Cultivating excitement together.
Careers
Cultivating shiitake and delivering surprise and deliciousness—this is our work.
Assessing size and shape to choose the exact timing for harvest. Sorting each mushroom one by one and sending them out as products. At Fukayama Farm, the fascination of shiitake comes directly from everyday hands-on work on site.
In Yano-cho, Aioi City, Hyogo Prefecture, we are currently hiring Cultivation Staff and Packing Staff to support our shiitake production together. Both full-time and part-time positions are available for each role, offering a total of four hiring openings.
Beginners with no prior experience are very welcome! You will start by taking notes, asking questions whenever something is unclear, and steadily learning the procedures. Once you get used to the work and feel inspired to think about how to make things even better, we provide an environment where you can take on challenges through testing and verification.
You can decide on joining the company only after experiencing firsthand both the rewarding satisfaction and the physical demands of working with living organisms. First, please take a look at the two job descriptions.
Four Ways of Working Available
Both Cultivation and Packing roles offer full-time and part-time positions.
| Role & Employment Type | Compensation | Standard Working Hours | Main Duties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultivation Staff (Full-time) | Monthly salary 250,000 yen (includes fixed overtime pay) | 9:00–18:00 | General cultivation duties, including temperature management, substrate block production, inoculation, cultivation monitoring, and harvesting |
| Packing Staff (Full-time) | Monthly salary 250,000 yen (includes fixed overtime pay) | 9:00–18:00 | Sorting shiitake, wrapping/packaging, labeling, boxing, and processed product manufacturing. Joins harvesting after packing duties are completed |
| Cultivation Staff (Part-time) | Hourly wage 1,180–1,280 yen | 9:00–15:00 (Harvesting only: 14:00–18:00) |
General cultivation duties, including temperature management, substrate block production, inoculation, cultivation monitoring, and harvesting |
| Packing Staff (Part-time) | Hourly wage 1,180–1,280 yen | 9:00–15:00 | Shipment sorting, tray packing, bag packing, labeling, and shipment preparation |
Job Details for the Two Roles
1. Cultivation Staff Duties
For both full-time and part-time staff, the team shares general cultivation duties, from preparing substrate blocks to daily care and harvesting.
- In the morning, adjust air conditioning settings and finely tune the temperature while observing shiitake growth and substrate dryness.
- On bagging and sterilization days, mix bran and oyster shells into sawdust to produce approximately 800 substrate blocks weighing around 2.8 kg each. Load them onto carts and place them into the sterilization autoclave.
- On other days, mechanically inoculate cooled substrate blocks, move them to the greenhouse, and arrange them on racks. Depending on the task, you may handle around 200 crates containing 4 blocks each (weighing approx. 12 kg per crate). This includes lifting and lowering items from knee height up to reaching height on tiptoes.
- Care for the mushrooms by taking substrate blocks out of bags, rearranging them on racks, spraying water, or submerging them in water before placing them back.
- In the evening, cut mushrooms ready for harvest with scissors. The farm-wide harvest volume reaches around 300 to 400 kg per day. This is never a task done alone by one person.
2. Packing Staff Duties
At 9:00 AM, take shiitake out of the refrigerator and sort them into 5 to 6 categories based on size and shape. Tasks include placing mushrooms on trays to feed into the wrapping machine, using machines to combine weights for bagging, applying labels, and boxing specified quantities.
Depending on your assignment, you may also handle freezing, cheese and mayonnaise toppings, heat-sealing bags, and producing/packaging dried shiitake.
Full-time staff join the harvesting operations as soon as packing work is finished.
Values and Training Philosophy We Cherish
You do not need to know how to organize and plan everything from the start. Take notes on assigned tasks and learn the procedures reliably. If there is something you do not understand, please do not leave it unresolved—feel free to ask questions.
Shiitake are living organisms. Cutting corners or falsely reporting that a task was completed when it was not can lead to irreversible issues. We place great importance on honest reporting.
Once you are familiar with the workflow, we warmly welcome the initiative of those who think "could this be improved?" and want to test and verify their ideas.
