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Help with everyday work at Buddhist temple lodging

4.5
(52 reviews)52

The experience

We are seeking live-in help for at our temple. BE SURE TO FULLY READ the descriptions and volunteer reviews before contacting us. Tasks include aspects of the hospitality including cleaning toilets and bathrooms, room-making, customer service, kitchen help, washing dishes, etc. English is a must, but Japanese is not required. As all live-in staff eat together, we cannot cater to vegetarians, vegans, etc.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.

Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.

Housekeeping: Help with changing the bed linens and general housekeeping.

What you get

2 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Team Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other people.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Discounts on Restaurants: Get discounts at nearby restaurants.

Discounts on Drinks: Get discounts for drinks and beverages from our bar.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Free Tours: We’ll take you on tours and rides around town. For free!

Free Hiking Tours: We’ll take you on excursions and hikes around town. For free!

Free Events: Get free entrance for the best events in town.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Pick Up: We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.

Yoga classes: Take free yoga classes at our place.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Basic Internet Access: Basic speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Beginner Japanese or Intermediate English

Between 18 and 40 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We are located in a temple village at the base of a holy mountain. Therefore, there is no nightlife. There may be opportunities for volunteers to join tours, events, and activities. Please ask the staff if there are any available for you to join if you so wish. We are located next to Mt. Fuji so there are plenty of chances to see it. There is a bus that comes from Shinjuku straight to Minobu, if you would like to visit the city. Our town is located in the countryside, volunteers find the place to be very peaceful and quite with lots of nature to enjoy.

We ask all volunteers to help 5 hours per day in exchange for food and accommodation, as well as use of Wi-Fi, etc. During busy seasons, we may ask you to help out for longer. These extra hours will be exchanged for time off at a later date. We require volunteers to stay at least 2 weeks, however, at least one month is preferred.

During peak seasons (first half of November, the first three days of the New Year, cherry blossom season and Golden Week), we can become extremely busy during the day as bus tour groups come for lunch. Please be aware that schedules and working hours may change during the busy seasons. Volunteers may work 6 day/week instead of 5 days/week.

Tasks include aspects of the hospitality, including cleaning toilets and bathrooms, room-making, kitchen help, washing dishes, etc. We also have a cafe where, when busy, we ask volunteers to help out.

Activities & Shift

Daily activities are removing bed linen and used towels, etc. from guestrooms, vacuum cleaning, cleaning toilets and bathrooms, preparing rooms for arriving guests, helping in the kitchen to prepare guests' dinners, washing dishes, etc. Please be aware that this is real work and can be tiring. If you can cook for family dinners that would be a great help as a Japanese staff can be very busy.

If you have skills in social media, videography, photography, etc, we would appreciate your help. However, please keep in mind that your main tasks accommodation-related.

Volunteers shifts start at 9am to 2pm. Most days volunteers usually work 4 hours. Mornings and evenings are the busiest times.

Rules

We are both an accommodation and a Buddhist temple. Therefore, shoes should always be removed before entering the premises and stored in the shoe box outside. Be polite and respectful. No excessive drinking. NO SMOKING. We do not accept couples or people with special dietary needs such as vegans, vegetarians, etc.