WWOOF: An Unexpected Journey to a Tea Farm in Kyoto [Japan]

#ocha #greentea #farm #ricefields #tanpou #hatake #wwoof #worldwideopportunitiesonorganicfarms #countryroadstakemehome #kizugawa #kyoto #wazuka

Left to right: Ken-G san, Ume-chan, Kentaro-san, Tomo-san (Host), me, post-lunch drone photo shot at the balcony of Morii-san's home

Sometimes we need a change of setting

Tired of the city life? Feeling detached from the 9-5? Sensing an existential void, growing with each passing day...?

You might need an urgent reset. Not later. Now.

Sometime in July of 2024, I knew I had to pause and find my rhythm again. To roam, wander, and reflect.

On the day my sabbatical commenced, I booked a ticket out of Singapore. In the first two months, I found myself in a mix of what I call the 'rest-and-roam' mode, in countries such as Macau, Mongolia, and South Korea (namely, Busan and Jeju). Truly, I loved the free-spirited days, in the Mongolian deserts and the Jeju coasts, but the days I stayed in with a book were just as important. In the meantime, I started a "100 push ups in 100 different places" challenge, with the intention to keep fit and stick to a goal. I travelled widely and completed at least 100 push ups daily, cultivating a healthy habit which I have continued till the time of writing. The physical improvement was evident for myself, and in the process I could share some thoughts and drone footage of the places I visited on my journey.

100 push ups in 100 different places: Day 6 shot in Orkhon Valley during our nomadic stay in a traditional Mongolian ger. Watch the full video and series here.

By the third month, I have returned to my favourite part of Japan, in Kansai region. It was my final month and I sought to turn "inwards" in my day-to-day to activities. If the roaming and push up-ing had broadened my perspectives and chest (consequently, I have happily regained my rhythm and breath again), what I sought now was to fortify the mind. I wanted to embrace solitude and develop a stoic perspective on things. However, even though I was in my favourite Kansai region, I found myself retracing old routes, the familiarity of which did not allow me to pursue fully my desired growth in the remaining time.

Which brings us to the subject of this post: Wwoof, or WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Like the sound a happy dog makes when he is a adopted into a loving family, except in this case, I am the lucky one, who has been extended a warm welcome into the abode of Morii-san's home and tea farm. I offer help in his tea and rice fields in exchange for delicious, homemade Japanese cuisine and comfortable lodging (Japanese-style futon on tatami). No monetary transaction, just a genuine human exchange. Imagine a sheepdog wondering into a faraway, unfamiliar farm, except here, the sheepdog harvests tea and rice instead of herding sheep; drinks organic matcha, sencha and houjicha tea (from the source!); and eats delicious sushi, onigiri, curry udon, silken tofu... Hmm, I might have butchered this entire meta-simi-nalogy, but you get the gist.

Where was I? Ah, a reset. I've finally found it, in the final three weeks of my three-month journey. Here, at Morii-san's tea farm, in Kamo Kizugawa, Kyoto prefecture. Wwoof-ing.

Now and then, the country beckons us over

So before I knew it, in October of 2024, I found myself wiping the layer of dust accumulated over my control centre (i.e., soul), and fiddling with the internal settings that have hardened into an insipid default and normalcy for 28 years. From 9 to 29 Oct, I shall shift the gears. Here, perhaps, I will lower the speed to "slow", fix the sights to "fields", adjust the smells to "tea", activities to "farming", language to "mainly Japanese (with English translation)", challenges to "insects", and sense of peace and gratitude to "maximum (-occupancy-120-persons)" - the last part a Dictator joke.

Yes, farming. Wait, farming? After life's twist and turns (indeed they exist even in a path as "normal" and "controlled" as that of a 28-year-old average salaried Singaporean man), I somehow found myself shuttling between the tea fields of Kizugawa country and the tea factory of Wazuka town. I guess there is an inexplicable feeling of returning to nature that connects us, drawn in by a common sense of beauty or romance, regardless of our origins, past and dreams - one that Hayao Miyazaki and others share in, no doubt. For many wandering souls, it seems, the country roads beckon every now and then, shining a light within.

