More than fifty people, four generations, living and working together in the countryside of São Paulo since 1935. We farm, we pray, and we make art.
A life in which work, prayer and art are inseparable.
We are more than fifty people, from four generations, living and working together in the countryside of São Paulo since 1935. We farm, we pray and we make art. For ninety years these three things have been inseparable. :)
To make art, to practice one's faith, to work the land. A life in which these three things are in harmony is the essential way of living that human beings seek.
Isamu Yuba, founder
Art is not a third activity alongside work and prayer. It is the way both are done.
The Yuba Theater was built in one week, in the middle of a coffee field, in December 1961, so there could be a Christmas performance that year. Everyone worked on it, from children to adults.
The stage lights are handmade. The house lights use big pot lids. The curtain winch came from a well from pioneer days. The floor is sand.
Our grandparents learned to create where there were no resources. That is what our art is made of.
The Yuba Ballet began when the sculptor Hisao Ohara and the ballerina Akiko Ohara arrived from Tokyo.
There have been more than a thousand performances since, in Brazil and abroad. Today, four generations share the stage.
Every year, on December 25 and 30, we present a year's work at the Yuba Theater: music, ballet and drama.
The year's labor, a sacred occasion and the year's art, all in one night.
Japanese is spoken within the community. Children learn Portuguese when they start school.
About 80% of what we eat here is produced here: rice, vegetables, fruit, meat, bread, cheese — plus miso, shoyu and tofu. We grow guava, mango, okra and shiitake, and sell to the region.
It is a quiet place. Autumn and winter are warm and dry; spring and summer are wetter and cooler.
The day here is made of work. None of this is programming for visitors: these are things someone does every day, and whoever is here takes part.
Everyone here has their tasks: the fields, the dining hall, the animals, administration, the archives, Japanese study, the arts. But each person's role is deliberately flexible. Those with several skills use all of them, and when a bigger job comes up, everyone pitches in together.
The same person can be a set designer, a cook, a theater director and a dancer. That is not the exception — it is how the community works. Income is shared, in the spirit of one big family, and goes back into everyone's health, education, culture and leisure.
Each place has someone responsible for it, and all of them are open to whoever is here.
Shiitake, guava, okra, mango and the day's greens. What goes into lunch is picked in the morning, and the surplus goes to the region's markets.
The heart of the community. Beyond meals, it is where the meetings, talks, concerts and celebrations happen.
Slow fermentation, in vats that rest for months. Much of what the community sells comes from here.
The pieces made here, and the noborigama kiln, fired from time to time.
Leatherwork on one side, string instruments on the other, in the same workshop.
Work clothes, mending, and the costumes for the dance and theater performances.
Almost entirely in Japanese, with a large manga collection. It is what keeps the language alive across the generations.
Books and documents on the history of Japanese immigration, the community and the Aliança settlement.
Open-air stone sculptures, scattered along the path between the houses.
Community games, and now and then tournaments that bring teams from around the region.
Almost everything organizes itself. Only three things have a day and a time.
From 8:30 to 10 pm, after dinner. This is where the performances the community has given since 1961 come from.
In the Primeira Aliança neighborhood, just outside the community. Worth timing your visit for a Friday.
Miso, preserves and whatever the season brings, all made here. No need to book: just come by during opening hours.
Four meals a day, served at set times. The community eats together.
Home cooking, somewhere between Japanese and Brazilian, with whatever the garden gave that day.
Bread with butter and jam, eggs, and the usual Japanese options: white rice and pickles.
The calmest meal of the day, before everyone heads to work.
Always rice and beans, with a selection of vegetables picked in the garden that same morning.
Varied and healthy. Vegetarians have plenty to choose from.
A different dish every day, depending on the specialty of the team in the kitchen.
Ramen, curry, feijoada, spaghetti, tempura, mapo tofu.
Spend the day, stay over, or come work with us. Each one calls for a different arrangement.
Everyone arrives in their own way, and there is room for all of them. Some come for a day, some stay a few days and settle into the rhythm of the house, and some arrive wanting to get their hands in the soil and learn by doing. See which one sounds like you. We'll work out the details afterwards.
Guided visits and school excursions, scheduled according to the community's availability.
A visit usually includes the museum, the library and the workshops, plus whatever is happening in the community that day: the harvest, the ceramics kiln firing, a rehearsal.
Book ahead.
For short stays. A room in the guest house, with the community's meals included.
The lodging is simple, as suits a farm: single beds, a private bathroom and a fan. No luxury, and nothing missing.
Prices as of January 2026.
For those who want to learn by doing, joining the rhythm of the countryside alongside people who have done this for decades.
The work follows the season: planting, harvest, care. In exchange, we offer lodging, meals and training.
No cost, and no expenses.
