OITA’S FARM STAY – GREEN TOURISM / All-Oita

Oita Prefecture is the birthplace of Farm Stay (Green Tourism). Farm stay is a travel style in which visitors stay in the rural private homes of farmers and fishermen and interact with local people in order to experience local everyday life. The town of Ajimu in Usa City is known as a pioneer in this field. It’s become so popular that today farm stay has spread to cities as far afield as Yufu, Usuki, Bungotakada City and other areas of Oita Prefecture.

Each family offers a unique experience during the farm stay. For instance, you can help harvest rice at a farmhouse, look after livestock on a ranch, or even learn to cook traditional local dishes with home–grown fresh vegetables. Each region of the prefecture has a different culinary culture and lifestyle, and each family provides its own programme.

Guests, regardless of age or nationality, receive a warm welcome as if they are family, and greetings such as tadaima (‘I’m home’) and itte–kimasu (‘See you later’) are exchanged naturally. The experience is aptly described as ‘travelling in a way that feels like home’.