Japan

So, last entry was full of reminiscing about the wonders of Cornwall -  what a truly magical place. Then there’s a gap of a few months and now we are back in Australia tackling our own blank canvas of a garden and attempting to reassimilate into ‘normal’ society, but we are not up to that yet…

Japan.

View of the farm looking towards Nagano

In between our time on Plan-It Earth in Cornwall and arriving home, we spent a month in Obuse, a little town situated in the Nagano Prefecture of Japan – thankfully nowhere near all the recent devastation. I don’t want to write about the tragedy there, other than to say our hearts go out to those who are suffering.

If you have been to Japan, you know how different it is to the rest of the world. If you have not been there let me put it like this, there are countries classified as ‘third world’ then ‘developing world’ and ‘developed world’, and then there is Japan.

The country has a wonderful spirituality and there are temples and shrines at every turn, many of them ancient. There were also people frequenting them and these places of worship, meditation and prayer had a lively energy. You could feel that they were not just monuments, they were a functioning part of everyday life in Japan.

As a place to visit and live in for a short while, it is completely wonderful. Friendly, beautiful, safe, graceful and welcoming. We adored it and spent our time working on a farm perched on a mountain overlooking a long valley surrounded by snow capped peaks.

Winter was getting a grip - Tom found this ice crystal on a pond out the front of the house.

Our hosts were Joe and Sarah Staples, a lovely American couple who met in Japan have been based in there for almost two decades. Joe teaches English at a local school and Sarah is a human dynamo. Cultural event organiser, first woman and first foreigner employed by a long standing Obuse brewing company. She is an advocate for traditional trades, which has seen nearly forgotten skills and techniques given fresh life.

We hooked in to a range of jobs – harvesting apples, fixing farm buildings, preparing old salvaged timbers for reuse, peeling and drying persimmon and general maintenance.

Spare time was spent wandering around the town and exploring local temples, shrines, parks and twisting narrow streets. It was early winter and nights would plummet well below zero. The house was not well insulated and Shoji screens (made of paper with timber struts) and Tatami mats (straw) do little to keep out the cold. Still it was wonderful to live in such a traditional style. We discovered the delights of the ‘kotatsu’ – a low table with a heating element and a built in doona ‘skirt’ to keep your legs and feet toasty.

Recycling Day - The Japanese seem to take their domestic recycling very seriously.

Sarah and Joe were flat out finalising their year and readying themselves for a trip back to the States over Christmas, so we saw very little of them. This was a shame and a contrast to most of our other WWOOFing experiences where we were usually in close quarters with the hosts. I have to say that it was not ideal either, one of the best things about WWOOFing is getting to know your hosts and how they live their lives.

So now we’re back home and putting in to practice the lessons we have learnt. I have to say that thus far, the results have been astounding and we are soooooo grateful for what we have been blessed with… but more on that soon.