What you need to know before writing to ask for a date.
2 days / 1 night for a weekend visit. 7 days / 6 nights for immersion, when the community's routine stops being scenery and becomes daily life together.
3 to 4 is ideal. We've found it's the number that gets the most out of the community. Bring your friends.
Very welcome. There is space to run, animals to see up close and a garden to pick from — and children usually find the rhythm of this place faster than the adults.
There is no front-desk schedule. The room is usually ready by 10 am, and departure is arranged around your trip.
Cash, Pix, bank transfer or credit card. We have a card machine, which also works for purchases inside the community.
20% of the total. It is what lets us hold the dates and know how many people to expect.
Simple, and made for you to spend little time in them.
In the guest house, 2 to 3 people per room, with single beds made up the day before or the day of your arrival, a private bathroom with shower, and a desk or ceiling fan. Air conditioning we don't have.
There is simply too much to do outside: the garden early in the morning, the workshops, the walk to the fields, the conversation that starts after dinner and has no set end. The room is for sleeping well and waking up wanting to be back outside.
The short list of what belongs in your bag. The first line is the essential one.
Two things that surprise people who have never stayed in the countryside.
Clothes get properly dirty with earth here. Bring clothes that are easy to wash, hard-wearing, and that you won't mind damaging during the stay.
The countryside has more wildlife: plenty of birds and animals, but also insects, flies, mosquitoes, frogs and geckos. With children, the rule is not to explore unaccompanied and not to turn over stones or wood: they are hiding places for snakes and scorpions.
The two questions we hear most.
The question isn't really which month. It's whether you want to find the community in its everyday rhythm, or in the middle of a festival.
It's what we recommend.
No festival and no crowds: the community in its usual rhythm. The garden early in the morning, the workshop in the afternoon, dance rehearsal at night. There is time to talk, to learn to make something with your hands, to not be in a hurry.
It is also when there are more free rooms and more people available to truly host you.
More beautiful, more crowded, and the spots go fast.
During Festa Junina, Bon Odori and Christmas the whole community mobilizes and many people come from outside. It is beautiful to see — and it is also when we have the fewest free rooms and the least time to spend with each visitor.
If that is your choice, write well in advance.
The months without a note are the quietest. They tend to be the best.
Comes back every year, at about the same time.
Worth asking about when choosing your date.
The baseball tournaments have no fixed date: the calendar changes each season, and sometimes the game happens right here, on the community's field.
The region also has its own calendar, with rodeos and town festivals throughout the year. If you'd like to pair your visit with one of these, ask us.
Primeira Aliança neighborhood, in Mirandópolis, 600 km from São Paulo. Four routes, each for a different kind of trip.
We are 600 km from São Paulo, in the countryside. The map helps make the real distance clear.
The full address, for GPS, ride apps or mail.
No one arrives directly at the community. From Mirandópolis it is a few more kilometers of road, and we have a partnership with a taxi driver for that stretch.
We partner with Eliseu, who covers the stretch between the Mirandópolis bus station and the community. Especially good for groups: the price is per ride, not per person.
Price as of January 2026.
Four ways to get here, compared by cost, duration and type of trip. Pick the row that looks like yours.
| How | Approximate cost | Duration | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plane + taxi | airfare + R$300 | 1h from the airport | other states, abroad |
| Car | R$200/person in a group of 5 | 7–8h | families and groups |
| Buser | R$170/person | ~11h | backpackers, solo travel |
| Reunidas Paulista | R$280/person | ~11h | more luggage, more comfort |
Prices as of January 2026.
The schedules, boarding points, phone numbers and apps for each option.
The nearest airport is Araçatuba, 1h from Yuba. We partner with a taxi driver who picks you up at the airport and brings you to the community.
For families and groups of 4 to 5 who want comfort and freedom on the trip.
Boarding is not the most organized, since it is charter-style transport; getting off is easy. The app charges a fee for extra bags.
More expensive, but it is the official service to the Mirandópolis bus station. For those who want more peace of mind and carry more luggage.
Start with the quick question: it works for anything, and we'll point the way. If you already know what you want, pick your intention below — each has a page of its own.
Each way of being here calls for a different arrangement, and so for different questions. If you just have a question, you shouldn't have to fill in dates and documents; if you're sleeping here, we need to know how many beds to prepare.
None of these requests is a commitment: we reply to work out the details.
You don't need to know yet whether you're coming, or when. Just ask.
Fill in the booking form or write an email. We route it to the right person here. You don't need to know who to ask for.
For visits, the form is the fastest path: it already carries the dates and the number of people, which is what we need to reply in one go. For everything else, write to contato@comunidadeyuba.org. We are a small community and we read everything; replies usually go out within a few days.
In the subject line, write your name + the topic. That way the message lands directly with whoever handles it.