UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. — Growing numbers of people are staying in farmhouses under WWOOF, a system that provides accommodation and meals in return for help harvesting crops and daily chores.

The system brings together people wishing to learn about agriculture with farm households battling labor shortages, as well as foreigners who are there just to learn about Japanese culture.

"It required a lot of strength to harvest vegetables and to weed, but it was pleasant," said 30-year-old chef Tomoko Takahashi from Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. She stayed in the home of Noriko Kawai, 59, in Nasukarasuyama in the prefecture, to work in a watermelon field for three weeks in July.