A day in the life of a tea (ocha) and rice (kome) farmer

Ever find yourself wishing you could walk in others shoes, or to experience various lives at least once? In my three weeks at the farm, I wore knee-high white boots that kept out the bugs and soil in the tea and rice fields. While it is easy to romanticize country life, a farmer's day spent toiling in the fields (hatake) can be physically exhausting. My three weeks spent harvesting rice and tea, pulling out weeds, loading 30kg bags of nikomaru genmai (pre-polished, brown rice), and cleaning up the rice factory gave me but a slight flavour of their daily efforts. Yet at the end of the day, when the sun sets around 5pm, you inevitably have a sense of accomplishment, that your work was fruitful and your time for rest now well-deserved.

Moreover, it was precisely in this physical labour that I could train the endurance of my body and direct the thoughts in my mind to a purposeful intention, without letting it stray, as it often does. Along the way, I found joy in learning and asking again, as Kentaro-san (32-year old cool guy from Uji, Japan, previously a wwoofer but has now become a staff) patiently answered my questions about farming, Japanese culture and language, perhaps his past background as an English teacher playing a role here. Even with fellow experienced wwoofer Ume-chan (24-year old Tokyo girl who has travelled so widely and speaks many languages), she was always ready to translate and share her experiences and stories (and o-sake), both at Morii-san's farm and beyond. Wwoofers and staff work hand-in-hand with a single-minded focus, so as to complete the harvest before winter arrives. Despite the language barriers, the hosts, staff and fellow wwoofers were always ready to lend a hand and make you feel included. Thus, I found myself suddenly immersed in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Morii-san had just taken over his dad's many rice fields this year, which presented an opportunity for me to learn extensively about the process from harvesting wild rice (momi) through to polishing to obtain white rice. His dad and mom (we call Ojiisan and Obaasan) are a cute couple who live a few houses away from Morii-san's, and despite their old age, are involved in storing the rice sacks and loading of the rice tractor onto the truck.

The tasks are extensive during harvest period and could be summarised as follows:

1. Tea farming

   1. Removing weeds in the tea bushes so the machine harvesting extracts only tea leaves;

   2. Blowing dry the tea bushes after rain;

   3. Harvesting via machine into sacks (a two-person job);

   4. Trimming the sides of tea bushes with another cutter, to give its shape and allow access to harvest;

   5. For this harvest (third flush), we delivered the harvested tea leaves to a factory in Wazuka town who will use the tea to make matcha/green tea products - only the quality harvest are reserved for Morii-san's own tea sales;

   6. Extra process to pick tea leaves prior to packing into cute Morii farm packages (the female Wwoofers better at placing the stickers, weighing, packing and sealing than the guys);

   7. Finally, I even got to join in the sales aspect of things at the fascinating Sakyo Wonderland craft flea market in Tadusa no Mori, Shimogamo Jinja: setting off early at 630am to Kyoto; setting up the pop-up booth alongside other craft stores; assisting with sales (my help needed when selling to Mandarin- or English-speaking customers); closing shop.

      
      

2. Rice farming

   1. Removing overgrown weeds in the rice fields;

   2. Harvesting rice by hand, using a scythe. Typically, this is to harvest rice located at corners of the fields or which have been trampled on and flattened (since the tractor could not reach these); and stalks surrounding areas with animal poo (unchi), so as to avoid contamination;

   3. Transporting the harvested wild rice into a small and narrow (semai) factory for the rice hulling (momisuri) process, upon which the hulled, brown rice (genmai) are packed into 30kg sacks;

   4. Thereafter, the 30kg sacks are loaded into chilled storage (reizouko) and the husks discarded nearby;

   5. Some of the rice are selected for polishing to obtain white rice, at a nearby communal booth shared by local farmers in Kamo (vending machine style).

      
      

3. Special moment of note

   
   

   While packing tea leaves into 500g Taiyo (strong-roast houjicha) bags, I encountered a situation that exemplified the care put into Morii farm's tea (and Japanese products in general). We mixed houjicha tea leaves from three different plantations in large green containers prior to packing into the smaller 500g bags, to ensure consistency in taste. The final bag was short of 250g. Instead of resorting to the first instinct, which may be to make up the shortfall with 250g of tea from the nearest bag, Ume-chan carefully instructed to obtain 83g each from the three bags, complete the mixing, and finally fill up the bag, thus ensuring the consistency in taste is not compromised in any way. This will be a great reminder to not cut corners in anything that we do.

