Finding this gem of a family friendly farm stay in the Japan countryside was a major highlight of our Kyushu trip. In this post, I share about our 3 day 2 night stay at Yufu Child Farm. (For our full week-long itinerary, check out – One week in Kyushu with Kids).
We planned our Kyushu trip to focus on time in nature, and I found some information about farm stays in various towns on the island. However, these were all in Japanese, a language we don’t speak. While looking for accommodation on Airbnb, I chanced upon this listing titled “Yufu Child Farm”. Despite not having many reviews, the few reviews that were present painted an attractive picture of what the farm stay entailed. We decided to give it a shot.
From the moment we arrived at Emma and Riku’s home, we were overwhelmed by their hospitality in the best possible way.
The host, Emma
Emma is a single mother of 5 year old Riku. She moved to the countryside after 25 years in the city, because she wanted to spend more time with her son and build a better life for him. Despite having no farming experience, she decided to purchase a farm stay property and learn the ropes from scratch. She spent time with other farmers, learning how to tend the land.
Having spent her adulthood in the city and not cooking meals from scratch, she had to learn how to use the produce she would grow to feed her guests. She shadowed a retired farm stay host, learning how to cook a great variety of dishes based on what would be available to her from the local area. In her words, while she could read recipes online and follow them, good food depends on the quality of ingredients you have. A different type of soy sauce, water, salt, all change the taste and texture of the food you make. There is no substitute to learning from someone with first-hand experience.
The house, a traditional rural Japanese home
The home is a two-storey traditional Japanese house. The first floor has two adjoining connected rooms for guests. One has two single-sized Western style beds, and the other room is a tatami area which can fit four futons. In total, the farm stay can host one group of up to six guests. Next to the guest room is a playroom filled with a great variety of toys and books. My kids spent so much time playing there!
Emma and Riku share a room upstairs, which is where the kitchen and living area are also located. We had our meals in their living room, together with the family. Being part of a local family was such a treat, and it showed us a different way of life. All those tiny dishes in Japanese-style plating? So cute and it makes food look so much more appetizing!
The activities and food, amazing on every account
As part of the farm stay, we were to help Emma harvest some fresh produce. She grows a large variety of produce as her intention is to provide exposure for her guests, especially children, as she wants to be a kid-friendly farm stay. She does not grow with the primary intention of selling, and so there is no pressure on the kids to “get it right” or worry about trampling on plants or accidentally destroying part of a crop.
We visited in mid-July, and that morning, we were able to harvest blueberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, carrots, green peppers, zucchinis, okra, and blue pea flowers.
Breakfast and dinner are provided as part of the farm stay. Apart from the fresh produce from her farm, Emma also makes a trip to collect special spring water before each group of guests arrives, as the Japanese believe that cooking with special water makes for better tasting food. Perhaps it was the special ingredients and water, or Emma’s love and heart poured into the cooking, or both, that made every meal so very delicious.
We stayed for two nights, and so we had a lunch on the second day with no plans for. Emma suggested a few local options, and we decided to go with her recommendation of somen at a special local restaurant up in the mountains. We followed behind her in the car up the narrow mountain road, and were rewarded with the most mind-blowing noodle eating experience.
The naturally occurring water in the mountain was carbonated, cold and slightly sweet. We sat at a bar where the water was piped into clear bowls in front of us, constantly running over the somen that we would then pick up, dunk into dipping sauce, and enjoy. The set meal we chose also came with freshly grilled fish. After we ordered, we watched the owners catch the fish from the tank for our meal!
There are no words to adequately describe the explosion of flavours and sensations in the mouth when eating the somen. The cold temperature, carbonated water, sweet-salty dipping sauce, slightly spicy citrus paste in the sauce, all combine together in perfect harmony.
Later in the day after harvesting, we helped prepare for dinner by making skewers, or yakitori, with the freshly harvested produce and some meat Emma had prepared the day before. Emma also made tempura using some of the produce. She invited some friends over to join us, and they taught us how to make onigiri, Japanese rice balls.
That night, we enjoyed a feast for dinner, with the onigiri, yakitori, and tempura all made from scratch and with our own hands. After dinner, we enjoyed kakigori, a Japanese shaved ice dessert. While most kakigori are simply shaved ice with coloured syrups, Emma had made her own strawberry jam and condensed milk for us to use as better toppings for the summer dessert. It was so much fun putting food together, and then enjoying it all with great company!
The second morning, Emma offered us a few options of outdoor activities, but we decided to spend time indoors as the children were playing very well together. Emma decided to let us try our hand at making traditional sweets out of hattaiko, a roasted barley flour. It was really easy and even our 1.5yo enjoyed rolling her own sweets and eating it!
The overall experience, highly recommended!
Emma started her family friendly farm stay with the intention of hosting families with young children, exposing them to farm life while also giving her son Riku the opportunity to meet other children. As a family with young children, we felt comfortable in the environment, knowing that we were in a home that understood and accepted how young children behave (this is rare in a country like Japan!). The opportunities to observe and participate in farm life and home life were invaluable to us city-dwellers.
If you’re looking for a way to embrace slow travel, support local tourism, and provide authentic learning experiences to your kids, this is it.
