Chimure Gloria Farm

When I arrived at Chimure Gloria Farm (in Kami Furano), I was welcomed with a big family BBQ. After the BBQ, we all loaded into Muto-san's van and bumped along a windy road up the mountain to a very beautiful natural hot spring. I had a great conversation with the aunt as we relaxed in the outdoor pools.
The Muto family (with one 14-year-old son) runs the farm. The mom's sister and husband helped out around the farm while visiting the grandmother who lives in a seperate house. As for WWOOFers, the two 18-year old Taiwan friends and the 20-year-old guy from Hong Kong shared the boys cabin and I had the girls cabin all to myself. The kitchen, bath and toilet we shared were in separate buildings.
My first day on the farm, we spent the whole day weeding between rows of onions. It was tough work and bothered my back a bit. My whole body was quite sore the next day, but I kept it up. That evening we met up with another WWOOF host at an elementary school Bon Festival dance and it happened to be the host from Docomo Farms, the place we went to pick berries at that the girls from Taiwan had volunteered at! What a coincidence. I met up with a nice WWOOFer from New York. She is also studying Japanese here. Back at the farm we let off some little fire works and lit hand-held sparkler-type ones.
I volunteered 3 more days on the Chimure Gloria farm during which time I weeded more onions, pulled and sorted carrots and made a carrot soup! One day I got to drive the small van from the field down to the house, he he, right-hand-drive and stick shift, fun! But possibly the greatest accomplishment was that I was able to walk under a huge spider in its web every day in order to go to the out house... I am no longer aracnaphobic!!! WOOT!! Now I am volunteering at another farm nearby and there are 3 big spiders in the entrance way of the WWOOFer house... no problem! I have also come to love natto (fermented soy beans) so much that eat it every morning for breakfast!