Connecting people through home cooking,connecting you with the worldA mealtime "homestay"
When traveling, have you ever wanted to talk to locals, try local food, or visit homes?
Your everyday life is an extraordinary experience of great value for overseas travelers
Sharing meals through HOME VISIT creates friendships worldwide.
The travelers you host may welcome you as hosts when you travel abroad.
Connecting people through food - this is what EXest envisions for HOME VISIT.
Connecting people worldwide through shared meals
Hosts provide their homes and home cooking, Locals connect hosts and guests.
Hosts and Locals connect beforehand to welcome travelers from around the world together.
Invite travelers from around the world to your home and add a little color to everyday life.
Share your usual meals with people from around the world and enjoy various communications.
We aim for an initiative that makes you want to try again immediately after travelers leave
Expanding connections through HOME VISIT
01
HOME VISIT is an activity where you visit a host's home and help entertain travelers. As a Local, your role is to connect hosts and travelers. You don't need to invite people into your own home like a host, and you don't need to cook. You also don't need the specialized knowledge of a walking-tour guide or the English skills to answer every spontaneous question. Even if you don't know a word or can't explain something well, you're in a home with Wi-Fi, so you can look it up right away. All you need is your enthusiasm!
02
Answering questions from international travelers is a chance to update your own knowledge. Things you take for granted in daily life and never think twice about are often unusual and fascinating to travelers. When they ask, looking it up as you answer helps you rediscover the charm of your region. And because you speak in the travelers' language, it's great practice for both language and communication.
03
You can connect with people from all over the world who look forward to Japanese food. Experiencing different cultures by studying or traveling abroad takes both time and money. By joining HOME VISIT, you can encounter the values of travelers from around the world. The calm setting of a home in particular lets you talk slowly and become friends with people from across the globe.
04
By registering and being active as a Local, you earn 30% of the HOME VISIT fee paid by travelers.
01
Answering questions from international travelers is a chance to update your own knowledge. Things you take for granted in daily life and never think twice about are often unusual and fascinating to travelers. When they ask, looking it up as you answer helps you rediscover the charm of your region. And because you speak in the travelers' language, it's great practice for both language and communication.
02
By becoming a HOME VISIT host and welcoming travelers from around the world, you can learn many different values. It will surely be a precious opportunity not only for you but for your children too. Aim to become a globally minded person by meeting and making friends with people from all over the world in everyday life!
03
By serving home cooking in your own home, you can bring smiles to travelers from around the world. Through food, which is essential to life, you can make friends across the globe. Those connections and smiles may even decide the destination of your next trip abroad.
04
By offering your everyday home cooking, you can earn money from travelers. You receive 50% or 80%(*) of the HOME VISIT fee. (*) 50% if a Local is involved, and 80% if not.
Leading the next stage of tourism and regional revitalization
Spending wonderful time with travelers who use HOME VISIT brings the world closer to you. At the same time, if you hit it off with a traveler, your next destination abroad may be decided - and this time you could be the guest while the traveler you hosted becomes the host. As HOME VISIT spreads, regions all over the world become connected with yours.
Over two to three hours around the table, HOME VISIT makes all kinds of communication possible. Through talk about dishes, cooking methods, food culture, and ways of eating, you can learn about cultures from around the world. Hosts and guides, of course, but also the children and family members present can experience that culture. By encountering real language and real culture rather than a classroom, you may learn what being global truly means.
Toward 2030, more travelers will visit Japan, and nearly 100% of them will share one experience: eating. If they can have a meal in your home rather than at restaurants, hotels, and eateries around town, those places won't be overrun with travelers. And by chatting over a meal about what to do tomorrow and introducing the wonderful spots you know, travelers can move beyond sightseeing that relies only on the internet and social media. By connecting people with people, HOME VISIT holds infinite possibilities.
HOME VISIT broadly comes in two patterns.
One where the traveler chooses both a Local and a host, and one where they choose only a host and leave the Locals matching to us.
The flow differs by pattern, but what you do is essentially the same.
Register first
Register as a Local on WOW U and turn on the HOME VISIT flag.
Match with a host
Choose a local host and have a meeting. If you are a good fit for each other, you can register them as a host you can introduce as a Local.
PR and outreach
Promote using Instagram and other channels. Work with your host to introduce their personality, dishes, and more.
A booking from a traveler
A traveler applies. Communicate with them to confirm the date, time, and price, then consult and assign a host who matches the conditions.
Meet the traveler at the nearest station
Meet up at the agreed time. Wearing easy-to-spot clothing is recommended.
Visit the host's home
Walk through town together with the traveler and head to the host's home.
Enjoy the meal
Cook together, eat together, and have a wonderful time.
Say goodbye
See the traveler off at the nearest station or a similar spot.
Register first
Register as a host on WOW U.
Match with a Local
Choose a local host and have a meeting. You meet with a Local who will promote you to travelers and help with communication on the day. If you are a good fit for each other, you can register as a host who can be introduced by a Local.
PR and outreach
Build out your My Page with the atmosphere of your home, examples of your home cooking, your personality, and more. Take photos of the dishes you made during your meeting with the Local and of the two of you cooking together, and add them to your page.
A booking from a traveler or a request from a Local
There are two routes for bookings: a traveler contacting you directly, or a Local sending you a request. For a request from a Local, please decide whether you can accept it as-is. When contacted directly by a traveler, reach out to a Local and look for someone who can run the HOME VISIT with you. If you can also serve as the Local yourself, the above does not apply.
Welcome the traveler at your home
The Local brings the traveler from the nearby meeting point. Wait with excitement and anticipation!
Enjoy cooking and eating together
Enjoy cooking together with the traveler.
Say goodbye
See the traveler off.
