kochi

After having spent the night in Kochi city, I went to the farm, where I was picked up by Tomoko, a daughter of the family on the farm. A 20-minute drive later, we arrived at the house of the family. After leaving my luggage at my room and picking up my boots, we went to the farm. The house was located at about 400 meter above sea-level, while the farm was at 600 meter above sealevel. This meant that the view from both the house and the farm was fantastic: a great view to the mountains of Shikoku, all so very green and lush. At the farm I met the hosts, Norio and Kaoru. Very friendly, smiling people.

I was quickly put to work, helping Tomoko pick tomatoes from a greenhouse - one of the many tasks that I would encounter over the week I was staying at the farm!

At the farm

Delicious tomatoes

A view from the farm

Ricefields

The dog

The cat - Taro

One of the many spiders

A scene repeated daily: the dog would bark at the cat, the cat would walk by nonchalantly, secure in the knowledge that the dog was tied

Communication was not entirely trouble-free, but it still went very well. Tomoko, having studied abroad, knew English, so when my bits and pieces of Japanese quickly proved insufficient for a conversation, we could speak English, with Tomoko as a translator. Both Norio and Kaoru knew some English, with Kaoru being particularly keen on trying her English. Norio had studied in Switzerland, so he knew German - my German is still better than my Japanese, so that helped in communication as well.
I was presented with the tasks that the week might involve. Feeding the cows, making silage, cooking for the family, and a number of other tasks I could help with. The family mentioned that a guy from the US would arrive the day after - another WWOOF'er.

The farm was, by Danish standards, rather on the small side. They had about 20 beef cattle, and one cow for milk. The size of the land belonging to farm was hard to judge: a field was put whereever there was a flat piece of land, which, in the hilly landscape, meant that the fields were spread out quite a bit of distance from the farm, and that the fields were of very irregular size.

So, first day passed, work ended at about six in the evening, and we all went to eat Karous lovely dinner.

I was installed in my own spacious room, and enjoyed a good nights sleep, before continuing the tasks the next day.

At about midday the second day at my farm, Greg arrived. Greg Ripke, a friendly american banker from Portland, Oregon, would also spend a week at the farm. We worked together on most tasks, it was nice to have someone to chat to while working.

After Greg arrived, we were installed in a nearby cabin, belonging to the family - most excellent conditions. They had built two of these cabins, one of them being a wonderful guesthouse/retreat for the family, the other a café (café Leben).

I made pizza for the hosts - from left: Norio, Greg, Kaoru and the grandfather

I made pizza a lunch for the hosts one day: after the granddad asked for extra servings, it could be declared a success!


We had a day off during the week, because of rainy weather. We didn't sit idly by, though: Tomoko took Greg and I to a nearby Onsen (hot spring), where we bathed next to a group of yakuza. Eye contact was avoided, but I ogled at their magnificent tattoos when they turned their backs.

A vine-bridge near the onsen

Crossing the vine-bridge

Post-onsen

The farm

We were taken on other sight-seeing tours as well, to the Dragon King waterfall, and to a lookout-point near the farm.

Greg

... and me

Magnificent view

1399.6 meter above sea level

Greg, Norio and I

Norio, Greg and a farm-hand

The Dragon King Waterfall

The Dragon King...

Wild, lush landscape

Greg and Tomoko in the kitchen at Café Leben

The neighbours cat (It's name is Kuro - which means "black")

The milk cow

Another beautiful sunset

We all went to Kochi city at the last day of my stay. After treating us to lunch, and after a bit of shopping, Tomoko and Greg dropped me off at the youth hostel in the city.

I stayed in Kochi city for two days, trying to confirm my firsthand impressions of the city, and trying to find a place to stay for an extended period of time - that is, an apartment or room that I could rent for a reasonable amount of money. The latter proved next-to-impossible. Renting a normal apartment in Japan is expensive and difficult: one needs a guarantor, and one needs to pay "key money", and there are several other hindrances in the way of getting a place. Finding a cheap apartment was a challenge in itself. I visited several real estate agencys. Some outright refused to help (or, rather, as outright a refusal as one can expect to get in Japan), others listed the requirements for getting a place, and listed prices for providing both an apartment and a guarantor. It was prohibitively expensive to get a place in Kochi city. That, coupled with the fact that it would have been very uphill to make a living in Kochi city, made me return to Kyoto. I would still say, that staying in Kochi city could have been a driver for me to learn Japanese quickly. It would simply have been a greater necessity than it is in one of the larger cities, that have more systems in place for accomodating foreigners who can't speak Japanese.

I spent some time in Kochi city doing other things as well: walking to the pacific ocean, meeting another Dane and seeing Kochi castle

First view of the pacific ocean

Went for a quick swim

Arno's livingroom - so danish!

Once I was back in Kyoto, I contacted a place that rents out rooms in shared houses: kyoto-apartment.com. They had a room available in one of their houses, so I arranged to move in on the 13th - yesterday. The same day that I arranged to get my apartment, I bought a bike - it's wonderful to be able to bike around the city now.

The superman t-shirt is always a hit. The kids caught me in front of Kyoto Station, and sort-of-interviewed me. Questions included what sports I liked. I tried elaborating on how I find traditional sports to be - well, somewhat boring - but their blank stares made it necessary to keep it simple: "I like soccer". I lied.

Supaman!

My new bicycle!

I biked to Otsu, a city some 13 kilometer away from Kyoto. Also: new hair!

Busy streets of Kyoto, with the Kyoto tower in the background

So, I moved into the apartment yesterday - the room is spacious and light, and has the very basic things: a bed, a desk and an internet-connection. The other people staying in the apartment about my age, and seems to be a friendly bunch, so I'm quite looking forward to the stay here. Now, all I need is to find a job of some sort. Teaching English still seems like the most viable option.