Voices of past friends Before 2019
Female in her 20s (Osaka) / Stayed for 10 days in September, 2019
Experienced work
→ Picking up beats, sorting potatoes, etc.
What was fun
・ Meal time (Yoko's home cooking is insanely delicious.)
・ Playing card games and shogi with other volunteers and Non-chan in my free time.
・ I was taken to Asahikawa on a weekend.
・ Baking pizza in the outside kiln on the last day.
・ Relationship with neighbors
・ Agricultural work that everyone cooperated
It was hard
・ It was early in the morning
・ Two days until you get used to farming with everyone
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At first, I was worried that I would be able to get along with college and high school students, but the people at Ezura Farm were so warm that the anxiety was blown away in an instant!
Farming was hard, but we all became friends so much that we were lonely and crying at the last farewell. Living in the city was a valuable experience because I never knew the difficulty of farming and never felt so close to nature.
It seems that there are many people who participate alone, so if you are interested in Hokkaido or volunteers, please apply.
3rd year university female (Ehime) / Stayed for 10 days in October 2019
Experienced work
→ Picking up beets, peeling rainbow-colored corn, sorting potatoes, cleaning and cleaning up fields, etc.
What was fun
→ Eat delicious freshly picked rice
→ Communicating and talking with people you meet for the first time
→ Mr. Emen Interaction with family and neighbors
→ Pizza party baked in a stone oven
→ Daily meal
→ Horseback riding in the wilderness
→ Daughter's school festival
→ I saw a shooting star with other volunteers
→ Agricultural work while feeling the scent of soil
→ Work while thinking that delicious rice is waiting
→ Talk to everyone in your free time
→→→ Anyway, all the time.
It was hard
→ There were days when my back hurt a little because of hard work. However, there is no problem if you move your body normally.
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If you are considering it, please do not hesitate to apply! !! !! I have also experienced farm stays at other farmers, but I think Emen Farm is a "healing place". For those who have anxiety about communal living. Here, a space where you can feel comfortable and relaxed with your family and other volunteers has been established. Also, my pace is so respected that I have no complaints about relationships. I don't think it is excessive for the Emen family to be synonymous with the relaxed life of Hokkaido. It is a place where even beginners can volunteer with peace of mind, and I think that they will have irreplaceable memories and experiences. I want to stay forever. I want to apply again. I had a wonderful time that seems like that (^^)
Female in her 20s (Tokyo) / Stayed for 6 days in September 2019
Experienced work
Sorting potatoes
Ride a dedicated tractor to sort out the potatoes that have come up from the field and remove the mixed stones.
What was fun
It was all fun! In that area of Hokkaido, I also live and interact with the same volunteer children I meet newly. Everyone in the area was very warm. Of course, I actually experienced and touched agriculture. Yoko's rice at every meal was the best reward ♡
It was hard
Everything that was difficult was a fresh and good experience, but ...
I thought agriculture was not an easy job. You need strength and concentration. Getting up early and living together may be a little difficult, but there is also a private space, and above all, it will be a fulfilling and wonderful experience.
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I recommend it if you are in doubt! Lol
All of them are really warm people, and I have already got a job and came here for about 5 days when I changed jobs. All the children of the same volunteer were college students except me, but they were all very good children and I didn't always get involved, so it was fresh and fun.
Shirataki is also a very nice place. I don't think there are many things that you can actually experience farming, so I think it's a good opportunity to actually experience and touch it and feel various things. It's a very good memory.
3rd year university female (Kyoto) / Stayed for 9 days on August 2017 and 11 days on September 2019
Experienced work
Harvesting corn, boxing
Sorting potatoes, picking potatoes
What was fun
Every day was really fresh and fun.
Being able to work in a very beautiful landscape. I also enjoyed talking with other volunteers and employees every day while eating sweets during breaks between work. Every day, I was excited about what the sweets are today.
Also, I was taken to curling, festivals, and hot springs during the holidays, and the locals ate together at night. Every experience is really fun and I still laugh at the photos and videos lol
It was hard
Sorting potatoes involves riding a big machine, but when I first got on it, I got drunk and it was hard lol
In addition, there are many stones that are bigger than you can imagine, and you can compete for speed and physical strength! I worked hard by encouraging other volunteers.
Work is from morning till evening, so isn't it difficult? I think, strangely, my body was lighter than usual and it was very easy. Does eating rice make me feel better by sleeping and waking up at the same time every day? I was impressed with it lol
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If you are in doubt, definitely come! Highly recommended! Life at Ezura Farm was a series of emotions every day. The scenery around me is beautiful, and I think it's worth it just to see it. Also, the people at Ezura Farm (including volunteers) are all good people, and it's a nice point to make friends without being lonely even if you go alone ️ Come on! Please go! I will go too! !!
