Message from Adam
I love helping out on farms! Wisconsin (my home state) is nothing but farms so working on farms in Japan reminded me a bit of home. It was usually hard work but it felt good to get paid for working hard. That isnt always a feeling I get after teaching all day. And I made some great friends on the farms. The people I met on the farms have always been wonderful!
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Help Farmers and Make Extra Money in Japan
Learn new skills, help some local farmers and make extra money in Japan. These are some hard jobs to do, but they are rewarding and are worth considering.
Depending on your Visa status, it is really hard to get a part time job to make extra money in Japan. You need a proper Visa before most employers will hire you.
That is true for big farms as well, but helping out the smaller farmers should be ok. Yes, this is a legal grey zone, so make sure to consider the risks before trying to get paid for helping farmers. Technically, you would be volunteering your times and the farmer rewards you for your time.
DISCLAIMER: The author of this post and The Yen Pincher website are not responsible for your actions. The author of this post and The Yen Pincher website are not responsible for any injury or legal issues that may occur by working on a farm.
Helping a farmer during their busy seasons isn’t exactly the same as getting a job with them. You would not become an employee of that farm. Just a volunteer.
Many small farms need all the help that they can get and often have their family and their neighbors (including children) help out during the planting and harvesting seasons.
Ask the people around you and see if anyone knows a farmer who could use some extra help.
Work out a compensation (cash or produce) and enjoy!
It is hard work, but it is honest work and you can learn a lot.
Here are some ideas for different “compensated volunteering” on farms.
Make Extra Money in Japan Idea #1: Rice Farm
Rice farms are everywhere in Japan and many of these farms are owned by private families and these small family farms usually welcome any help they can find.
The planting season starts in April or May and the harvest season is around November.
During these seasons you could offer to help out!
Planting rice is actually a lot of fun too! Walking in the mud planting seedlings is a pretty fun job, though it hurts your back after awhile. Sometimes you can even use a tractor to plant, which is a lot of fun too!
The job itself is pretty simple and easy to learn, but it can take a long time to plant a field.
Then during the harvest season, farmers need help cutting, separating and storing the rice. This too can take a very long time to finish, so finding someone who wants help should be fairly easy.
Since rice is such a major part of Japan`s history and culture, this is a great way to learn more about Japan.
Receiving cash is one way of getting paid for helping out, but receiving free rice for the year is also a great reward!
Make Extra Money in Japan Idea #2: Vegetable / Fruit Farm
There are greenhouses and fruit/veggie farms in every prefecture in Japan. These are also great places to help out.
The planting and harvesting seasons differ depending on the fruit or vegetable, but there is no shortage of work to be done all year long.
Possible jobs include; planting, pest control, pesticide spraying, picking, cleaning, and packaging.
Picking and packaging might be what you would be doing the most of.
I lived near a lot of tomato farms and during the summer I helped pick tomatoes all day. It is simple work but it is very tiring. Even so, I enjoyed doing it because there is something relaxing about it and I made good friends with the farmers around me. I receive 5,000 yen for a days work (between 5-7 hours) and I they gave me more vegetables than I knew what to do with! I helped out on weekends or sometimes even after I finished my teaching job. It is a good job if you can find it.
Again, ask around or go to farmers market and talk to the people selling there and try to find someone who is looking for help.
Make Extra Money in Japan Idea #3: Flower Farms
Flower farms are really busy in the summer and always seem understaffed. 
Planting is one option for helping out, but the job that seems most needed is harvesting the flowers and packaging them. They need to be bundled, stored or shipped quickly after being cut.
So near the end of the season, flower farmers a super busy and probably would love for someone to ask them if they need help.
Of course, there are other jobs that need to be done on a flower farm. Planting, picking, pruning, watering, pest control, pesticides, packing, shipping and storing are all possibilities.
This can be a hot and sweaty job, but it is probably the best smelling job in Japan and a fun way to make extra money.
Make Extra Money in Japan Idea #4: Livestock Farm
This might be the hardest job of all the farming jobs and there is never a shortage of work to do on a livestock farm, no matter the season. 
Whether it’s, cows, pigs or sheep, these farmers never have a down season and the work never seems to stop.
They are often ecstatic when someone offers to help them with some chores around the farm.
There are a variety of jobs that you could do. So you could even work for an hour or two every day, before or after you normal job. Work full days on the weekends or just a few times in a month.
Any help would probably be greatly appreciated. There really is a ton of different things that need to be done on a livestock farm but here are some of the things you could do; feed the animals, clean the barns, help load trucks, milking cows, or laying straw for the beds.
All of these jobs can be very tiring but you can use these jobs to gain new strengths. On a farm, you really can learn many new skills and learn a lot about life in general.
Farmers are not the richest people in society, but you will be compensated for your work one way or another. You will also most likely make some really good friends!
Make Extra Money in Japan Idea #5: Poultry Farm
Japan also has many poultry farms. A lot of these are owned by big companies, which makes getting a job there difficult because of Visa issues. But some poultry farms are small and local and often need more helping hands.
Working on a poultry farm is probably the loudest job on this list!
Here are some possible duties that you could do; feeding the chickens (or turkeys), cleaning the barns, collecting eggs, packaging or loading trucks. There are, of course, many more chores to be done, which is why your help could be much appreciated.
For egg lovers, this is a great job to have! Get compensated for you work in cash or eggs.
Like livestock farms, poultry farms don’t really have a down season, so you could help out anytime of the year and make extra money while living in Japan.
