This article introduces the experience of Mr Watanabe, who did a homestay in Futakai-cho, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, from 14 April to 20 April 2024!
Mr W’s profile
Participant: Working adult,Friend Participation by 2 persons with a friend
Residence:Tokyo
Participation period: 14 April – 20 April
Address: Futakai-cho, Ehime
Introduction HP of the host country: https://familyinn.jp/en/hosts/hutamityo/
Why did you use FAMILYINN?
I had the opportunity to take a long holiday and wanted to do a different kind of travel. Specifically, I looked for opportunities to help and communicate with local people there. In the process, I found FAMILYINN, which offers homestays in Japan, which I joined with a friend.
ーDid you have any concerns before joining FAMILYINN?
I was not particularly anxious. I was very excited!
What was your impression of the town where you stayed and your hosts?
Town: The sea was beautiful and the scenery was amazing.
Hosts: I went without detailed travel plans, but my hosts were very helpful. For example, my host introduced me to the ferry and invited me to a BBQ, and was very reliable.
I enjoyed communicating with the locals, which is not easy to do when staying in a hotel.
Tell us about your daily schedule.
I enjoyed sightseeing for five days, except for transportation.
For example, when I went to Aoshima Island, where there are cats, I woke up at 5:30am to catch the 8:00am ferry to the island and stayed there for about eight hours (laughs).
As you can imagine, an eight-hour stay was a long time, but it was a worthwhile day as I was healed to the full by the many cats and made friends with other foreign tourists.
On the other day, I toured Tokushima and Kagawa by rental car. We moved on such a schedule that we arrived in Tokushima in the early afternoon. There we ate Tokushima ramen and enjoyed sweet potato sweets at a roadside station before going to see the whirlpools at low tide. We then headed to Kagawa to visit Mount Kompira and Chubu-ga-hama, and finally, after eating some udon noodles, we headed home.
When travelling by train, the last train was early, so I took the 21:00 train and was home before 22:00.
Experiences and episodes from my homestay
I went to Matsuyama Castle, Aoshima, Tokushima Prefecture (whirlpools), Kagawa Prefecture (Mount Kompira, Sanuki udon), Chibougahama, Ehime (Dogo Onsen), local breakfast (Taiyoichi near Matsuyama Station), Bar to experience hypnotism, Shimonada Station and many other places!
I found myself short of coins, as trains were infrequent and I had to pay in cash. Online payments had become so routine that I realised I was used to being in the city.
On my first day, I asked, “Do you have any travel recommendations?” I asked my host, “I know someone who runs a cruise ship, what do you think?” and my host gave me the information. We then took part in a cruising experience for tourists, which took us around for a couple of half hours, and we got to see the famous Shimonada Station from a very special place.
On the last day, our host invited us to a BBQ, which we attended. It was a beautiful location as we could see the sea from the rooftop.
Were there any new insights or discoveries?
It was my first time to visit Shikoku, so I was impressed by the calm waters of the Seto Inland Sea. On the other hand, the Sea of Japan side gave me a rough impression, and I felt that this kind of sea also exists. I was also able to see the whirlpools of Tokushima and was amazed by the power of nature.
Who would you recommend it to?
Well, I don’t think there is anyone who wouldn’t enjoy it.
If you want to enjoy nature without worrying about time, this is the perfect place for you. However, if you want to visit a lot of places in a planned way, the low number of trains may be an obstacle.
Impressions and messages from me
It was a week with lots of experiences. I was able to visit all kinds of tourist spots and learnt that Ehime has more to offer than just mandarin oranges. I also enjoyed talking with my hosts and wanted to go back to visit again.
About Familyinn
We believe that you only meet people on a journey once in a lifetime.
There are times when you can touch a place, a person, but can’t connect deeply with them.
If it’s just a place with information on the internet, it’s not enough.
If we could spend a little more time together.
I feel we could help you to become more, deeply aware and discover a new you.
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We hope that by living in the community, you will become more integrated, more connected and more aware.
And we offer you moments of encounter with yourself.
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