Female in her 20s (Tokyo) / Stayed for 7 days, June 2018, 11 days, June 2019
Experienced work
Stray potato digging, weeding, stone picking, broccoli planting, potato sorting, chopping wood, etc.
What was fun
I was able to enter the vast agricultural land that I could only see from the road and come into contact with the agricultural products and soil unique to Hokkaido.
I was able to spend a lot of time together, not only farming with people of different ages, origins, and languages, but also making and eating rice, talking around a wood stove, and going out.
It was hard
I didn't have one, but since I live in a group with various people, I thought it might be difficult for people who are not good at communicating and cooperating with people who are not used to it. Agricultural work often involves simple work, so I thought it might be difficult for those who are not good at it.
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I was full of anxiety asking if I would be okay because I usually lack exercise and have nothing to do with agriculture, but the people at Ezura Farm and the other volunteers are all warm and kind people. I was able to spend time volunteering without any problems.
It was so comfortable that I wanted to come back here every time on the last day, and I felt like a second home.
If you are in doubt, why don't you come to the farm and spend time with us? There is no doubt that many wonderful people, large farmlands, delicious water and rice will fill your heart.
2nd year university female (Tokyo) / Stayed for 14 days in March and 14 days in July 2019
Experienced farm work
Chopping wood, sorting potatoes, logging trees, weeding chainsaws / beets, harvesting broccoli, making jams, logging trees
What was fun
Being involved with other volunteers and various people. Playing with Non-chan. Being exposed to things that are not usually seen, such as nature and snow. Being able to experience agriculture closely.
It was hard
Use your physical strength, such as lifting a potato container.
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For me, who had never experienced farming, it was just a new discovery. Agriculture and food have become more familiar. Also, it was a lot of fun and my values changed because I was able to interact with people that I couldn't get involved in in my daily life. It was a place I wanted to come back to again, and it was really nice to be able to meet Ezura Farm through this website. You are very lucky to meet this page. Please join us and enjoy the experience you can't usually do!
3rd year university female (Aichi) / Stayed for 12 days in March 2019
Experienced farm work
House preparation, sowing sugar beet, spraying snow melting agent, chopping wood, logging trees, etc.
What was fun
Living with a large number of people, farming work that you can't usually experience, relationships with Non-chan, and making kamakura.
It was hard
Gacchan (* work to set up a sugar beet nursery), unknowingly suffered from muscle pain in the whole body. (It's also a good memory)
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I was able to experience and experience the goodness of Hokkaido, the difficulty, difficulty and necessity of agriculture away from my daily life! My life, food, values and perspectives on people have changed dramatically. It can be difficult, but if you are interested in Hokkaido, agriculture, or farm stays, be prepared and come! I would really recommend it as an experienced person!
3rd year university female (Aichi) / Stayed for 7 days in March 2019
Experienced farm work
House preparation, sowing sugar beet, spraying snow melting agent, chopping wood, logging trees, etc.
What was fun
・ Everyone played footbaths and card games.
・ Sprinkled snow melting agent.
・ Having chopped wood.
・ Playing with snow.
・ Making Himmeli
・ There were many fun things besides work.
It was hard
It was hard work because it was harder than I imagined and I needed physical strength.
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Everything was a good experience and a good memory! The Emen family is very nice and I'm just glad I was able to participate!
3rd year university female (Aichi) / Stayed for 7 days in March 2019
Experienced farm work
House preparation, sowing sugar beet, spraying snow melting agent, chopping wood, logging trees, etc.
What was fun
Agricultural work was difficult, but I enjoyed it because there were many things I couldn't usually do. In addition, I was able to enjoy playing in the snow, which is unique to Hokkaido, and it was so much fun every day that I wondered if this was all right.
It was hard
It's been a long time since I lived together and it was hard at first. But after spending a few days, I became friends with everyone, and at the end I felt lonely to return to my original life.
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I applied for this volunteer with a light feeling. However, I feel that I had a lot of fun and valuable experience that I couldn't compare with that feeling at the beginning. You will definitely have a valuable experience that you can only do here, and you can only do it now, so please give it a try.
2nd year university male (Kyoto) / Stayed for 7 days in March 2019
Experienced farm work
House preparation, sowing sugar beet, spraying snow melting agent, chopping wood, logging trees, etc.