   
   

Memories Made in Music

Some of my favourite moments from the three weeks were during our tea breaks between farming, and over dinner nights with drinks and music. These were the opportunities when, our 'defences' lowered by labour or Ume-chan's generously poured alcohol, we engage in conversations around our past experiences and goals with one another. Ken shared about his past career as a teacher and internship in Germany, as well as the plot of land and home he wish to acquire in Kamo; Morii-san shared his music playlist and love for reggae; Ume-chan her wide traveling experiences (60 countries already before turning 25, including my favourites Cuba, Mongolia and Bolivia); Ken G-san his fascinating work experiences such as sugar cane processing in Hateruma (a tiny island in Okinawa, with "beautiful sunsets and craft beers, and no convenience stores"); Christine her crazy spice tolerance and unique French-Vietnamese-Finnish mix background; and Tomo-san her delicious home-cooked food.

During one such dinner, we went around the table sharing our favourite songs. A truly "muzukashi" (difficult) question to answer, but we each managed to identify the following:

• Morii-san: Me Gusta Tu (Manu Chao) / No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley)

• Tomo-san: Train Train (Blue Hearts)

• Ken G-san: Ezra Collective the band

• Kentaro-san: Home Again (Michael Kiwanuka)

• Christine: nuits d'été (Oscar Antone, Clementine) - meaning summer nights

• Ume-chan: Señorita (Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes)

• Myself: Too many, and if I had to narrow down, something by The National, The Strokes or Bon Iver

A few days before departing Morii farm, I made use of my rest time to quickly put together two videos to remember Morii farm and our harvest of Oct 2024: the place; and the people. The songs I chose were from the favourites listed above, to remember each person by. During our wonderful dinner celebrations, after we had a few rounds of sake, whiskey and beer, I played the videos to much laughter - a bittersweet goodbye, but definitely a memory I will bring with me.

Part 1: Places - drone footage

Part 2: The Fantastic People of Morii Farm

Final Food for Thought?

A goal of my three months of travel was to develop and instil a stoic mindset. I finally got around to reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius during my time in Japan and gleaned so many important lessons and reminders within (some new and some familiar), which I will have to constantly strive to cultivate to develop an unbiased perception; commit to deliberate and just action; and maintain a strong will. While stoicism should be practised regardless of your circumstance and setting, and the people whose paths you might cross, the reality (for me at least) is I managed to take my first baby steps after I allowed my mind to reset and think clearly. On a personal level, my three weeks at Morii farm was a huge blessing in that it allowed me to shed some of the old habits and thoughts that I have carried with me (a big, heavy baggage), and redirect my actions and perceptions to a more fruitful and optimistic endeavour.

Though we're all living separate lives and walking different paths, I am encouraged by the resilience and outlook of the people I met at Morii farm. I learn to root for everyone who's striving to live their best and truest selves, instead of being harsh and unfair judges (even of myself). While I always have an innate desire to roam, to move and to explore, sometimes to settle into surprising settings with strangers can reap rewards beyond expectation. As Alexander Supertramp realised in his final hours,

"happiness (is) only real when shared"

Morii Farm's Organic Tea - Oishii Recommendations

I found out later that Morii farm's strong roast houjicha (roasted tea); koucha (black tea); and premium sencha (green tea); were named after his three children - which explained why when I asked him which tea was his favourite, he replied: "all of them". This shows how much care and love he dedicates to his tea, from the planting, to trimming, harvesting, processing, kneading, picking, and finally packaging. Morii-san is someone with a vision and devotion to match, and has created something special in the process. Even through the way he treats wwoofers and encourages interaction through shared meals, music and drinks - I hear from Ume-chan that this is not a process that every Wwoof farm does - is testament to Morii-san's good nature and character.

As I prefer a roasted scent in tea, my personal favourites of Morii farm's tea were the Special Brown Rice Tea (Genmaicha) Kachou Fuugetsu 花鳥風月 (1,300 yen for 100g tea leaves) - this means discover yourself in nature; and the Strong Roast (Houjicha) Tai You 太陽 (various sizes from 700 yen for 100g tea leaves to 4,500 yen for 1kg tea leaves) - sun, also the name of Morii's son. They come in tea bags as well.

You can purchase and taste Morii farm's organic tea - harvested and packaged with great care and love - over at their official site: https://moriifarm.buyshop.jp/ . They ship internationally. You can also show your support for the wonderful people of Morii farm, over at @moriifarm on Instagram!

If you would like to experience farming in Japan, you can create a wwoofer account at wwoofjapan.com; pay an annual fee of 5,500 yen; select your preferred farms based on location or activity type; and reach out to the hosts to arrange duration and pick-up*. You can link up with Morii-san via searching for host h55817 - I cannot recommend his farm enough.

がんばろう! Till we meet again