Dai's & Sara's
Our first Work & Travel was at Dai's & Sara's in Shizuoka, about four hours south from Tokio. We found this lovely couple on "Workaday" and they replayed in one day. We got a pretty good deal. Normally Dai wants to have helpers for his Bamboo forest but because Flo is a musician and I am a photographer we decided to teach piano and photography as an exchange (:
As in any other Workaway we got accommodation and food for 25h/week as an exchange. We worked 5h a day and lived in their house together with them, which felt like we were a little family. We had our own "room" on the attic which was pretty cozy and more than enough.
We stayed 17 days and had a really nice experience! They took very well care of us, served us the best food we could have imagined 3 times a day, we had jamming sessions with the piano in the evening and shared stories about our cultures and lives, which was very inspiring!
We can highly recommend to stay at Dai's & Sara's (:
We helped Dai in his Bamboo forest for maintenance and harvesting Bamboo for his craft and Bamboo art. He bought it some years ago and always need helpers to take care of it because it's a lot of work but really beautiful too.
Eleven Years ago he decided to host his own Guesthouse in an old traditional Japanese house right next to where he lives. Its one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen! Especially at night it has some magic!
Sara spoiled us with her delicious homemade food every single day. It was one of our highlights! She mostly cooked us traditional Japanese food served with so much love and awareness. It was warming for body and soul!
Bamboo forest
Working in the Bamboo forest was a once in a lifetime experience for me. Dai explained his technique to us how to hew down the trees and how to throw them correctly. We used chainsaws, Japanese wood saws and our hands. Although it was physical exhausting it was a really nice feeling to learn more about Bamboo, hewing down trees and it gave us a pretty good insight how Japanese on the countryside live and work.
BAMBOO CRAFt
After he harvested the Bamboo from his forest, he washes, peals and cuts the bamboo into very small and thin fibers. He uses them for his Bamboo crafting. Dai makes anything you can think of out of bamboo. His most favorite thing to do are Rings, Cafe filters, bags and more. He is super talented it's a lot of effort until he holds his finished piece of art in his hands. Lots of physical work, patience and accuracy.
He also gives Bamboo craft workshops. One evening we also had the chance to make our own bamboo ring which was super fun and interesting to learn (:
TEA CEREmony
As I told you, we stayed in Shizuoka but in the country side in the woods. There was not much going on but we enjoyed the nature and the people who lived there. There was also a cute place where you can have a traditional tea ceremony with a cute old Japanese ladie serving you the tea with so much love and patience. She showed us the right way to hold the cup, how to turn it and how to drink it, this was very important and a really cool experience and only costs us about 510 Yen.
Beside this delicious Matcha tea (made with lots of love) you also get a little Japanese treat at the beginning. It's this typical dumpling filled with a sweet red bean paste which you have to eat before you drink the tea.
After the ceremony (which was about 10 min) we walked around in this beautiful Japanese garden, get some matcha ice cream and watched the Koi fish in the little lake. Also beside this garden, there are some biiiiiiig flower fields called "Cosmos fields". Beautiful flowers which are blooming end of October to their fullest.
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