What was fun
We were able to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together and talk with various people, and we were able to get to know the people who stayed together and the Ezura family through farm work. He provided us with many experiences such as snowshoeing, kamakura, sledging, etc. that can only be done in Hokkaido, and every day I encountered the unknown.
It was hard
Treatment of loneliness and emptiness that comes after leaving the farm
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If you are interested in volunteering, I recommend you to volunteer for the time being without thinking about anything further. Volunteers can't get money, but unlike part-time jobs, what they do is good for people, not for money, so there was a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment ten times that of part-time jobs. If you volunteer, you will mysteriously try to get something from yourself, and you will expand your possibilities. I think it's absolutely impossible to get nothing, feel it, or not notice it, so I think you should try volunteering once.
Female in her 20s (Osaka ) / Stayed for 10 days in September, 2019
Experienced work
→ Picking up beats, sorting potatoes, etc.
What was fun
・ Meal time (Yoko's home cooking is insanely delicious.)
・ Playing card games and shogi with other volunteers and Non-chan in my free time.
・ I was taken to Asahikawa on a weekend.
・ Baking pizza in the outside kiln on the last day.
・ Relationship with neighbors
・ Agricultural work that everyone cooperated
It was hard
・ It was early in the morning
・ Two days until you get used to farming with everyone
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At first, I was worried that I would be able to get along with college and high school students, but the people at Ezura Farm were so warm that the anxiety was blown away in an instant!
Farming was hard, but we all became friends so much that we were lonely and crying at the last farewell. Living in the city was a valuable experience because I never knew the difficulty of farming and never felt so close to nature.
It seems that there are many people who participate alone, so if you are interested in Hokkaido or volunteers, please apply.
Second-year university female (Sapporo) / March 2014-March 2015 September 2017 Stayed for a total of about 4 months
"It was hard"
・ There was pressure to think that any job was responsible. (What if you don't get all the sprouts when you get on the sowing machine ... If the boxed crops go to the customer as they are, you have to do it properly ... etc.)
"What was fun and what was good"
・ I felt good surrounded by mountains and the sky every day.
・ I enjoyed working with Mr. Demon (* in Hokkaido, I call him part-time worker) and taking a break together.
・ When we all had a break in the summer, we enjoyed breaking watermelons under the trees and eating melons. I was deeply moved because I helped plant the watermelon and melon seedlings.
・ Because I could see the whole process from seeds to buds growing and harvesting, I felt like a relative's aunt watching the growth of a small child.
・ When I was in my pajamas in the morning, Akito called me, "A deer has appeared in the field!", And it was fun to chase the deer out of the field while ringing something that makes a sound. I used to think that deer were cute, but I've never been as hateful as they were then.
・ It was good to be able to interact with various people who came to Ezura Farm.
・ It was fun to cut a tree in the field and carry it as if it were a giant.
・ You can make a brick road in the garden, plaster the room, and experience DIY that you can't do much, so you can make use of it in the future.
・ At first, I thought Akahito was a serious and scary person at work (laughs), but he was also a playful person, and he was like a reliable older brother (dad?). At first, Yoko thought that she was a perfect housewife mom with all kinds of food, but I thought it would be hard to approach (laughs), but there was something missing, and she was like an older sister (mother?) Who could stay as she was.
・ Because it's Shirataki, I think I enjoyed farming every day. It's hard to find such a great nature. The mountains and stars are beautiful.
・ I didn't like insects, but when I thought it was a job, I was fine.
・ I thought it would be good to cook and eat vegetables and edible wild plants that are difficult to eat. It was also fun to make dumplings with mugwort. I also made chips with beats.
4th year university male (Sapporo) / Stayed for 10 days in October 2014
I was taken care of a little late in early October, so I packed the potatoes in a box and shipped them for 10 days. On the day when Ezura Farm was featured on TV, I remember screaming happily because the phone calls and emails didn't stop (laughs). It was also interesting to evolve. What a delicious break hot coffee to drink in the beautiful air of Shirataki (^ ー ^) It is a good memory that Yoko's food was delicious and I gained 2 kg in 10 days (laugh) Akito took me to autumn salmon fishing After that, I enjoyed delicious salmon roe and fillets for a while. (It's a secret that Akahito couldn't catch ...)
Thank you very much for last year. I look forward to working with you again this year!
