Farming in Manno, Kagawa

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.

 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.

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!

Volunteering in Tohoku - Part Three: Farming & Farewell

First published: 21 May 2012

Disclaimer: Last time I'll say this! A lot of these images aren't mine, and lifted from other sources. then again, a lot of them are mine. Anyway, check out the INJM Facebook page, as pretty much every image that isn't mine on this page came from there. Thanks guys!

 Assembling greenhouses in Miyagi, Tohoku.

Our last day volunteering in Tohoku was going to be a bit of a surprise. We were unaware of what to expect, as the rest of our week had been dominated by working on the 'Playgrounds of Hope' project. As it transpired, Danny and I would be spending our last day assisting on the construction of a new crop farm, whilst Rainer went off to build and fill in the wood chip enclosure on the jungle gym at the Pinnochio site.

 Rainer applies the finishing touches.

Attached to a new team, Danny and I were off at 7.30am (!) in order to drive the hefty distance to the site and make our 8.30am start time.

This was our earliest start, and it was one heck of a long trip. Thankfully, we made a brief run to a local combini store and picked up supplies before starting the day. I decided to employ an old trick I'd use to keep myself awake during my all-nighters at university; early morning ice cream. I was wide awake in no time.

 My silhouette is ready for action.

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As we drove, I began to see far more of Miyagi than I had experienced that week. Only a little further on from the Pinnochio school was a collection of small, metal houses which had been assembled as temporary accomodation for those who had lost their homes. The sheer number of these was an eye-opener; hitting home when an old woman emerged from one of the front doors as we passed. Further on, more collections of abandoned cars began to appear. It was a harrowing reminder of just how many people here had been affected by the disaster.

For a while, the scenery turned into beautiful mountainous countryside - reminiscent of driving through the Highlands or the borders in Scotland. Eventually, though, we came to the biggest area of damage I had seen, in Shizugawa.

I cannot emphasise just how devastated this area actually was.

 

Shizugawa, Miyagi Prefecture. Absolutely devastated.

Driving through this bleak location is an experience I'll never forget. The images I saw looked exactly of what I had seen on the television one year prior; absolute destruction. It seemed as if absolutely no restoration had taken place whatsoever. Only a few buildings remained standing; those that did were evacuated, falling apart, crushed, or simply abandoned. One sat almost at a 45° angle, while another had a car washed onto it's roof. The ground was almost completely flattened, with minimal signs of life anywhere; right next to the coast and looking out onto the sea, it was obvious that this entire area had been almost completely washed away. As we passed through, our car fell silent.

Other than passing cars, I only saw one other individual on the ground - a Japanese teenager in school uniform cycling his bike. He looked like he could be a local resident; I wondered where he stayed and where he would go to school. I couldn't imagine what seeing this scale of destruction unfold upon your home town would feel like, but I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.

I encourage you to do more research on Shizugawa. Some of the most iconic images of the tsunami and it's aftermath are from this area. Be aware, however, that you may see some harrowing images.

Not my image: taken from a Google search of Shizugawa after 3/11.

Luckily, most of the wreckage has been cleared away now.

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We drove further on to the site of the farm, which was being built on higher ground along with a new farmhouse for the residents. It was easy to see why this decision was made; almost all of the areas above high-ground were still intact and secure, where the tsunami hadn't reached them. The farm was a modest size, surrounded on all sides by forestry. Driven to the site by a warm Australian under the psuedonym 'Hippy' (?),  we pulled on our overalls and set to work. Our challenge today was to assist the farmers by assisting in the construction of greenhouses.

 

Farming time!

It was a bit of a strange day, and certainly the odd one out of our experience by not having Rainer around. The task was so vast in scale, due to the amount of work that needed to be done, that we knew from the get-go that we wouldn't be able to help the farmers finish assembling the greenhouses on a single day. The work had already started earlier that week, and proved to be much more straightforward than that presented to us when assembling the playgrounds. The farmers were constantly providing clear guidance, as opposed to the crazy instruction manuals for the jungle gyms which contradicted themselves at every opportunity. Even though the farmers could only speak in Japanese, communication wasn't an issue due to the proficiency of the members of our team (myself not included). Work was steady, and efficient, and it felt refreshing to work in a new environment with a new group of people.

