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Help us improving our cozy guesthouse in the hills of Okinawa!

5.0
(101 reviews)101

The experience

Come be part of our small, family-run guesthouse in the peaceful hills in north Okinawa! We’re looking for kind, proactive volunteers to help with cleaning, guest check-ins, and improving the space with creative ideas. You'll have your space, access to a shared kitchen, and the chance to enjoy slow island life, connect with locals and travelers, and contribute to something meaningful together.

What you offer

4 hours of help per day

Arts: Help with painting, graffiti, sculpting or drawing.

Painting & Decorating: Help with painting or decorating the property facilities.

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

What you get

2 days off per week

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.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Get free drinks or beverages.: Drink up! Get free and tasty drinks for yourself.

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.

Language lessons: Take free language classes at our place.

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

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English

Between 22 and 39 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

Travel insurance

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

🏡 This is OKINAWA is not a hotel — it's a home.
Founded in 2023, it’s the shared space of Taiga, his wife Akane, and their baby daughter Moana.

Set in the peaceful hills of Motobu, the guesthouse invites people to slow down, share, and live intentionally. It’s a small but growing community where travelers and locals come together, relax, and exchange stories and ideas. The goal isn’t just to offer a place to stay, but to create a warm, living environment rooted in connection.

🙋 Why We Need Volunteers
Akane works as an architect, Taiga is also a scuba diving instructor, and life with a newborn can get busy. That’s why we deeply value volunteers who can support the daily flow of the guesthouse — but also bring ideas, energy, and personality to help us grow. We don’t want staff — we want people who care and want to co-create something beautiful, together.

🧳 Who We're Looking For
• Working holiday visa holders only (due to Japanese regulations)
• Minimum stay: 3–4 weeks (best case 1 month)
• Friendly, proactive, open-minded
• Comfortable adapting, suggesting improvements, and helping shape things as we go
• A calm attitude that fits with the slow rhythm of nature and community life

We usually host one volunteer at a time, sometimes two (e.g., couples) if it’s a good fit.

🛏️ Accommodation:
Volunteers get a bed, and for the summer (July & August), there is a high chance of having an own room with a bathroom. You’ll also have access to the shared kitchen and common areas.

🍱 Meals:
Volunteers can cook their own meals in our shared kitchen. Taiga offers simple home-cooked meals (from a small fixed menu) for about 500 yen, if agreed upon in advance — great if you want to take it easy some evenings.

Food should never be a problem — we always work things out together.

Activities & Shift

🧹 Main Volunteer Tasks
You’ll help 5 days a week for up to 4 hours/day, usually between 10:00 and 14:00, depending on the day and number of guests.

Once you find your rhythm, the daily work is light and flows smoothly. It’s not about logging hours, but making sure the basic tasks are done — after that, the rest of your day is yours or open for extra creative collaboration.

🧼 Daily tasks include:
• Cleaning guest rooms, making beds, washing sheets
• Cleaning bathrooms and shared showers
• Tidying and cleaning the guest kitchen
• Cleaning shared living areas, inside and out
• Assisting with guest check-ins when needed (especially English-speaking guests)

🧽 Weekly task:
Once a week, we do a deeper cleaning session, which may include:
• Cleaning the fridge
• Tidying and refreshing outdoor areas or storage
• Giving extra care to areas that need more attention

🛠️ DIY & Creative Project Time
Since the guesthouse is still relatively new and evolving, there are always things to improve and build. When we first moved in, many things were already here — we’ve cleaned, sorted, and created a lot already, but the space continues to grow.

Volunteers who enjoy hands-on work, organizing, decorating, or building are very welcome.

Possible projects:
• Helping improve outdoor spaces
• Creating cozy corners or garden areas
• Making the space more functional or beautiful
• Co-developing small structures or features based on your ideas and skills

It’s not about strict timelines — it’s about enjoying the process, contributing something meaningful, and sharing your perspective.

Rules

🌸 Our Philosophy
We’re looking for people who:

• Enjoy life in a slow, intentional rhythm
• Bring positive energy and ideas
• Value trust, flexibility, and mutual respect
• See volunteering as a shared experience — not a job

This is a place of growth — for both the space and the people who come here.
If you’re someone who loves to contribute, connect, learn, and just be, you’ll likely feel at home here.