Category Archives: Toyota City

City Life, Toyota City

Night Art

Lanterns in Asuke

Sometimes in World Campus – Japan we feel that we learn everything there is to learn, in one day, and on that same moment, we change gears and we start learning about something totally new and excited. Just like it happened on this afternoon.

After picking weeds out of the rice fields and learning about a local currency we were about to set up a complete set of beautiful lanterns along the streets of Asuke to then join a night festival that they prepare every year. The lanterns were made out of rice paper and bamboo, painted by the locals with beautiful different colors and decorations.

Not only did we set up all the lanterns, we also had a great time with our host families, enjoying the view of the town of Asuke by night, shopping in little traditional stores, new ones very modern, and great bakeries that sale very famous pastries, etc.

There was something for everyone in the family. We certainly enjoyed our time, while walking along the streets of this very cute little town close to the City of Toyota.

City Life, Toyota City

Omusubi Currency

Omosubi Currency

As you can read on the articles before this one, the World Campus – Japan participants went to Asuke, a small village located about 45 minutes away from the City of Toyota.
There we went to pick up weeds from the rice fields for a morning to help the rice farmers. In return, the rice farmers gave us Omusubi Currency as a payment for our work.

Omusubi Currency is a type of currency that was put into the rice market just a few months ago by locals from Asuke. 1 Omosubi = 75 grams of rice. It’s a little complicated, hard to understand and even harder to explain, but the main idea is to have the local people use this currency in the local stores and businesses to keep the income coming for the local rice farmers. The rice the farmers in this area grow is organic, so, no substances added to it. Which makes it better and more worth than the rice you buy at the supermarket anywhere.

Usually you, as an outsider can’t get Omusubi Currency, you have to work in the area, even if is just for a temporary work, to earn Omusubi Currency, then you can use them in the area.

We might agree or not with the idea of having a separate currency in a small area of the country but the locals are doing something to not only help their communities but also to make the organic rice business grow.

City Life, City Theme Activities, Toyota City

Frogs, flies, spiders and worms

in the rice field

When that morning we heard we were going to the community of Asuke to pick up weeds from the rice fields, it sounded like a cool experience but doing it was a complete whole new deal. Not only did we put our feet with just sox in the mud and picked up weeds from the rice fields, we also discovered a complete new world of flying, swimming and jumping bugs we had never seen before. Anywhere from frogs to flies to spiders to worms. They were all there, waiting for us to put our hands in the mud to jump, swim or fly either away or towards us.

The truth is, even though it wasn’t that pretty we had a great time going through the experience together. This was for sure a lifetime experience, not only coming to Japan but putting our feet in the mud, dealing with the bugs and doing it all with a bunch of friends from all over the world. Where else can you do something like that? where else can you get to experience this kind of things.

World Campus – Japan is THE unique access to Japan. Today more than ever, it teaches us to appreciate how comfortable we are at home and how to appreciate other people’s work.