1st year university female (Sapporo) / September 2014, March 2015 Stayed for a total of 9 days
I think it was a little difficult to pick up the little potatoes by hand after getting on the potato digging machine (laughs). It was very comfortable because everyone in the Emen family was too at home. Therefore, the first anxiety disappeared in the first day. All the rice in the morning, noon and evening uses vegetables made at Emen Farm, so it's really delicious. And because everyone eats it, it's more delicious and fun! !! !! The room I stay in is very beautiful! The scenery around the house is beautiful! It's so cozy that you can even lie down in the living room. Everyone in the Emen family is fashionable! Life is fashionable! I only have fun memories (laughs) (laughs) (laughs)
Female 4th year university student (Sapporo) / Stayed for 7 days in September 2014
It wasn't too hard! (Laughs) It's fun every day ... If I had to say it, was it just that I wanted to get rid of the dust when sorting potatoes? I thought it would be difficult to keep early hours, but if I woke up even in the first morning, if I worked in the sun every day, even if I got tired at night and fell asleep, I could get up cleanly in the morning! What I enjoyed was the first time I wore work clothes and did farm work, and it was exciting to push the tricycle and get on the truck bed! It was fun to think about planting garlic and not growing properly, thinking about people who eat corn and looking for big ones, and eating and cooking vegetables and fruits that I harvested myself. Was also very fun! Also, I was able to make pops and stamp the potato cardboard, and I was very happy to see them being used! It's been a long time (laughs) I also enjoyed chatting with everyone and playing with my daughter when I had dinner (laughs)
1st year graduate female / stayed for 4 days in September 2014
① It was difficult ... not so much (laughs) It may be because the period was short ... I didn't think it was really difficult ~ (laughs) ② It was fun ... a farmer who can't usually experience it It was fun to get in touch with life and work at the farmhouse! Also, Yoko's rice was delicious and I learned how to cook (laughs).
1st year graduate male / September, October 2013, March 2014, January 2015 Stayed for a total of about 1 month
"Shareotsu Farmer Experience" I have had several farm stays with other farmers, but the comfort of Emen Farm is exceptional. I lived like my home and caused a lot of trouble, but he warmly welcomed me. The work involved harvesting potatoes, sorting, boxing, harvesting beets, and sowing beets. It was my first time to harvest potatoes, and it was difficult because the machine was old. It seems that it is new now, so I am lucky for those who will stay at the farm from now on lol Please enjoy the life of Shareotsu farmhouse!
1st year university female / September 2014, March 2015 Stayed for a total of 9 days
At first, I was nervous and anxious about living and farming at a house I had never met, but the Emen family really warmly welcomed me. In a blink of an eye, I was able to relax like my own home! I was not good at getting up early because I had a lot of work from early in the morning, but the sense of accomplishment after the end was great, and the warmth of the family surrounding the table with everyone in the morning, day and night was happy. Life at the Emen family was a day of constant laughter! (I'm sorry to bother you again.)
4th year college female / stayed for 7 days in September 2014
It wasn't hard (laughs), but I felt that it might be hard for some people to repeat simple tasks or have hard work! I like simple work and hard work, so it wasn't too painful (laughs), but what I enjoyed was meeting various people in a new land and feeling the sense of accomplishment that everyone could do one thing together. That's it! I also enjoyed the excitement of jumping into a place no one knew by myself (^_^) The snack time after work was attractive because of the freshly picked snacks unique to this farm stay \ (^ 0 ^) / By experiencing the position of a producer rather than a consumer, such as harvesting and shipping corn, I became attached to the vegetables I had eaten so far, and even after returning home, I enjoyed my daily meals.
Adult (late 20s) male / stayed for 5 days in May 2014
That section was very helpful. Both "visiting a stranger's house" and "helping farm work" were my first experiences, and I jumped in with great anxiety, but Mr. Emen warmly welcomed me and it was a very enjoyable and memorable experience. .. I helped (interfere) with the transplantation of sugar beet, but the abdominal muscle pain caused by the work of the seedling sorter (?) Was very pleasant ♪ Also, all the meals I had were delicious, especially the horseradish. The soy sauce pickles left an impression on me, and I still dream about them. I want to bother you again. Thank you!
Working adult (late 20s) Male / May, August, December 2014 Stayed for a total of 9 days
Through staying for several days and helping with farm work, I experienced the whole "farmer's life" surrounded by the nature of Shirataki. All the farm work done with a wide variety of farm equipment and body was fresh and interesting, and I was able to teach the work contents in an easy-to-understand manner, so I didn't have to worry at all. The farming work with the magnificent view of Kitataisetsu in the background is comfortable even for fatigue, and the stress accumulated in the city has been blown away cleanly (laughs). I've been bothering you several times since then, but the feeling of early summer morning is exceptional! The air is so clear that everything looks mysteriously shining. The view from Tengudaira is especially recommended. Next time I want to go to help again while expecting a perfect starry sky ☆