Drive towards Iso from Gionnosu Park, and you can see Cho-on-kan (潮音館), a café made of stone, on the left side.
Cho-on-kan uses organic farm products and eggs which are harvested at their own farm as ingredients, so their food is healthy, safe and tasty!
These organic vegetables are grown by WWOOFers who found the farm through a system called “WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)”.
WWOOF is a system in which people work at farms without compensation and the farm hosts offers them food and accommodation free. Anybody can become a WWOOFer with online registration (there is a charge for registration). Some of WWOOFers are traveling all over the world using the system.
Mr. Kawasaki, the Cho-on-kan owner has been a farm host since 5 years ago and about 50 WWOOFers a year are working at his farm. He holds a party every Sunday at his café for the purpose of exchange between WWOOFers and local residents. Anybody can participate and the participation fee is 1,000 yen (actually, the cost for your meal). You can enjoy an international exchange and plenty of tasty food. It’s a great chance to meet people from lots of different places.
This time, 2 American ladies and a man, and a German lady came to the party. They were helping with Mr. Kawasaki’s farm.
Yoko, one of the WWOOFers talked what the attraction of WWOOF,
“You can have great experiences which you can never get just through traveling. Besides, the chicks of ducks for rice-duck farming are really cute.”
On the other hand, there are difficult things. Yoko says,
“It was hard to use to formworks. Actually, I’ve lost some wait. But, the most annoying things are mosquitoes.”
Another American lady, Olivia says,
“I love all of Japanese food. Natto, squids, and sea urchins….I ate various things and everything is tasty!”
Surely she is enjoying Japanese food, and she is enjoying more.
“Everyday life here is just like the world of My Neighbor Totoro, and I am a big fan of Ghibli!”
We talked about travelling, the difference between Japanese culture and American culture, also the difference between Japanese education and American education, other WWOOFers’ experiences and many more things. The time passed so quickly.
On this day, Gyokuryu Junior High School and Ghokuryu High School students are also participated, and they talked about their dreams for the future with WWOOFers eagerly.
As Yoko said, “the experiences which you can never get just travelling”, WWOOFers exchange directly with various regions or countries, stay there and face farm products with the way of each place’s farming skills. They have difficulties as well, but everyone was so energetic and full of life.
The party beyond generations and nationalities had a nice and at-home atmosphere.
Good food served one after the other and everyone’s’ smile.
I was so happy because I could be such a nice space.
Category : text @en
Tag : 24 divisions of the solar year , 24sekki , corona virus , COVID-19 , COVID19 , Emergency , Japanese culture , season , tanabata , The coronavirus , 日本の文化
Recommended for you
Hearty Party － Welcome to Kagoshima! －
Jun. 06, 2014
#1-1 Damian Hill
Jun. 05, 2013
KIC Christmas Party Will Be Held This Year, Too!
Dec. 12, 2013Popular post
Doyo-no Ushi-no Hi (土用の丑の日)
~ July 30th in 2023 ~
Mar. 01, 2023
