Want to take a break from your daily work or studies for a while?Thinking about how you want to live your life?Want to encounter things you’ve never experienced before? Volunteering at ARI is a perfect opportunity for you! Why not
ARI conducts evacuation drills three times a year for the entire community.
For many international participants and volunteers, this is their first experience with disaster preparedness training.
Therefore, learning how to respond when a disaster strikes is critically important.
That day, following an evacuation drill, we conducted a shelter management simulation based on the scenario that ARI campus became an evacuation shelter. We thought together about the responses required in an emergency, using a game-like method.
Best sellers, paperbacks, picture books art books, and many more, all donated from across Japan, will be available for 100 yen and up.
On November 1, 3, and 8, come enjoy Indian curry and chai produced by our skilled ARI chef.
Fall is the season for reading. Why not seek out new words in the quiet former Missionary House, away from the noisy world?
Fri, October 31 – Sat, November 8 *Closed on Sun, November 2
OPEN11:00-16:00
Venue: Former Missionary House (adjacent to Nasu Seminar House) 420-33, Tsukinukizawa, Nasushiobara, Tochigi
Indian Curry & Chai Sales November 1 (Sat), 3 (Mon), and 8 (Sat) *No curry or chai will be served on Fridays this time.
Curry: 700 yen
Chai: 300 yen
Bring your own tableware and get 50 yen off all menu items.
Books to donate are welcome!
Proceeds from the used book fair will be used for ARI’s training programs.
We received wonderful photos taken by students at the Nippon Photography Institute in May.
Each year, they visit ARI for a week to live alongside the ARI community and practice their photo-taking skills.
Thank you so much for portraying ARI through your fresh, outside perspective!
We look forward to your visit next year!
This month, ARI will publish the next issue of its English-language newsletter, Take My Hand.
We’ll be looking at ARI participants and graduates working to nurture the next generation of rural leaders, thanks to the training they received at ARI.
Want to know more about how ARI’s leadership model impacts future generations? Receive the next issue with a donation to ARI’s US partner, American Friends of ARI. Follow this link to donate!
https://ari.ac.jp/en/donate-from-usa/
We were blessed with good weather, which had been our biggest concern, and HTC2025 was a great success. Hearing so much positive feedback from all of you has filled our entire team with happiness and a sense of accomplishment.
It also provided an excellent opportunity for us to put the servant leadership we have learned into practice. Although there were occasional clashes, as everyone was giving their absolute best, it was an HTC full of learning. We discovered new sides to our teammates and even learned about our own previously unknown strengths.
Now, this year’s participants are set to graduate in about two months. While we are sad to leave ARI and the friends we have spent this time with, we hope you will look forward to our future endeavors around the world after graduation! (HTC Coordinator Naoshi Kawatsuki)
Finally, tomorrow begins the ARI’s biggest event, Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC).
On the last day, we will bring you a message from our coordinators, who will oversee the event! 👐
Join us for a special Harvest Thanksgiving celebration (HTC) at ARI!
It’s a time to celebrate the season’s bounty and the hard work of our community. Let’s enjoy a simple meal, share stories, and give thanks.
Your presence would make it even more joyful. Please come! (Messaged by HTC Coordinator, Lily and Nao)
▶ Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC), ARI’s largest annual event to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, is coming again this year!
We will entertain you with international cuisine, cultural stage performances and hands-on activities!
Dates: October 18 & 19 (Sat & Sun)
For more information: https://ari.ac.jp/en/htc-2025/
Only 2 days left until Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC)! Today, we’ll introduce events happening outside of the participants’ committees.
We will be selling T-shirts printed with this year’s HTC logo 
The theme, “Sowing the seed of love for a peaceful tomorrow,” was conceived by Malem, a participant from India. The logo was designed by Yong, a participant from Cameroon (first photo).
Priced at ¥2,000 each. Purchase one to commemorate this year’s HTC!
We will also have sales of ARI products including vegetables, campus tours, and a bazaar featuring about 15 external organizations.
What is ARI like? How can I get involved? If you have these questions, don’t miss this opportunity to join us!
