School & Group Experience Programs
Join us for a variety of interesting, fun, and educational programs and workshops from crafts to nature walks to farm work. We welcome school groups of any size and private groups of ten or more.
Booking
To book a group program, please contact Oyama Senmaida via email info@senmaida.com (English or Japanese) or by phone 04-7099-9050 (Japanese only) with the following information:
- Group name
- Contact name & phone number
- Number of participants
- Desired program
- Preferred dates
We will confirm availability and reply to you as soon as possible.
Rice Planting
Japanese meals rely on delicious rice. Have you ever wondered how it grows? What does the plant look like? How do we get the grains? Come find out with hand-on experience planting rice yourself. You’ll never take your bowl of rice for granted again.
- Available: April and May only
- Suitable for: age 5 and over
- Program time: about 3 hours (morning or afternoon)
- What to bring: rubber boots and a change of clothes
- Languages offered: Japanese
- Activity level: high
- Mess factor: high
Cost: 1870 yen/person
Rice Harvesting
What happens at the end of the season? How do we get from plant to rice? Come find out with hand-on experience harvesting rice yourself. You’ll never take your bowl of rice for granted again.
- Available: Aug and Sept only
- Suitable for: age 5 and over
- Program time: about 3 hours (morning or afternoon)
- What to bring: rubber boots and a change of clothes
- Languages offered: Japanese
- Activity level: high
- Mess factor: high
Cost: 1870 yen/person
Nature Observation
Rice terraces overflow with interesting critters including Oyama Senmaida’s famous frogs. You will see birds, insects, plants, and maybe even Mae-kun, our club’s cat. Slow down time by observing nature in detail. This is a very popular program with school groups.
- Available: year round
- Suitable for: all ages
- Program time: about 2 hours (morning or afternoon)
- What to bring: notebook and writing/drawing tools
- Languages offered: Japanese
- Activity level: high
- Mess factor: moderate
Cost: 1320 yen/person
Indigo Dyeing
Design a shibori tied pattern for your handkerchief and dip it into an indigo dye bath that you prepare with the assistance of our dye masters. Watch the color change as you pull your bandana from the green dye. In the summer we’ll use fresh indigo plants we grow at Oyama Senmaida; the rest of the year we use dried indigo.
- Available: year round
- Suitable for: all ages
- Program time: about 2 hours (morning or afternoon)
- What to bring: apron
- Languages offered: Japanese & English
- Activity level: moderate
- Mess factor: moderate
Cost: 1320/person
Straw Craft
After rice is harvested, the straw can be used for many things, from garden mulch to crafts. In this workshop, you’ll make a lucky turtle with straw using several techniques including weaving and braiding. The completed turtle is perfect for displaying at your front door.
- Available: year round
- Suitable for: age 10 and above
- Program time: about 2 hours (morning or afternoon)
- What to bring: all materials provided
- Languages offered: Japanese & English
- Activity level: low
- Mess factor: moderate
Cost: 1320 yen/person
Papermaking
Milk cartons combine with water to make the foundation for paper. Our special screens let you make a thick paper by draining the water away. Decorate your paper with leaves and flowers that you collect from our fields to make a one-of-a kind postcard.
- Available: year round
- Suitable for: all ages
- Program time: about 2 hours (morning or afternoon)
- What to bring: all materials provided
- Languages offered: Japanese & English
- Activity level: low
- Mess factor: high
Cost: 1320 yen/person
Additional Experiences
Occasionally we offer seasonal programs and special events for individual participants; please check the News section on our Japanese website for announcements.