Enjoy 5 min read April 4, 2025 at 4:57pm
I spend my entire winter in Madarao, Nagano prefecture. I managed to get a job from Workaway in a really nice lodge with a nearly 10 rating on booking dot com (yup, rich people retreat!). It was supposed to be the most chill time during my stay in Japan - because I felt that traveling and exploring during winter could potentially be quite tiresome. And also, I wanted to save some money for my future endeavours.
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about my stay there. Not good, not bad, just somewhere in the middle.
It's almost not Japan
The good: International community and cool coworkers, ability to understand everyone
The bad: I'm in Japan... I want more Japan!
During my two months in Sendai, I heard Japanese during my work, while walking on a street, and when chilling in the hostel's common areas. At some point, I was starved for some kind of english-speaking community - just to be able to understand people around me a bit more and to not overheat my head every time I want to say something.
And I got it... even more than I wanted.
Madarao is insanely popular with foreigners. It is so, so popular, that in a lodge I've been working in, I doubt there was a single Japanese guest during the whole season. I heard there will be a lot of Aussies in this area, but I never imagined they'd make a majority - and that includes both business owners and guests.
That 180 turn was a bit weird for me. For most of the time, I did not feel like I'm in Japan at all. I worked with english-speaking coworkers and attended english-speaking guests.
On the other hand, I was able to see places and events I wouldn't see if I never went to this place, such as Fire Festival (taking place during the Iiyama Snow Festival), snow monkeys, or a cool abandoned hotel.
Perfect place for skiing/snowboarding... but not for anything else
The good thing: Distraction-free place for writing and drawing, not many places and activities to spend money on
The bad thing: Diverse environment is necessary for my well-being
I do not ski nor snowboard (yes, I could try that, no, my knees are not the healthiest part of my body) and it's the main reason people come here to work. Out of my coworkers, I was one of the few people not enjoying the slopes daily.
Fortunately, I am a writer and an artist. This was the perfect opportunity for me to fully focus on my creative hobbies in my free time.
Well, it worked. I definitely wrote and drew a loooot during this winter season. I organized (or co-organized) two lovely fandom exchanges, spend a lot of time drawing my coworkers, and... watched over 200 episodes of One Piece, ahem.
But at the same time...
Remote location
The bad: everything!!!
The good: nothing!!!
Oh, I was naive. I thought that being close to the nature will be rewarding, inspiring experience.
But how can it be, when the closest shop is over 2 hour walk away? How can it be, where I can't even take a stroll, because aside from one constantly icy road, there is too much snow to walk anywhere else?
This was the biggest hit I've received here. I highly value my independency - being unable to do groceries without making a day trip out of it, relying on someone driving me to the shop or taking a bus (costing over an hour of my work in one way!) was painful.
And of course, I'm not even talking about travelling anywhere. I managed to do two trips while I was here - two during three months. It was only possible thanks to the two 3-days long weekends I had. Without those 3 days off, getting anywhere would consist mostly of transit. First, walk to the bus (half an hour already). Then, ride a bus (scheduled only 3 times a day). Then, take a train (operating few times a day - but usually with over an hour wait after the bus gets to the train station).
Want to get back? The last bus is at 5pm - that is, of course, if it's even working. Sometimes it's suspended due to the heavy snow. Good luck!
Aaaah! Frustrating!
Work
The good: money, lovely bosses, decently fun job, variety
The bad: living with coworkers
I did manage to save some money. Woohoo! Thanks to my wonderful bosses, I also made a lot of commissions of my coworkers. Even more woohooo! I am very grateful for that opportunity and I was super happy when everyone received those little keepsakes from me.
The job I had was pretty fun. Housekeeping and dishwashing may not sound like the most exciting jobs out there, but having worked in front of the computer my whole life, I welcomed it with joy. I felt stronger, time always flied by, not having to think too much made me more creative after work and I was able to catch up on podcasts I like. Honestly, I feel like I could do that for a living, at least for some time.
Buuut...
Living with almost 20 people in one house can be challenging... One kitchen and one living room quickly wore me out. There was always someone there, always someone talking, always someone cooking or watching a videos without headphones. Silence was scare, and in time, cleaniness as well. Near the end, I could feel my frustration building up and to protect my sanity, I often hid in my room. There also weren't any alternatives like restaurants or shops nearby, where I could go and have my needed time alone.
For the person like me, the living conditions were challenging. I can imagine that someone more extroverted wouldn't mind them at all.
Overall, I do not regret participating in this Workaway. But at the same time, I know I won't do anything similar in the future.