About HTC
For more information: https://ari.ac.jp/en/htc-2025/?ari=news
Finally, this weekend marks ARI’s biggest event, Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC)!
We’ll share the key highlights from each respective committee! 👐
🍽Catch people’s stomach by diverse food
Food is life. Our life needs spice. Food adds spice to our life, as spices add taste and flavor to the food. ARI is a diverse community.
We have people from more than 22 countries living together under one roof. Which makes ARI a global village. So, we spice up our life with the diversity of people that live together.
During this year’s HTC, we wish to bring before you a variety of diverse, tasty and mouth-watering dishes. 22 dishes from 16 different countries will be set up before you. Sweet, spicy, sour and salty, anything you desire – we have it for you. Are you ready to entice your taste buds?
Food is life, and life needs to be enjoyed. Having a delicious meal is one of the ways of enjoying life.
So, get ready to enjoy your life on the 18th and 19th October @ HTC @ ARI.
(Messaged by Food Committee, Onigiri Swallowship)
▶ Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC), ARI’s largest annual event to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, is coming again this year!
We will entertain you with international cuisine, cultural stage performances and hands-on activities!
Dates: October 18 & 19 (Sat & Sun)
For more information: https://ari.ac.jp/en/htc-2025/
Watch all our online events again!
Join the ARI life with family and friends!
We're looking for on-campus volunteers
This is where the community gathers to share meals and fellowship together. More than just a dining hall, it also serves as a venue for events, meetings, and learning activities. Koinonia is a Greek word meaning “fellowship” or “sharing.”
At peak times, meals are prepared for as many as 100 people at once. Students, staff, and volunteers all take part in cooking and meal preparation. The kitchen is not only a place for preparing food but also a space for learning, serving others, and building relationships within the community.
Participants attend classes in these classrooms throughout the training program. The library contains a wide range of English and Japanese books, audiovisual materials, and magazines covering agriculture, social issues, community development, and many other fields of study.
Participants and volunteers live in separate dormitories for men and women. The dormitory includes shared lounges, kitchens, showers, and laundry facilities. Wi-Fi is not available.
The poultry facilities include free-range chicken coops and a brooding house. More than 400 chickens are raised, producing over 80,000 eggs and approximately one ton of chicken meat each year.
Participants learn a variety of pig farming techniques through hands-on practice. Both deep-litter and concrete-floor systems are used, and manure is recycled into biogas and fertilizer.
Goat milk (over 200 liters annually) and meat are used for food, while manure is used as fertilizer. During the day, the goats roam freely in the pasture.
The forests surrounding the campus are managed through selective thinning for firewood and charcoal production. Leaves and other organic materials are collected for use in agriculture.
On 2.5 hectares of farmland, approximately 100 varieties of vegetables and crops are grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The entire community helps manage the fields as part of its commitment to learning and self-sufficiency.
Rice is cultivated in paddies both on and off campus. Various organic rice-growing methods are studied and practiced, including weed control and fertilization using ducks.
The workshop is a space for repair and recycling activities. It contains machinery, welding equipment, woodworking tools, and a variety of materials.
Livestock feed is produced here using both manual and mechanical methods. Continuous efforts are made to improve feed quality and sustainability.
The first floor houses the reception area and administrative offices, while the second floor contains staff offices and the Director’s office. The Farm Shop (Agricultural Training Room) is located adjacent to the building.
The shop offers ARI-grown produce, processed foods, books, and handicrafts from the home countries of ARI graduates.
The facility serves as the hub of agricultural activities at ARI. It includes classrooms, storage for tools and farming materials, and facilities for drying and storing crops.
Originally a 100-year-old traditional farmhouse, the chapel has been renovated into a place of worship. Daily morning gatherings are held here, along with meditation, dialogue sessions, gospel choir practice, and other community activities. Oikos is a Greek word meaning “home.”
This facility is used for producing and storing processed foods such as cookies and jam. The ground floor also contains a poultry processing facility.
Fish are raised for both food and agricultural purposes.
