Workaway Hosting Consulting
"Would anyone really come to a place like ours?"
— Yes. The world is curious about your everyday life.
You just need someone to show you how to start.
Global Reach
Workaway connects you with travelers from 170+ countries seeking meaningful cultural exchange.
Volunteer-Based
Guests help about 5 hours a day in exchange for accommodation and meals. No wages required.
Community Revival
International visitors bring new energy to rural areas, creating multicultural connections.
In 2025, founder Takuya Sato traveled across Maui — from east to west — as a Workaway guest. Living and working alongside hosts, exchanging stories with fellow travelers, he became convinced of Workaway's remarkable appeal and potential. He also helped hosts set up off-grid infrastructure, building practical knowledge of what it takes to run a hosting operation in remote areas.
That experience inspired him to host in Japan while actively working to grow the Workaway host community. Having been on both sides — guest and host — he offers consulting grounded in firsthand experience.
"My English isn't good enough." "I don't know where to start." "What if something goes wrong?" — We built this service to answer these real concerns, walking alongside you from registration to guest communication and troubleshooting.
Currently preparing to establish a base on Sado Island, while actively supporting an NPO in Mie Prefecture with their Workaway onboarding. This service is grounded not only in the Maui experience, but in real, ongoing host launch work in rural Japan.
What is Workaway?
Workaway is an international platform connecting hosts with travelers (Workawayers). Travelers volunteer about 5 hours per day — helping with farming, cleaning, language exchange, and more — while hosts provide accommodation and meals.
- Members from 170+ countries
- No wages needed (volunteer basis)
- Cultural exchange and language practice
- Diverse host types: farms, guesthouses, private homes, and more
Sound Familiar?
"We're a rural area — we can't compete with tourist hotspots"
Workaway guests aren't looking for tourist attractions. They want to live inside local life. A depopulated village offers what no city can — a raw, authentic daily experience.
"I can't think of anything attractive to offer"
Fieldwork, chopping firewood, making miso, walking the dog — your "ordinary routine" is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for someone across the ocean. Your appeal is easier to see from the outside.
"Wouldn't hiring an influencer be faster?"
Viral moments fade; Workaway keeps going. One guest leaves a good review, and the next one comes. A word-of-mouth cycle starts spinning — at zero advertising cost.
"My English isn't good enough, and I'm afraid of trouble"
From firsthand experience as a guest in Maui: broken English works. Translation tools help. And when you're stuck, having someone to turn to — that's what this service is for.
Four Phases
An NPO in Mie Prefecture is currently going through this program to launch their Workaway hosting.
Assessment — Understanding Your Situation
Two free sessions. We listen carefully to your environment, goals, and concerns, and help you decide if Workaway is right for you. If it's not a fit, that's perfectly fine.
Discovery — Finding Your Appeal (2 months)
We uncover what makes your "ordinary life" extraordinary to international guests. Profile strategy, photo selection, and differentiation from other hosts.
Implement — Getting Started (2 months)
Workaway registration, profile creation (EN/JP), house rules, living space preparation. From going live to receiving your first applications.
Operate — Running Smoothly (2 months)
First guest onboarding support, message coaching, troubleshooting. We walk alongside you until you can run it on your own.
Pricing
Assessment
- 2 free sessions
- Situation assessment
- Workaway fit evaluation
- Strategy proposal
All Phases
- Appeal discovery & profile strategy
- Workaway registration & profile (EN/JP)
- House rules & preparation
- First guest onboarding support
- Email & chat support (6 months)
- Troubleshooting assistance
*Assessment is free. If it's not a fit after our sessions, you can stop there with no obligation.
*Prices are subject to change without notice. Custom plans for organizations available upon request.
*Travel, accommodation (for on-site visits), and Workaway host membership fee are billed separately at actual cost.
What does ¥88,000 actually get you?
Outsourcing an English profile alone costs tens of thousands of yen. A marketing consultant runs several tens of thousands per month. Job listing sites cost hundreds of thousands per year. Workaway replaces all of these.
That's about ¥14,700 per month. After 6 months, the goal is for you to run it independently — no recurring fees. And once you have reviews, the next guest comes at zero advertising cost.
If you hired one part-timer at ¥1,000/hour × 5 hours × 20 days, that's ¥100,000/month. A Workaway guest only needs a place to stay and meals. In terms of labor cost savings alone, the ¥88,000 pays for itself in the first month.
Why We Do This
TokiStorage's mission is "proof of existence" — carrying memories of people and places a thousand years into the future. But preserving records isn't enough. We need a way to create new encounters and stories worth recording. Workaway consulting is exactly that mechanism.
Synergy with SoulCarrier
SoulCarrier is a community we run, built around the theme of "resonance" — connecting people to people. Workaway is the same kind of space: hosts and guests sharing time together, resonating across languages and cultures. The connection design know-how we've built through SoulCarrier directly applies to helping hosts create welcoming environments for Workaway guests.
What We Learned from Pearl Soap
Pearl Soap is our project built on the gift economy philosophy. Instead of heavy advertising spend, we build relationships through hand-to-hand sharing and word of mouth. This grassroots approach mirrors the essence of Workaway. Reviews bring the next guest, and guests share your region's story with the world — ad-free, organic growth is exactly what we've proven works through Pearl Soap.
Partnership
We don't want to end at a consultant-client relationship. After 6 months of guided support, hosts who can run independently become our partners. Hosts across regions connect with each other, refer guests, and share know-how. Building this host network together is the future beyond this consulting engagement.
Ready to start hosting on Workaway?
Begin with a free consultation.