First published: 4 Oct 2012
Let's farming!
On a sunny Saturday in May this year, I was invited to assist in a day of farming in the small town of Manno, Kagawa. After an early morning rise and an hour's train ride to Kotohira station (home of the famous
Konpira-san), I found myself driven up into the hills to spend the day doing some good, honest labour with my fellow JETs.
The trip was headed up by Ryo Kato: an American CIR JET from Seattle with family roots in Japan. Ryo is a fantastic guy with a unique insight into Japanese culture that many JETs simply don't have: his language skill is exceptional, and he maintains a calm, contented manner at all times (he is forever chilled - though certainly game for a laugh!).
Three other JETs accompanied Ryo and I; Lindsey Clarke and Ben Jacques-Parr from England, and Stephen Branston from Canada.
The hills of Manno.
Ben and Ryo are set for action.
Ryo picked up our team in Kotohira, before driving us up the winding country roads to the chrysanthemum farm run by Ohira-San. A local farmer in Manno, Ohira-San is a warm-hearted Kagawa man with a broad smile and a constant grin. His good-humoured and playful spirit was welcoming and engaging, and we immediately knew we were in good hands. His family also ran a small Tobacco shop by their home.
The team assembled.
From left to right: me, Ohira-san, Lindsey, Ben, and Stephen.
Ohira-san's chrysanthemum farm.
Looking somewhat sleepy before a day in the fields.
The day consisted of numerous tasks. The chrysanthemums had all already been planted, so our focus was on building up a set of nets around them to ensure their protection and a straight, vertical growth. Ryo, Ben and I found ourselves hoisting large wooden poles around the ends of the rows, planting them firmly in the ground with a strange device that resembled a jackhammer. I was absolutely terrible at using it, but Ben quickly proved himself go be the master, and we very quickly found
ourselves with all of the poles planted firmly in the ground.
Meanwhile, Lindsey and Stephen focused on placing a thin black strip all the way along the rows - for watering the chrysanthemums as water would pass through it.
Meanwhile, Lindsey and Stephen focused on placing a thin black strip all the way along the rows - for watering the chrysanthemums as water would pass through it.
Ryo was stoked at the opportunity to drive a pick-up truck.
Ben gets to work with the wooden poles...
...and a powerful thrusting device.
He looks like he's having fun.
Ohira-San was very generous with us. As well as buying everyone juice for the break times, he also brought us round to his home at lunch time for a delicious curry meal prepared by his wife. His traditional Japanese home was absolutely gorgeous - we ate on the floor in the traditional manner, admiring the tatami floor and sliding doors (and his beautiful dog which walked around the yard outside).
Oishii!
After lunch, Ohira-San also took us over to a local shrine. Walking up the hill, we found that a strange smell was hanging in the air, coming from the leaves of the trees. Ryo quickly identified this smell as being... Er, I'm not quite sure how to phrase this. Shall we just say 'male procreational fluid'? Regardless of the somewhat sexual connotations, the shrine was a lovely place to visit in our lunch break, and we all spent a fair bit of time posing for photos.
The afternoon consisted of feeding nets along the rows, to protect the chrysanthemums. These nets would hang on the wooden poles that we had previously installed. Walking backwards while gently rolling the net out from a bundle proved to be inconsistently challenging - usually, the net would roll off comfortably and it was very easy to hang the net into place. However, quite a few of the nets were tangled in their roll, which meant a lot of stopping and starting and many people working on a net at one time to try and disentangle it. Additionally, many of the strings in these nets were broken, meaning many efforts had to be made to reconnect all of the lines in order to ensure a taut hold on the pole. It was a time-consuming effort, which took up the rest of the day.
Ohira-san's local shrine in Manno.
Posing for the camera... with an odd smell on the scene.
The afternoon consisted of feeding nets along the rows, to protect the chrysanthemums. These nets would hang on the wooden poles that we had previously installed. Walking backwards while gently rolling the net out from a bundle proved to be inconsistently challenging - usually, the net would roll off comfortably and it was very easy to hang the net into place. However, quite a few of the nets were tangled in their roll, which meant a lot of stopping and starting and many people working on a net at one time to try and disentangle it. Additionally, many of the strings in these nets were broken, meaning many efforts had to be made to reconnect all of the lines in order to ensure a taut hold on the pole. It was a time-consuming effort, which took up the rest of the day.
Rolling out the nets...
...and tying them into place.
Unfortunately, the task was somewhat exacerbated as the ground beneath our feet became increasingly "sludgey". As we trampled in our heavy rubber boots - generously provided for us - the soil turned to muck and moving became increasingly difficult. With my feet sticking deep into the ground, I found myself fighting against the suction and struggling not to fall over. I can't say the smell was particularly pleasant either, actually!
Just a tad unclean.
Stephen struggles to stay balanced.
Our team finished for the day around five in the evening, taking time to chill with some well-earned drinks and posing for some photographs. While we didn't get all of the nets in place before the end of the day, the majority of the work was completed, which surely saved a heck of a lot of hassle for Ohira-san (especially with those tangled nets!). A job well done.
Ohira-san enjoys a Pepsi after a hard day's farming.
The sunburnt team chillaxes.
Our team made our way back to town for a celebratory party at a local izakaya (though, unfortunately, Lindsey had to disappear due to having other plans that evening). The remainder of the evening was spent with delicious food and plenty of drink, all while accompanied by prying children at the restaurant who Ben played magic tricks with (the daughters of the staff, who continually came over to gawp and stare at us foreigners). As the evening progressed, it got increasingly more alcohol-fuelled and card games aplenty were played. Luckily, we still all managed to make our way home in one piece.
Looking merry.
Or, in Ryo's case, slightly like a comatose Snoop Dogg.
All in all, it was a great day out, and brought back happy memories of working on the farms at Ishinomaki in Tohoku. Ryo continues to regularly take parties of foreigners to visit Ohira-san's farm, which continues to be a fantastic opportunity for anyone fortunate enough to be in the Kagawa area. I can't recommend the experience highly enough.
Big props to Ryo Kato and Ohira-san for offering this fascinating insight into Japanese agriculture.
Ryo Kato and Ohira-san.
Cheers, guys!
