A deep home-stay experience in rural Japan

On the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains at over 1000m, in the area the locals call Yamaura, there are many small farming villages where time stilled. They stand in the middle of terraced rice fields, a bunch of traditional houses and kura storehouses lined up in ordinate rows where the locals still lead a traditional lifestyle in harmony with nature and attuned to the seasons.

This activity will take you to one of these rural villages, where you can spend a day with a family of locals. This is a deep home-stay experience that will allow you to get into a real Japanese countryside house, eat delicious home-cooking, experience plenty of fun farming activities and, of course, interact with the locals. Getting to stay the night also means that you have even more time to spend with your host.

Here, life follows the natural rhythm of the seasons, which means you will embark on different adventures depending on the time of your visit. Perhaps you will plant some seedlings in late spring or pluck with your own hands the freshest vegetables to go into your meal in the summer. If you plan to come in autumn, chances are you will help with the harvest, reaping the rice and hanging it to dry under the sun. And in winter you may experience weaving straw to make New Year’s decorations or even preparing miso paste.

The experience includes dinner and breakfast, which you will prepare together with your hosts. You will learn how to make some of Japan’s most representative dishes such as onigiri and miso soup, but you will also try some local food which you can only eat in this area such as Egoma (perilla) rustic mochi. Every family grow their own vegetables and make their own preserves, so you will use a lot of genuine home-grown ingredients.

An English-speaking member of our staff will be present at the beginning to help break the ice. Afterward, we will provide a translation device so you can communicate with the family on your own.
*The staff will be present for 30min after you arrive at the host family’s house, but you can request the staff to stay longer for an extra fee (JPY 1,500 per hour).