月別アーカイブ: 2012年11月

Katsunori, The Adroit

Katsunori-san is my grandfather. There’s no question. My time here was bright and open. Working with the cows sharpened my empathy for others. I felt connected at Taiyobokujo and such a connection will not dissipate. Thanks for everything Katsu-san, you are good at what you do. Keep sharing your love.

It is getting cold here and i see snow for the first time in Japan. I wish i could stay longer to see the days when it gets extremly cold but unfortanely i only stayed for 2 weeks at the Taiyo Bokujo Farm.
In this time i learned and did many things i have never done before. It feels great to know that you can enjoy selfmade products by the cows you take care of and milk by yourself. Katsu san is always calm, no matter what happens at the farm.

The Farm is between a river and a mountain, near the sea and far enough from the surrounded villages. It was fun to explore the environment and to climb on top of the Mountain with Cinnamon the dog (the fittest dog i have ever seen).
Thanks for the great time and hope to see you again soon.
Robert from Germany

Yasmin – The Free Cow


I enjoyed my stay on Taiyo Bokujo so much I returned three times.
I, like every other Wwoofer, it seems, was impressed with Katsusan’s generous and kind nature. This is reflected in his care for his animals, as in his Free Cow philosophy.
When a cow gets fatigued from not being able to compete enough with the others for food etc. Katsusan deems it ‘free’ and allows it wander the farm and eat and rest whenever it likes, until its health is restored.

The Free Cow
Another sign of his generosity is his tolerance for Effel, the ‘F’ Cow (she has the letter F on her forehead). Perpetually in a bad mood, Katsusan allows her to be part of the gang where other farmers would have given up in despair years before.

‘Effel’
In between one of my stays on Katsusan’s Farm I Wwoofed on farm where I taught English to the host’s young children and every morning we sang the same song:
A is for Apple, a, a, apple.
B is for Ball, b,b ball.
C is for Cat, c, c, cat and
D is for etc.
This is my version for Taiyo Bokujo:
A is for Abu, Ah! Ah! Abu!(1)
B is for Bread, home-made bread.
C is for Chickens, clu, cluck, chickens and
D is for Dog, Cinnamon the dog.
E is for Effel, Ef, Ef, Effel,
F is for Free, f, free cow.
G is for Grazing, all day grazing, and
H is for Hay, h, h, hay.
I is for Ice-cream, I, I, ice-cream,
J is for Jam, Mmmmm, Milk Jam.
K is for Katsusan, K, K, Katsusan and
L is for Love, l, l, love.(2)
M is for Moo-Cows, Milky, Moo-Cows,
N is for Numb, n, n, numb.(3)
O is for Oishii, Oi, Oi, Oishii (4)
and P is for Phone, ph, ph, phone.(5)
Q is for Quiet, q, q, quiet(6)
R is for Rose, r, Rose Jam.
S is for Sunflowers, s, s, sunflowers,
and T is for Taiyo, t, Bokujo.
U is Udder, udderly fab’lous farm,
V is for Veg, home-grown veg.
W is for Wwoofers, many many Wwoofers
and X is for Ex, farm Ex-perience.
Y is for Yasmin, y, y, Yasmin,
and Z is for Zilch, z, z, Zilch. (7)
(1) Nasty stinging flies in Summer.
(2) All Wwoofers love him.
(3) Monbetsu in Winter.
(4) Katsusan’s cooking.
(5) 7 a.m. wake-up calls.
(6) Kamishokotsu at night time.
(7) % Katsusan has of keeping her away!