Meet local foodies and families during your trip in Japan

Signing up for a Nagomi Visit is a great way to learn about Japanese food and culture by visiting homes from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Join our unique volunteer based community where good genuine sharing happens all across Japan.

Get started now and receive a list of potential hosts

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What happens on a Nagomi Visit?

Meet your host

Either at 12pm for lunch or 6pm for dinner at a designated station near your host

Walk home

Your host will guide you to their home from the station

Enjoy!

Chat and eat at your host’s home for at least 2-3 hours

What makes Nagomi Visit unique?

We build friendships not business transactions

Nagomi Visit is a non-profit organization and not an online marketplace. We do not commodify our hosts and experiences. Our goal is for you to meet that friend or family you haven't met.

Meet interesting locals all over Japan

1200+ volunteer hosts are located all over Japan from cities to rural areas. See map below for specific locations.

Casual yet meaningful interaction

Eat or cook at your host's home for about 2 or 3 hours. However, the hope is that there will be a next time where you meet again.

All hosts are prepared to speak English

Many hosts have acquired much of their language skill from travel, study, or work. Each host may speak at different levels and speak other languages.

More than 8,000 have Nagomi Visited

Since 2011 more than 8,000 families, couples, solo travelers of all ages from around the world have gone on Nagomi Visits.

Participation fee intentionally fixed

We know the host and guest dynamic changes to a commercial one once money changes hands so the price is fixed to 5,500 yen just to cover operation costs.

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What people are saying about Nagomi Visit

When I booked the Nagomi Visit, everyone was very excited. No one was nervous or scared. Our children were comfortable with the host’s home and children in a matter of minutes. They could not communicate verbally, but they had fun folding origami together and engaging in physical humor. As a parent, I was amazed at how well the children got along and played together. The activity was very different than any other activity we did on our trip, but was perhaps the most special.

Gery from the US with family of six with four kids

I read about Nagomi Visit in an Instagram-Post and was immediately hooked, but when I told Felix about it, he was a bit skeptical. We are both not too outgoing, so visiting people you've never met, and whose language you don't speak, "just like that" probably felt a bit weird. Naru and Kaori met us as the train-station, well prepared with a map and additional info-material. They are a lovely couple and I wrote some emails with Naru beforehand, so I felt no need to be nervous. Just go for it and don't be afraid!

Cheryll from Germany with partner

My wife and I, being both culturally mixed (Europe and Africa), we were really interested to learn about the Japanese way of life. Actually we have 2 memorable moments. When we arrived at the train station, we were ahead of time so we went outside to get some shots of the surroundings. And while we were filming, our host arrived and recognized us. Such a lovely moment! Seeing the kids of our host, mastering the fidget spinners we offered them 2 hours earlier. It's impressive kids can pick up things so quickly.

Jean-Charbel from France with partner

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The many ways to enjoy a Nagomi Visit

Participate with family and friends or go solo

Experience both urban and rural Japan

Trying new foods is just the beginning

Join a Nagomi Visit to get off the beaten path and see the real Japan with us!


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Visit good people all over Japan

1000+ volunteer hosts are located all over Japan from cities to rural areas. Join Nagomi Visit and meet your host at various areas.

Hokkaido

Abashiri, Asahikawa, Kitami, Kushiro, New Chitose Airport, Sapporo

Tohoku

Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima, Hirosaki, Sendai, Shin-Aomori, Soma, Yamagata, Yonezawa

Chubu

Central Japan International Airport, Dogashima Bus Stop, Fujinomiya, Fukui, Gifu, Gotemba, Hamamatsu, Iida, Iiyama, Izukogen, Jyoetsu Myoko, Kanazawa, Kobuchizawa, Kofu, Lake Yamanakako, Matsumoto, Mikawa Anjo, Mishima, Nagano, Nagaoka, Nagiso, Nagoya, Niigata, Shizuoka, Takayama, Toyama, Toyohashi

Chugoku

Bitchu-Takahashi, Fukuyama, Hamada, Hiroshima, Kurashiki, Matsue, Obatake, Okayama, Onomichi, Tokuyama, Tottori

Shikoku

Imabari, Kochi, Matsuyama, Nakamura, Naruto, Oboke, Takamatsu, Tokushima

Kyushu

Aso, Beppu, Fukue Port, Hakata, Huis Ten Bosch, Kagoshima Airport, Kagoshimachuo, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Saga

Okinawa

Naha Airport, New Ishigaki Airport

Kanto (Greater Tokyo)

Chichibu, Hamakanaya, Ikebukuro, Kaihin Makuhari, Kamakura, Kawagoe, Kumagaya, Mito, Narita Airport, Nasu-Shiobara, Odawara, Omiya, Oshima Airport, Sagamihara, Shibukawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Takao, Takasaki, Tokyo, Tsukuba, Ueno, Utsunomiya, Yokohama

Kansai (Greater Osaka-Kyoto)

Hikone, Himeji, Iga Ueno, Ise-shi, Kansai International Airport, Kobe, Kyoto, Namba, Nara, Osaka, Shin-Osaka, Wakayama, Yoshinoguchi

Get started now and receive a list of potential hosts

1. Send Request to Find Host

Start by filling out our host request form. This form is the most important step so take your time. Where do you want to Nagomi Visit? When? Who’s coming? Describing in detail who you are to our hosts. Any hobbies? The more personalized details, the better the response. The latest you can send a request is 72 hours before your requested date and time.

2. Receive Host Offers

You will receive email notifications if they are interested in meeting you and available on the dates you suggested. First, read the host profile and see who they are, what they do, where they live. Then get to know your hosts better by responding to their messages.

3. Book within 72 Hours

If you are interested in meeting the host, make sure to book and complete payment within 72 hours. Each offer expires exactly after 72 hours with no extensions. Can’t accept an offer? Not a problem. Decline the offer by sending them a quick message showing your appreciation.

4. Continue Communication with Hosts

Communication is key to an enjoyable Nagomi Visit so continue to chat with the hosts until the day of your Nagomi Visit.



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AS SEEN ON


PROGRAM RUN BY TOKYO-BASED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Meeting people for the first time may seem a bit awkward but the Nagomi Visit Team will give you the information you need to make the process not just easy but worthwhile so you can truly connect with your host.


Megumi Kusunoki, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Megumi worked in many areas of tourism before founding Nagomi Visit in 2011. She is a former scuba diving instructor, tour operations manager, and marketing sales manager for online Japan resource japan-guide.com. She has also worked as a cooking instructor at a well known nationwide cooking school.

Alisa Sanada, Chief Operating Officer

Alisa’s passion for cultural understanding comes from her unique background as a Japanese American from Texas. She launched an internationally recognized website on Japanese culture in high school called Real Japan, worked in the web industry promoting Japanese products and tourism, and traveled to more than 70 countries.

Akiko Yamagami, Operations Coordinator

In all her professional life, Akiko has been connecting people through food. From handling imports at a trading company, to setting up international buyers with producers of traditional Japanese foods, she has extensive experience promoting Japanese cuisine and its products to people from all over the world.