Application Qualifications & Desired Skills
- Mandatory Requirements (All Positions)
- Ability to perform basic smartphone operations (used for checking work communication chat tools and simple data entry).
- Preferred Qualifications (Cultivation Staff)
- Medium-vehicle driver's license (limited to 8t, manual transmission)
- Completion of Forklift Operation Skill Training
*Applicants without the above licenses or qualifications are also welcome to apply with no experience.
- Packing Staff
- No specific licenses or qualifications required. Beginners with no experience are welcome to apply with confidence.
Detailed Working Conditions & Benefits
Full-time Working Conditions
- Salary: Monthly salary 250,000 yen
*Total amount includes 1 hour per day of fixed overtime pay.
*If work extends beyond 19:00, additional overtime pay will be provided calculated in 1-minute increments. - Working Hours: 9:00–18:00 (1-hour break)
*A fixed overtime system of 1 hour per day (up to 19:00) is instituted. However, in day-to-day practice, overtime rarely continues until 19:00, and duties generally conclude around 18:00. - Working Days & Days Off: Fixed-day-of-the-week shift system working 5 days a week
*Preferences for days off will be requested upon joining and finalized taking into account overall team balance (we may not always be able to accommodate every preference). - Salary Review & Bonuses: Salary review once a year; bonuses based on performance
Part-time Working Conditions
- Wage: Hourly wage 1,180 yen–1,280 yen
- Working Days: Expected 2 to 3 or more days per week (fixed-day-of-the-week shift system)
*Requests such as "weekdays only" can be discussed, though accommodating preferences depends on overall shift availability. - Working Hours: Standard shifts depend on assigned role:
- Cultivation Staff: 9:00–15:00
- Harvesting-only Staff: 14:00–18:00
- Packing Staff: 9:00–15:00 (30-minute break)
*Due to the nature of working with living organisms, daily working hours may fluctuate slightly depending on daily growth conditions, harvest yields, and workload.
Benefits & Work Environment (Common to All Positions)
- Location: Fukayama Farm Head Office (854 Ogo, Yano-cho, Aioi City, Hyogo Prefecture)
- Commuting: Commuting by car or motorcycle is permitted. Parking is available.
- Commuting Allowance: Actual expenses reimbursed in accordance with company policy (up to 600 yen per day).
*Calculated based on round-trip distance, company-standard fuel efficiency, and gasoline unit price. - Scheduling Flexibility & Annual Paid Leave: Although on a fixed-day shift schedule, you can request time off in advance for ceremonial occasions, school events, sudden illness, etc. Requests for the following month's shift schedule should be submitted to the manager by the 18th of the previous month. Annual paid leave is granted properly in accordance with labor laws.
- Employee Discount Program: An advantageous employee discount purchase program is available and open to part-time staff as well.
Application to Onboarding Flow
To prevent post-hire mismatch and ensure you can work comfortably over the long term, Fukayama Farm incorporates a pre-hire work experience into the selection process.
- Application
From the website's Inquiry Form, select "Applying for a job at Fukayama Farm" under the inquiry topic, fill out the required information, and submit. - Interview
Visit the farm for an in-person interview. We will ask about your background experience and desired work style, and explain our farm's duties in detail. - Pre-hire Trial Work
Regardless of full-time or part-time status, candidates will experience actual tasks prior to formal hiring. This period allows you to confirm firsthand whether the workplace atmosphere, physical demands, and job content align with your expectations and aptitude.- Unemployed/between jobs: Approx. 1 to 2 consecutive weeks
- Currently employed: A total of several days over 1 month, utilizing days off
- Mutual Confirmation & Hiring Decision
After the trial, formal employment begins once both you and the farm are confident and mutually agree that "we want to work together here." - Probationary Period
Following onboarding, there is a probationary period of 3 months for full-time staff and 1 month for part-time staff. Terms including salary and working conditions remain standard during this probationary period.
We look forward to welcoming team members who want to work alongside us in the field of shiitake cultivation and deliver delicious flavor to our customers.