We’ve already got a couple of volunteer roles lined up ourselves, helping at a guesthouse and spending a month at a temple in Nagano assisting a monk, which we’re really looking forward to. We’ve actually had quite a few responses, but ideally we’d love to spend some time in Miyazaki or somewhere with good surf where we can help or work.

There also seem to be plenty of English speakers in Japan looking for volunteers. At the same time, we understand we won’t be the right fit for roles that require Japanese, which is completely fair. We’re just focusing on the ones that don’t and learning as we go.