Finished

We did it! We did it together.
We were a great team and helped each other along the way wether it was task oriented, encouragement, providing some humor or simply telling a story to pass the time.
We worked twenty seven days and had three full days off.  There were a few half days off that crept up on us last minute and I am definitely undecided about whether an eleven hour hike should be considered a day off or not.  (I included it in the three days.). There was a lot of complaining during the first two weeks but that became less and less as time went on.  We simply focused on the task at hand and looked forward to the next break or finishing for the day.  A good nights rest reset our bodies and minds each and every morning.  We have left our various WWOOF experiences behind us for now and are full of memories that will never leave us.
They are wonderful memories of people, food, slipper etiquette, beautiful organic vegetables growing stronger each day, mountains, wild weeds, tough schedules (but always less work than the hosts), dirty clothes, ocean, spunky and unforgettable children we've lived with, super fast internet, onsen or hot spring, bumping my head in the attic (three times), bug bites, bamboo, gracious hosts to us and many other WWOOFers from all over the world, eating organic rice and vegetables, black flies, helping with meals, climbing trees, bush whacking, and practicing our Japanese.
We have definitely:

                                                          GANBARIMASHITA!        

                                                                 (did our best)

Day 24

Today is our last wwoffing day!  I would definitely do it again if I had the chance.  Tomorrow we leave for Otaru and spend a night at a hotel.  Then in the morning we take a bullet train that goes through an underwater tunnel.  We will then be done traveling for awhile because we will be at Mom's old home stay family Mr. And Mrs. Miura's house.

-Jordan
Wearing bug jacket weeding onion field.

Making onigiri for our lunch (rice balls).

Spent 4 days weeding asparagus field that was five years old.

Day 25

So we are finally done woofing and I have mixed feelings.  I'll miss all of the families and the experiences but I also want to get home and see all of my family and friends. Overall, woofing has been a great experience and I would definitely try it again. Sometimes it sucks because the work is hard at times but the experience and bond that you make is definitely worth it.

-Lauren

Interesting Finds 11

Hand soap in mesh bag.  Sometimes hanging by sink. Dries easily and spreads just enough 

soap on hands.

Small pump and hose to bring water from bathtub to wash machine.  They do not put any soaps or shampoos into their bath water and the wash machine is usually near the tub.

Shower shoes used to walk in shower/Oruro room when it is wet.  Used to clean area or get tub ready when floor is wet.

Language

We have mostly been using our English in the host homes but there is plenty of Japanese used too. It is hard to follow the conversation for me and impossible for the girls. At this host, there is also Italian spoken by the other family.  The conversations are a wonderful mix of languages. Three young children seem to be speaking their own language.  There have been three generations at the table where we gather for three meals and a break time.  Wifi is turned off until 5pm so we can communicate and live together.  We have had a rotating number of people at the table from 8-11 people depending on schedules.

There has been English on most trains and buses after the Japanese announcements.  Many signs have had Romanji (alphabetic spelling) underneath the kanji (Chinese characters used in Japanese).

I have needed my Japanese a few times and the following picture is one of them.

This is an entrance to a bathroom and only I could read enough to know if it's men's or women's. 

What do you think?

Small Things

Small things carry me through the day

Whether I am here or there

Laughter

Community

Wet flowers along the roadside

View from the mountain asparagus field

Nearby song birds

Text from a loved one

WWOOF dinner

Quiet

Rest

Interesting Finds #10

Bug Jacket

We have learned a few words that are central to our work at this host.

Zasso- weed

Ookii Zasso- big weed

Buyou- black fly

(which are very big and like new blood, like us)

At first I thought these jackets were silly and a waste of time but I listened to Miho and put it on for our first time weeding in the asparagus field.  They are definitely necessary when working around here and we put them on every time we work outside.  We wear a hat as well and it fits either on the inside of the bug jacket or outside.  Even though we wear the jackets, we are fighting the urge to itch those bites!  At dinner we discussed wether we discussed which bug bite was worse: 

Mosquitos or Buyou

Interesting Finds #9

Mr. Bean

Now, this is not a common object in Japan but it is a rare find and very convenient.  It is a small scrubbie object with perfectly weighted stones inside.  It is just right for cleaning the inside of a jar, bottle, or similar object.  This is how it works. 