The team get to work while I search for a hammer
(and take a couple of photographs).

Our first job was to ensure the metal frames were secure. Composed of interlocking metal strips, our job was to secure the locks by knocking them into place with a hammer, and make sure everything was tight and connected for the plastic sheet to fit over the top. Minor niggles occurred to due a shortage of tools and the wear on the materials (most, if not all, appeared to have had previous use), but we worked with confidence and at a steady pace.

 

Securing the hinges.

As we progressed, another of the greenhouse frames became ready for its cover to be attached. All of the team moved swiftly over to the frame, and worked as a cohesive unit with everyone on site to firmly attach the sheet to the frame. With the wind blowing, it was a bit of a challenge, and at first, I was a tad frustrated as both sides of the frame asked me to assist them - meaning I moved back and forward aimlessly for a moment as I had no idea where to work from. It was an unusual process which I had never seen before; one person manually using a long twisted wire to tightly trap plastic behind it into gaps in the steel strips (was that clear?), whilst everyone else held the plastic sheet firmly in place at either side. Both sides worked in unison until the length of the greenhouse was firmly attached. Finishing quickly, we stood back as the final securements were made. I felt a minor sense of achievement; I'd never done that before!

Now this was an interesting experience...
Attempting to cover the frame of a greenhouse with plastic.

Lunch was generously served by the farm workers; a heated box of fried rice with some miso soup. Again, it made a refreshing change from the daily trips to the combini - but I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment that I wouldn't be able to justify spending 2000円 on food that day (as had become the standard).

A damn good lunch time, but I do miss my combini fried chicken.

Carrying on after lunch, myself and an American girl named Nikki began constructing some of the doors for the near-finished greenhouse. Unfortunately, this involved cutting steel pipes to size in order to attach them to the door frame for fitting the plastic to. Realising a manual saw wouldn't do the job, I got to live out one of my fantasies as I was granted access to a power generator and buzz saw. I cut through the steel poles with orange sparks flying everywhere (as a side note, whilst I of course wore safety glasses, absolutely none of the Japanese people on site bothered with them!). Attaching the poles with screws and a power drill (not a particularly easy task), we affixed the plastic and were primed to attach the door... with one hitch. The man who had been instructing us on what to do had unexpectedly headed off for the afternoon, and none of the other farm workers knew how to affix the door to the structure. After several guesses and attempts (including my go-to solution - "build a trench!"), we couldn't get it fixed onto the front. Bugger. Oh well, at least they were made.

Achievement!

As the sun began to sink down, so did the temperatures and the workload. Come around 5pm, Trevor arrived with an INJM-mobile to drive us all back to Ishinomaki. It had been a fun experience working on the farm, and a refreshing change from the stressful days on the playground sites where we had been constantly second-guessing ourselves. It was good to meet more people from other areas of Miyagi, from a completely different community who still had their stories to tell. Yet, while we had finished the playgrounds in our week of volunteering, much work remained to be done there. Having no experience with this type of thing, I wondered about the timescale of crafting a fully functioning farm environment again. As we drove home, I made sure I recorded as much of the coast as I could on my video-phone, but sadly the battery and memory capacity were failing me.

And so, we came to our last night in Ishinomaki. If I remember correctly, I didn't go to the onsen that evening, but instead had a shower at the INJM base. It had been an exhausting week, and I was taking it easy. I took the opportunity to pack my belongings away, and to chat with the other volunteers whilst awaiting Rainer's return. We had our final dinner, and Michihiro and Yutaka (who were leaving this evening, and had worked on a different project that day) began their journey home to Akihabara; but not before inviting us to come and visit them on our journey home! As it happened, Rainer and I had both previously agreed that we intended to stop by Akihabara on our way home, but now we had a firm reason to go. After playing a few bouts of Draw Something (which Danny had gotten me hooked on during my time there), it was lights-out, and I passed out almost immediately. After a week of hard work, it felt great to lie back without need of an early rise.

