Getting paid to train as a yuzu farmer in Mihara

Can you apply?

Mihara's published rules do not exclude foreign nationals. They do require trainees to live in the village, register their residence there and work toward running an independent farm.

The program does not provide a visa. If you live outside Japan, confirm the immigration route first. If you already live in Japan, check that your residence status permits both the training and later self-employment.

Payment and costs at a glance

What the money is, and what it is not

Mihara is a village of 1,274 people in the far southwest of Kochi Prefecture. It is recruiting people to train as independent yuzu growers.

What Mihara offers

Mihara's current migration listing describes a new-farmer program for yuzu. Applicants are 18 to 49. Training can last up to two years. The training grant is ¥162,500 a month, with another ¥25,000 a month for applicants who are 34 or under when they apply.

I traced the ¥162,500 figure through Kochi Prefecture's new-farmer page. The national New Farmer Preparation Fund can provide ¥1,650,000 a year, and Kochi's new-entry program adds ¥300,000. The age-based addition is separate.

This is a grant rather than an employment contract. Each part has its own rules. Applicants generally need to be 49 or younger when they plan to establish the farm, and previous-year household income generally must be below ¥6,000,000.

The orchard is the real offer

Mature producing trees, leased, not given

The grant gets the attention, but the mature orchard is the more unusual part of Mihara's program.

Mihara's development plan says its agricultural corporation gathers farmland, plants and manages yuzu orchards, then leases established sections to new farmers. The village's stated aim is to let them earn revenue in their first year.

The official farming proposal describes roughly 40 mature trees per 1,000 square metres, about a quarter of an acre. The village also works with the local farmland committee to help growers find more land.

Starting with producing trees removes the long wait that usually comes with a new fruit orchard.

Machinery and processing

The Mihara Agricultural Corporation can lease machinery to new farmers, including ride-on grass cutters and shredders. The village also provides contracted farm work. Its current development strategy treats lower machinery costs as part of the yuzu program.

From 2026 through 2028, Mihara also covers half of eligible farm-machinery repair costs, capped at ¥50,000 per farmer.

The village has operated a yuzu sorting and juice-processing facility since 2016. Its equipment reduces sorting work and gives growers a market for fruit that is better suited to juice or processing than premium fresh sale.

A support group stays involved from training through farm establishment. Its members include JA Kochi, the Hata Agricultural Promotion Center, the Mihara Agricultural Corporation, the local yuzu producers' group and the village.

Mihara published its own farm accounts

A five-year model, with the expense line included

Mihara's official proposal includes a five-year model for an established farm. It shows sales, expenses and the amount left after those expenses:

The accurate summary is: Mihara's five-year model projects ¥7,300,000 in annual sales and ¥2,610,000 in farm income after expenses.

Support after training

Japan's Farm Management Start Fund, the 経営開始資金, can provide up to ¥1,650,000 a year for as long as three years after a farmer establishes an independent business. The prefecture administers it, and its rules are separate from the training grant.

The same national framework operates through prefectures across Japan. For a broader comparison, see the guide to programs that pay people to live in Japan.

How training is structured

The current public description says training can last up to two years. Mihara's detailed proposal, revised in March 2022, gives the following sequence:

Trial housing

Trial housing, updated by the village on June 10, 2026

Mihara rents trial housing for short and long stays, allowing prospective residents to spend time in the village before making a longer commitment.

For other municipal options, see the trial-stay and relocation incentives guide.

Other Mihara programs

Separate from the farming grant, with their own rules

These relocation programs are separate from the yuzu training grant. Becoming a farmer does not automatically qualify you, and each program has its own age and household rules.

If you are moving with a family

Mihara lists several benefits for families living in the village:

• Nursery fees are free.
• School lunch is free at the village nursery, elementary school and junior high school.
• Medical-cost assistance for resident children through age 18.
• ¥10,000 a month child allowance for qualifying children from age three until they start school.

Daily life in Mihara

Mihara had a population of 1,274 as of January 2026, spread over 85.37 square kilometres. The whole village has fibre-optic connectivity. There is one nursery, one elementary school and one junior high school.

Kochi's migration site puts the village roughly 129 km from Kochi City, about 2 hours 20 minutes by car. That distance is the program's biggest practical drawback. Daily shopping, medical care and travel all require planning.

