Volunteering in Japan

When looking for volunteering opportunities you can find an overload on the web, from free to paid. In this blog I will try to give an overview of free volunteering opportunities in Japan. Of course there might be many other opportunities, but this blog can be a first step in finding the best options for you and you can use it as a starting point for further research. 

1. WWOOF
WWOOF offers worldwide opportunities for organic farming, so as well in Japan. The farmers can list the opportunities themselves so it can be really small-scale, but farms can also be huge. You have to pay around 55 euros to join the community for a year, but then you can apply for all the opportunities on there. Often you will get free accommodation and food, sometimes you even get paid (probably not in Japan though). I have never done it myself, but I have heard many good stories. It's a great way to get to know the local culture, lands and food! So if you're into farming, definitely try it out!

Website: https://www.wwoofjapan.com/main/index.php?lang=en

2. WorkAway
WorkAway is something similar to WWOOF, however, it is a platform not just for farming, but for all kinds of work. Offers range from working in a hostel to teaching English to children of just one family. The range of job types is huge, which can make it really fun. However, it can be important to check reviews since some jobs or environments might not suit you. Sometimes you get free accommodation, sometimes free food, but getting paid never really happens I think. I have found some great opportunities in Japan so I would definitely recommend you to check it :). You have to pay a fee of 32 euros a year for a single person and 42 euros a year as a couple. You can even buy workaway as a gift for someone going to japan and wanting to volunteer. 

Website: https://www.workaway.info/

3. Volunteering at an animal shelter
The first time I went to Japan, I was looking for cheap volunteering opportunities. Since I love animals I decided to look for animal shelters in Japan and ask them whether volunteering there was possible. I ended up volunteering for a week at Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK). It was an amazing, rewarding experience. Animal care is not that big in Japan. While many Japanese people love (dressing up) animals, especially when they are young, when the animals get bigger, they often are abandoned since they don't fit in the house anymore, are not cute anymore or are too dirty. Of course, this only counts for a part of japanese people (I also know many Japanese that would never ever do this), it does happen and the couple of animal shelters present have to take care of all these abandoned animals. ARK animal shelter is owned by an English lady who has a passion for animals and who works together with an almost all Japanese staff. When I was there (7 years ago already) she lived in the middle of the shelter and I stayed with her. However, usually you will stay at the volunteering house for free if you work every day. The work consists of walking the dogs, cleaning and socialising the animals. I truely enjoyed it! This is also a good opportunity if you just want to volunteer for one day! They won't let you stay, but if you have a car you can visit them in the morning and walk the dogs or play with the cats I believe. They also have an office in Tokyo, but I think they won't offer you free accommodation if you volunteer there. Sometimes they also need volunteers for translating, social media promotion etc. 

p.s. they have some beautiful animals in the shelter and they are up for adoption, even if you live on the other side of the world. 

Website: http://www.arkbark.net/en/

Another place where you can volunteer is Japan Cat Network. They need help at their two animal shelters, with the events in Japan and you can even help out from home through social media. Even though their name suggests that they only have cats, they also have dogs at their shelter that need help. The animals are truely beautiful and working with them would certainly be fun. 

Website: https://japancatnetwork.org/volunteer

4. Disaster relief volunteering
I don't know so much about this topic. What I did read is that giving money to local organisations working on disaster relief is still one of the most important things. But if you do want to help out on the ground I would like to refer you to this blog: https://disasterjapan.wordpress.com/volunteering-in-japan/
They know a lot more about this topic and the website is regularly updated I believe. So check it out if you're interested in this type of volunteering. 

Well, I hope you have enough options now to start with! Volunteering in Japan is a unique experience. However, do keep in mind the behavioural code and politeness a bit to make sure that you have the best volunteering opportunity! 

Any questions? Let me know!