Day 19 part 2

I finally finished my row in the asparagus fields but we still have two more to do.  We have been weeding the row for three days now.  We had these great views from the field today.  Then we weeded the onions. We got ice cream and I got mint flavor.  It was very good and it was homemade.  We are hoping to get a day off so we can go to the ocean.  We also think that we will hike the mountain if it is a clear day.

-Lauren

Day 19

Today we almost finished working in the asparagus fields.  We then worked in the onion field picking weeds. Then we had ice cream from an ice cream place with home made ice cream.  We piled 8 people in a small car.  Good thing three were small and could fit on our laps.  There are many bad bugs here but we have bug nets that cover our arms and head. I have a lot of bites and don't want any more.  They are some kind of black fly.  The end are you happy with me now Mom?
                                                                         Jordan

Host #3

TAKANO     FARM

We switched to the next WWOOF Host on Wednesday morning.  It is actually down the road just a bit from host #2 which I did not know until after choosing three hosts.  I initially wanted the hosts to be somewhat near each other so we did not have to travel a full day in order to arrive at the next place. Host #2 and host #3 actually know each other quite well and have shared farming ideas and techniques for many years.  They actually met on a kibbutz in Israel many years ago and both ended up organic farming in Hokkaido.

This farm is owned by Kenji and Miho Takano.  Kenji grew up in the area and has been farming for 32 years and has been part of the organic movement in Japan for many years.  He has taught many people about organic farming and has a larger farm with a small variety of vegetables.  He sells locally as well as in the Tokyo area.  He sends produce in a five ton freight car to Tokyo during harvest time.  His main products are potatoes and Japanese pumpkins.  They have four kinds of potatoes and two kinds of pumpkins.  They plant 1/3 of their land with a variety of other vegetables for local sale and for household use.  

Mr. Takano has been discussing and teaching organic farming for a long time and has hosted WWOOFers for eleven years.  He has always had a separate living space for his helpers including a few rooms in a shed, an old bus on the property, and his old house across the driveway from his new house.  We are staying with an Italian Family in the WWOOF house.  They are here for four weeks and the wife is Japanese.  They have two children ages five and two.  The husband works at an organic ranch with WWOOFers near Florence.  We are working hard and enjoying good food and snacks.  It has been sunny and warm working in the full sun.  Keeping hydrated and upbeat as much as possible.  The surroundings keep us going and the thoughts of swimming in the ocean on our day off.

Interesting Finds #8

It is never dull on the farm including rainy days such as today.  We made paper logs (fire starters) from newspapers that they will use in their fireplace to heat the hike in the winter.  It took about a half hour for three of us to make one.  First we rip the paper into small pieces, soak them in water, place them in log maker and press out the water.  Then they are laid out to dry.  They use one each morning when they start to use their fireplace or stove.

Interesting Finds #7

All water from the household, including toilet water, is collected into a pump house where it is filtered through three large bins.  Inside the bins are mesh bags hanging into the dirty water.  There are three bags for each tub filled with charcoal, small field stones, and leaves from the forest floor.   These materials absorb the bacteria in the water.  There are three tubs and water flows from number one to number three and when the last one is full, it flows into a small, person made pond behind the pump house.  They use little soaps around the home and toilet paper goes in a bin next to the toilet in order to keep the water free of unnatural products.  Toilet rooms do not smell at all and water flow is controlled to keep at a minimum.  The Abe family has put fish into the pond and they survived! Then they knew the pond was healthy enough to support wildlife. The pond is covered with duck weed and full of small frogs that I think are peepers like we have in Bryn Mawr. The frogs are wonderful for the vegetables here as they eat many insects.  We have seen a few hopping in the crops.  We fall asleep each night with the sounds of hundreds of peepers talking to each other.

Day Off

Yesterday we had the day off and the girls originally wanted to hike the mountain that we see each time we look to the west.  I was not up for another grueling hike on our day off so we headed out on a local bus adventure as there are no train stations in the area.  This is a popular part of Hokkaido for sight seeing.  We hiked out on Kamui Point, played at a campground area on the beach, hitch hiked to a nearby hot spring, got in indoor and outdoor hot spring overlooking the ocean and coastline, and just caught the last bus back to the farm.  We only ran out of time for lunch but of course had a few snacks and ice cream throughout the day. Amazing sights!

Interesting Finds #6

The other day I asked the farm owners what the biggest threat is for their crops as organic farmers and they replied that it is the weather.  It has been drier for them the past few years than when they originally started farming nine years ago.  They have to water their crops sometimes and I wondered how they would water as there was no sign of a sprinkling system.  Today, after we transplanted veggies that were started in their greenhouse we found out just how they water the crops.  By watering cans.  They did fill up an old stainless steel bathtub with water and transported it in a small farm pick up truck near the crops and we watered each plant for 20 seconds.

