Sophia Farm Volunteer (3/3)
Hey again and welcome to what’s going to be my last post featuring Sophia Farm. Buckle in, this one’s gonna be a long one. My time at Sophia farm has now officially ended and it was definitely a great time with awesome people. I don’t think my ties with them will ever be cut, especially if I end up staying in Japan long term. The posts featured image shows most of the people just before my departure. I’ll leave it to you to figure out who is who – check out the previous post if you want descriptions of everyone.
Opposite the main farm house you will find the women’s quarters. While I have never been inside, it’s supposedly a clean and pristine land of mystery. Further lending itself to the oasis metaphor is that it also carries the only shower on the entire property. If it weren’t for our frequent visits to onsen, I would’ve visited the place of course. With this building, the main facilities have all been shown to you. If you are reading this in the far future and you are wondering why the farm looks so utterly different, it’s likely because all the temporary units were either moved to the hill top or because new facilities were built further uphill. Currently, the land with the farm house is actually the property of a retired farmer, who made his land available to Ben, because they are close friends and he wasn’t able to put it to use anymore.
The other day, we went up to a shared hay storage to make all of Ben’s remaining hay into these neat little blocks. What can I say, the machine which was attached to the tractor was straight out of a horror movie. Scraping in the hay while screeching terribly. If you weren’t careful, it would grab your clothes, pull you in and drop you out in a neat bundle of ropes. A lot of people took part in this endeavor and helped sweep up hay, feed it into the front, finally take out the bound up packs, and pile them up. Everyone was working together like a clock and we managed to pack up everything in about an hour.
Yeah, do I need to add any more to this picture? It felt like I had inhaled glass shards, when I came out after we finished. This is how the machine looks from the back as another package leaves. All the hay we bundled up on that day will have to do until the grass turns green and suffices as fodder for the cows. After all, that’s all the hay that’s left and buying new hay is quite expensive.
Cutting wood must be one of the most satisfying things to do. That became clear as I chopped away one log after the other. Neo-san was nice enough to show me the ropes. In particular how to safely use the chainsaw and splitting axe. I got the idea quite fast. Chop! Chop! Chop! And what remains is a devastated battlefield. I had asked to make fire wood (薪) and I loved it. Because of the harsh climate we had to cut plenty fire wood – many greedy stoves were devouring wood all around the clock.
Once a week, Sophia Farm people decide on a day off, which can be used as anyone sees fit. Such a day came up now. Finally, we were on our way to everyone’s favorite onsen. As we were approaching our destination, we spotted a group of Japanese Shika deer on our right. They remained calm, which might speak volumes to their peaceful environment. Actually, we also got to see a large group of Shika deer later while relaxing in the moonlit onsen under a beautiful night sky.
Based on my borderline magical experiences, Metou onsen has become one of my most cherished onsen of Japan. It’s already over 100 years old yet still going proud and strong. To get to this onsen you’ll have to drive around the mountains of Ashoro culminating in a dirt path, which will have you meandering through the trees into the middle of nowhere. I mean, there is literally just this onsen in that forest. Already, you have some kind of abnormal setting, where you’re deep in nature at an onsen, next to a forest river. In terms of bath variety, the onsen won’t give you the most options, but at its best Metou will for sure impress you. Here is what you need to look for. The onsen closes at 8pm, so depending on the time of the year you would do best to arrive just before or just after sun set. If you love taking very long baths（永風呂）, you might even arrive at around 5pm in winter. Next up is the day of the week. Since they have just 3 outside baths (露天風呂), male and female access to #1(meh) and #2(pretty good) end up rotating each day. I actually don’t know the exact peculiarities of Metou’s system, but you could also simply give them a call. #3 is of the best quality and always accessible for both men and women, but you’ll need to bring a bathing suit/trunks or borrow them for 3$. If you feel very adventurous, you might want to listen to my story, but keep it between us two. Since the onsen tends to have very few customers on weekday evenings, the Sophia Farm crew including me just scouted out the area of bath #3 and since there was no one there, we stormed it. After all, going into onsen without trunks feels much better and my wallet also agrees. So now you know the secrets. If you play your cards right, you will pay just 500 Yen for an unforgettable experience. Enjoy the zen-like baths while star-gazing, jump out of the onsen to take a refreshing dip in the river, observe Shika deer as they make their way across the river only few feet away from you, and lastly savor the moment with some ice cream as you cool down in the onsen lounge. Good luck for your visit!
Here you have a small glimpse into the onsen culture. After all, your stay at an onsen doesn’t need to end as you put your clothes back on. Welcome to the world of bliss and upsells. The onsen lounge area is a staple and will include comfy seating, stuff to buy and consume (ice cream, drinks), play areas (arcade stations, crane machines), restaurants (ramen / soba / etc.), massage chairs, and souvenirs. The size of the lounge area will naturally scale with the size of the onsen, to the point where I think they will actually make more money with the lounge area than with the actual onsen ticket.
As my experience comes to an end, let’s draw a conclusion real quick. The above photo was taken on my last morning, showing me with the cows on the hill. Cleaning out the dung (うんこ取り) has surprisingly become more fun with each day. I guess we as humans are pretty good at finding rays of delight in our daily chores, even if the tasks were all bothersome at first. What can I say about Sophia farm? Great location enveloped in nature, very cold (at least during my stay), lots of work to do (anthroposophy is not for the faint-hearted), the kindest people, much to learn, and, as my friend Neo-san put it, a different matrix. Check it out, it’s well worth your time.
Thank You to all members of Sophia Farm and stay Awesome!
Much love from your tall boy ~ Dom :3