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One thing I haven't yet mentioned about the INJM base was the presence of the on-site cat. While unfortunately, I can't remember it's name (shameful!), I do know that it was homeless after the tsunami incident, where her tail had been broken and - so I have been told - she suffered a miscarraige. As a cat lover, I felt terribly sorry for this cat, as she currently had no home to go to and was being cared for by INJM while they looked for a new owner. I enjoyed playing with her in the evenings, as a reminder of my own cat - Smudge - and also just because I have always enjoyed the company of animals. I seriously wished I had been in a position to take care of this cat - partially because I missed my own cat, but more so simply because I wanted her story to have a happy ending. Unfortunately, for myself, this was impossible; I'm not allowed pets in my current accomodation, and taking care of a cat in Japan would cause a great deal of headaches when coming home to Scotland (as well as an extra expense I just didn't believe I could afford). It's a great shame that no one had been found who was able to take care of her.

Sorry, Moggy. I really do hope someone gives you a safe home.

I really regret not being able to help this cat.
I sincerely hope she finds a home soon.

---

The morning we left Ishinomaki was surprisingly relaxed. As I'd already packed my belongings, I had an opportunity to relax in the kitchen area with the other volunteers prior to their own departures for work. Saying a few final farewells, I munched down on toast and felt incredibly relaxed. It felt good to know that I'd given a week of my time on behalf of those less fortunate that myself. After breakfast, Trevor drove us out to the local AEON mall where we waited for the bus that would take us to Sendai station. We got our final look around Ishinomaki as we drove through. It was definitely showing signs of steady recovery, but it was no overnight fix. The restoration work in Ishinomaki would likely continue for years to come.

As it happens, I made one final donation to INJM; my blue jump-suit! I left it on site for any subsequent visitors who felt like wearing something a little different from the standard red and yellow suits. If you're heading over to INJM and pick this up, then you'll be wearing my very own gear. Enjoy it.

My parting gift to INJM.

On that same weekend, opening ceremonies and parties were held at both of the playgrounds we had helped to build.

The opening ceremony at Pinocchio International Preschool.

I was sorry I wasn't there.

It was regrettable that we were unable to attend, but we had to begin our journey home (and, of course, had arranged our travel before we knew these were being held). Seeing the photographs shortly afterwards on Facebook lifted my spirits. After working so hard for so long at these sites, to see children finally playing on them made all of the hardships worthwhile. The children looked like they had immense fun, and I think the INJM members who represented the group there can feel very proud of this achievement indeed.

Seeing the children play on our work makes it all worthwhile.

I can't help but feel an incredible sense of achievement looking at this.

Helpling out in Ishinomaki was an incredibly rewarding experience, and one that I hope I'll be able to experience with INJM again in the future. The biggest challenges involved were the cost of travelling there - not cheap from Kagawa! - and my desire to find a lengthy period of time to go, so as to really offer as much as I can. It certainly wasn't easy to arrange, but INJM's incredibly flexible schedule makes it a much easier process. I'll forward to giving them my time again in the future. They're a fantastic organisation.

We drove along contentedly on the bus to Sendai station, the three of us arranged in single file on fold-out chairs that fitted down the middle of the aisle (a pretty good idea to get more bums on seats, actually). I took the opportunity to unwind with a book and a fully charged iPhone. At Sendai station, we intended to have lunch before our travel, and sat in one of the station cafes only to realise how tight our schedule was and that we didn't have enough time to eat and make the train.

Cue awkward standing up and shuffling out.

A few hasty omiyage and snack purchases later, we were on our way.

Next stop; Akihabara, Tokyo.