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2026
A Working Holiday Year in Japan: Preparation, Costs, and a Life That Isn't Mostly Working
From 2025 to 2026 I spent a year on a working holiday in Japan. This post covers prep, what I actually spent, Japanese…
Chicken House Notes | Glad I'm Not a Farm Animal
As the days go by and the size gap widens, the ones who can't keep up may get pushed away from water and feed, and the…
Working at a Ski Resort Hotel: Life in Snow Country, Sugadaira Kogen, Nagano
My one wish for the working holiday was to "spend a winter somewhere with snow." So from December 2025 to March 2026 I…
2025
A Side Quest from Work Exchange: Cooking with Japanese People, for Japanese People
The staff member at "Machimachi Information Center," Shiho-san, who makes tofu for a living, invited me to help prepare…
A Day Trip in Kyotango: Kumihama, Amino and Mineyama
A wealthy merchant's mansion and Nyoiji Temple in Kumihama, Neapolitan pizza in Amino, the singing sands of Kotohikiham…
Local Produce in Kyotango, and Matsuba Crab Season Is Open!
I biked around looking for unstaffed farm stands and found sweet potatoes, pears, fresh peanuts and giant shiitake. I w…
Work Exchange: An Oyster Fishing Village on Kumihama Bay, Kyotango
My third work exchange was at an oyster farmer's home on Kumihama Bay, at the northernmost tip of Kyoto facing the Sea…
Work Exchange: A Strawberry Farm near Himeji, and No Strawberries in October
My second work exchange was a month at a strawberry-picking farm in Himeji: early mornings, quiet me-time greenhouse wo…
Himeji in October: The Fighting Festival, Moon Viewing and Seasonal Produce
What's on in Himeji in October? Besides the classics, the national-treasure Himeji Castle and the thousand-year-old tem…
Shodoshima on the Seto Inland Sea, with No Art Festival
On my way to my next work-exchange spot in Himeji, I stopped by Shodoshima: a three-hour ferry from Himeji Port, a cozy…
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