Work Projects

We have been doing a variety of projects at Nonnon Farm which makes our days go by so quickly.  We get very stiff and sore doing such repetitious work but we all hang in there and soon enough the work changes or even better yet it's already tea time.  This means a break that includes hot or cold tea and a snack.  Today our activities included collecting eggs and wiping them off, weeding parsley row, watching Women's World Cup championship, transplanting and watering sweet corn, broccoli, cabbage, and some celery, weeding shiso, thinning turnips, and tying up bean plants one by one.  There will be plenty of bean work for us tomorrow as those rows go on and on.

The girls often ask what time it is or how much time we have left.  I usually don't know as I forgot my watch at home (not on purpose as I am usually a watch person) and I don't carry my phone in my pocket during work.  I would rather not know the time but this is definitely not so for the girls.  Jordan says to me today while tying bean plants, "Time passes differently out here.  I don't think I like it."  She is one that has really enjoyed this farm and the type of work we do but she is also one who likes to know her schedule of things and her time frame for finishing a project, any project including homework.
Lauren has also enjoyed Nonnon Farm and it's laid back atmosphere.  She said she likes weeding when we were looking for tiny Shiloh plants in 1"-2" weeds.  It is calm work and really not hard.  She walked up to me today with a basket full of green plants and said, "Look, Mom!  These are turnips we pulled to make room for the others to grow.  We get to eat them tonight."  I love to hear her excitement over these small things that we so often take for granted.

Whenever I get a bit stiff or sore from the repetitive work, I stand and look at my surroundings?  The beauty and solitude take my breath away each and every time.  I also glance at my children working with and learning from Yoko and my heart fills with a deep respect and pride for them as they embrace this experience with a kind heart and strong mind.  Yes, we have our ups and downs and we all get cranky at different times but we also work well together and help each other get through the tough times or we simply know when to leave each other alone for a bit.  We are so thankful for these unique opportunities in these wonderful and remote places in the world.

Interesting Finds #5

Nonon Farm (which means slow pace) is owned by Mr. And Mrs. Abe.  They retired from their regular city jobs at age 51 and when both daughters were finished with college.  They researched house design and organic farming for awhile and bought this land and built their home. They built a cold house to store their vegetables through the winter.  We ate their last potato from last year the first dinner we had here.  They attached the cold house to the home and piled dirt on top.  It looks like a small hill behind their home.  They push snow inside the large doors and it keeps a constant temperature all year.  In fact, the snow just melted around June 25th.  The temperature stays just above freezing all year and keeps their vegetables fresh tasting.  Their potatoes, carrots, and garlic scrapes taste as if they were picked yesterday!

Interesting Finds #4

I don't know a lot about organic farming and how to keep the insects away from your crops and how to maintain healthy spoil but I know there are a variety of techniques and methods in use.  At Nonon Farm, they use sea urchin shells scattered along the rows to put nutrients back into the soil.
The nearby oceans are great for harvesting sea urchins and it is peak season right now!  Mr. Abe gets discarded sea urchin shells from a friend and he exposes them to the elements for one to three years.  They break up and decompose as time goes on and he scatters them between his rows of vegetables.  They also probably cut down on the weeds in the paths as well.  There are plenty of those coming up everywhere and we have done some weeding by hand.  The shells crunch as you walk on them and it sounds like walking on potato chips.

Day 12 part 2

Today we had our first workday at this farm. They sell chicken eggs and a variety of vegetables.  Today we worked in the greenhouse and outside after it stopped raining.  You can read more about that in post Day 12. This farm has a dog that looks like a fox.  Her name is Puru. They say that Puru helps scare away the rabbits so they don't eat their organic vegetables. Also they have a manmade pond with many frogs to eat the insects. The pond is from their waste water from the house purified in three different tanks then pumped into a small pond. The only thing that is bad for the veggies is when the weather is bad. I helped cook the noodles for dinner. Also we took showers and they have a very nice wooden shower. There was a big spider between the window and the screen so Mom had to scare it away.  We saw the amazing sunset and said we might hike the mountain if there is clear weather but it would take 8 hours and Mt. Yotei took 10. Also we found a pretty snail and watched it.

-Lauren