While experiencing the rural life you've longed for
the fun of making honey
the fun of making honey
Honey School is an experiential program where students go to Ueyama, Okayama Prefecture, where the beautiful terraced rice fields are spread out, three times a year, and work with beekeepers to make honey from Japanese honey bees, which is known as a miracle.
Installing beehives in the spring, maintaining the area around the beehives and collecting honey in the summer, and processing and cooking honey in the fall.While enjoying the rural life you've longed for all year round, you'll learn the wisdom of living in nature and learn how to make honey. You can learn. All styles are welcome, whether you're on your own, with friends, as a couple, or with your family!
Three times a year: Spring, Summer, and Autumn
Rural life for 1 night and 2 days
Beekeeper at any time
"Welcome home" will greet you.
At the honey school, students work together with staff to build bee hives, add more hives, and collect honey. Sometimes they also protect their nests from their natural enemies, wasps. It's literally making honey from scratch. After harvesting, the honey (scheduled to be 300g) will be delivered to your home.
A year of honey making
January
make a birdhouse
Select the installation location and level the ground
August
Honey school opening season
Take measures against insects and heat
cut down trees and saw lumber
February
season off
September
Mowing the grass around the hive
Add a hive
March
Honey school opening season
Set up a hive
Apply beeswax to the hive to attract bees
April
Check the condition of the hive
Check the division of bees (moving the old queen bee)
October
Honey school opening season
Collect honey with a press
Collect honey
Build a pizza oven and make honey pizza
Bottle honey
November
Clean the hive
Take measures against the cold
May
Add a hive
December
Mowing the grass around the hive
apply beeswax
Make a birdhouse
Make beeswax
June
season off
July
take measures against insects
This beekeeper will tell you
Beekeeper | Katsuki (right) Chiyo (left)
Although they both live in Osaka Prefecture, when they visited Ueyama in 2021, they fell in love with the village's zest for life, and started beekeeping on weekends here. About two to three times a month, we work with the people of Ueyama village to take care of the Japanese honeybees and carry out activities to enliven Ueyama.
You can try this “beekeeping experience”
Make and install a hive
1
2
Mowing and maintenance
3
Honey collection and honey processing
Making beeswax
4
Honey pizza party
5
Service details of “Honey School”
This service includes the following:
1
You can experience beekeeping while enjoying country life in Ueyama, Okayama Prefecture!
●Spring (March) Summer (August) Autumn (October)It will be held three times.
●You can also add other rural living experience options.
●Transportation expenses/meal expenses/accommodation expenses/insurance feesteethThere will be an additional charge.
*In 2023, the event will be held on ●~● days in March, ●~● days in August, and ●~● days in October.
2
Beekeepers will be posting information about their hives online for one year!
Even when the beekeeper is not on site, the beekeeper will notify you of the status of the hive and bees on LINE. You can always enjoy the feeling of being connected to your "second home" and watching over the hive with your friends.
3
Give away collected honey as a gift!
After processing the collected honey, we will bottle it and deliver it to your home (300g planned). The phantom Japanese bee honey is so delicious that people who try it for the first time may wonder, ``What kind of honey was I eating before?''
PRICE
16,500 yen/person per year(tax included)
*For families with children, up to 4 people can use the service for 22,000 yen per year (tax included, preschool children not included in the number of people).
*Includes beekeeping experience fee 3 times a year (spring, summer, fall), online notifications, and honey from Japanese bees (300g planned, shipping included). Transportation expenses to the site, meals, accommodation expenses, insurance fees, etc. are not included.
Is it safe?
Q.Aren't bees dangerous?
A. There is a strong impression that bees sting, but the Japanese honey bees kept at Honey School are docile and rarely sting. The beekeeper will also give you detailed tips on how to avoid offending the Japanese bees.
Q.What are the safety measures in place?
A.When you approach the Japanese bee hive during the experience, we will prepare protective clothing and rubber gloves that will cover your entire body, including your face and neck. Also, under the protective clothing, please wear clothing that covers your entire body. Please read carefully the precautions that will be announced when applying and agree to the safety measures and emergency response before participating.
User review
Male in his 30s (Chankuma)
Up until now, honey had only been found in supermarkets, but through this collection activity, it was a valuable opportunity to feel the coexistence between the natural environment and humans, and to understand the richness of what is on the table. In addition, the honey we collected had a complex and fruity flavor that was different from the generally available Western bee honey, giving it a special feel, and we were very satisfied.
Woman in her 30s (Rika Rika)
I didn't know how to collect honey, so it was really fun to see it up close. I was able to squeeze the honeycomb by hand and put it into bottles, which made me realize how many steps there are and appreciate the value of honey.
Woman in her 30s (Minami)
I usually use honey in cooking and making sweets, but the honey I ate during the beekeeping experience was clear and delicious, unlike the honey I bought at the supermarket. At home, when your child complains of a sore throat, you can let them lick honey instead of throat lozenges, and since it does not contain any additives, you can feed it with confidence. During the beekeeping experience, the children, who love sweets, were able to eat freshly harvested honey from the hive, and it was very nice for the children to have an experience that they cannot experience in everyday life.
I want these people to experience "Honey School"!
・I want to try beekeeping!
・I want to experience country life on the weekend!
・I want hobbies and friends!
・I love nature!
・I like DIY!
What is Ueyama, Okayama Prefecture like?
A village of 160 people surrounded by beautiful rice terraces
The Ueyama district of Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture, where rice terraces still exist, is known as the ``rice-growing region of Mimasaka,'' and there used to be 8,300 rice terraces spread out in an orderly manner. Communities and cultures cultivated through rice cultivation have long taken root in these villages and have been passed down, but in recent years, as the population ages, more and more land has been abandoned, and the landscape of the past is beginning to disappear. Therefore, in 2006, various activities aimed at revitalizing the village began, mainly led by members who had moved there because they were attracted to the Satoyama lifestyle.
By bringing our wisdom together, we are taking on new challenges every day as a ``continuously evolving countryside.'' “Honey School” is one of them. We hope that through each and every person who is interested in ``satoyama living,'' its charm will be conveyed throughout the country, and that the lives of each and every person involved in Ueyama Village will be enriched. .
Together with “Honey School”
Enjoy the Ueyama experience!