Mihara does not publish a normal vacant-house list. Its migration adviser matches people with empty homes individually, and the village renovates some properties for rental. You will need to contact the adviser rather than browse a public catalogue. For the wider property process, see the home buying and akiya guide.

Eligibility

The published requirements behind the headline offer

• Age 18 to 49 on Mihara's current listing.
• Up to two years of training.
• Yuzu cultivation as the crop.

• Trainees are expected to live in Mihara and register their residence there during the training period.
• Trainees must aim to establish an independent farm after training.
• The end goal is an agricultural business capable of supporting the farmer.
• Trainees generally should not hold a normal full-time employment contract at the same time. This is not something you do around a day job.

• 49 or younger at planned farm establishment.
• Previous-year household income generally below ¥6,000,000.
• Undertaking qualifying agricultural training.

Can foreigners apply?

Mihara's published program does not list Japanese citizenship as a requirement. The criteria I found are framed around age, residence, training, and becoming an independent farmer. Neither the current program listing nor the published farm-program criteria state a nationality requirement.

The village has not confirmed that foreign applicants are eligible, either. Immigration is a separate matter. The training rules require residence in Mihara, and the end goal is self-employed farming. Your status of residence must permit both activities.

Japan's Specified Skilled Worker route covers agricultural employment. Mihara's program prepares independent farmers, so do not assume that employment status can be used for this program.

Routes from outside Japan

Possible first steps, separate from Mihara's program

Mihara does not advertise overseas recruitment or visa sponsorship. The routes below may help you live or work in Japan first, but none makes you automatically eligible for the yuzu program. Confirm current rules with the linked government offices.

Agricultural employment

Japan's Specified Skilled Worker status includes agriculture. It provides a route into agricultural employment for people outside Japan:

Working holiday

Japan has working-holiday arrangements with selected countries and regions. Most applicants must be 18 to 30, though the exact rules depend on nationality. Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France and Ireland are included.

A working holiday can provide time in Japan, but it does not establish eligibility for Mihara's grant or for independent farming.

Other work or study routes

JET, private teaching jobs, other employer-sponsored work, study, scholarships and family status can all bring people to Japan under different conditions. They are separate from agriculture, but living in Japan may make it easier to visit Mihara, improve your Japanese and discuss the program directly.

Application timing

I found no annual deadline on the current village or Kochi program pages. Intake appears to be handled directly by the village office rather than through a published calendar.

Common claims, checked

What the published documents support

Who to contact

Village, prefectural and housing contacts

A message you can send

A short inquiry in Japanese, followed by the English meaning

Ask for a written answer and keep it with your planning documents.

こんにちは。三原村のユズ新規就農支援事業に興味があります。現在、新規研修生を募集していますか？研修の開始時期、応募方法、給付金、移住促進住宅、ユズ園地の貴与について教えていただけますか？外国籍の場合、応募に必要な在留資格についても教えていただけると助かります。

Hello. I am interested in Mihara Village's new yuzu-farmer support
program. Are you currently accepting new trainees? Could you tell me
about the next training start date, how to apply, financial support,
relocation housing, and leasing of yuzu orchards? If the applicant is
a foreign national, I would also appreciate information about the
residence status required to participate.

If the village gives you information that differs from this guide, follow the village's current instructions and send me the correction.

Official links directory

Primary documents and government pages

Most pages are in Japanese. Browser translation is useful for a first reading, but have a fluent reader check anything you plan to rely on.

The program itself

Housing and village life

Immigration

A note from John

When I first saw the claim that a Japanese village would pay people to grow yuzu, I expected to find a grant surrounded by vague conditions. Mihara's documents are more useful than that.

The village explains who funds the training, how the orchard lease works and what a five-year farm might earn after expenses. The mature trees are the strongest part of the offer. The missing lease terms and unpublished intake calendar are the parts that still need a direct answer.

Start by calling 0880-46-2111 and asking for the new-farmer representative. Confirm whether Mihara is taking trainees, what the orchard lease costs and which residence statuses it accepts.

John of Japan
johnofjapan.com
Instagram: @johnofjapan(opens Instagram in a new tab)