Hello! Nice to meet you. ━━━━━ For nearly 10 years, I have worked together with international team members in the fields of IT and creative industries. Through these experiences, I realized that in order for people from different countries to work happily together and achieve their goals, it is important not only to learn the language, but also to communicate while respecting each other’s cultures and values. ━━━━━ Through this website and these lessons, I hope to support people who want to work in Japan, or who are already working here, so they can enjoy a richer and more fulfilling life in Japan and become active members who help support Japanese society. In my lessons, you can learn not only Japanese language skills, but also practical communication styles and cultural understanding that are helpful when working in Japan. ────────────────── About Me ────────────────── During my school years, I was involved in cheerleading, and I have always loved encouraging people and supporting their growth. Because of this, I am also happy to talk about: ・Workplace communication ・Relationships with Japanese coworkers ・Cultural differences ・Concerns about working in Japan Besides my creative work, I also hold: ・A Japanese junior high school teaching license ・A childcare qualification I always try to teach in a kind and easy-to-understand way, so even beginners can feel comfortable joining my lessons. I run and manage two companies. Tokyo Taste LTD.  ( Bangladesh  Dhaka office) SugarTaste Co., Ltd.　 ( Tokyo  office) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I also traveled solo around the world as a backpacker for two months. Meeting people from different countries and learning about their cultures has become one of the greatest treasures in my life. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I am truly looking forward to meeting people from all over the world and learning together with you. Let’s enjoy learning Japanese in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere together.

A Heartfelt Encounter with Japanese Culture Hello, I am Kumiko. I studied Japanese calligraphy under Master Jakudō Nishimura, a renowned calligrapher in Japan who was a Nitten artist, President of Kiccho Shogei-in, and Chairman of the Contemporary Japanese Calligraphers Association. Through his guidance, I learned everything from the foundations of calligraphy to the creation of artistic works. For me, calligraphy is not only about writing beautiful characters. Each brushstroke is a way to calm the mind, express the heart, and connect people through Japanese culture. Today, many people from around the world visit Japan. I hope they can take home not only memories of beautiful scenery and delicious food, but also a meaningful cultural experience that can only be found in Japan. That is why I offer calligraphy workshops that everyone can enjoy. Even if it is your first time holding a brush, please feel at ease. You will enjoy writing Japanese characters, learning the meanings behind the words, and discovering the spirit that Japanese people have cherished for generations. Your completed calligraphy artwork will be a one-of-a-kind piece created by you. It can become a special memory of your trip to Japan, or a beautiful artwork to display at home. I hope this experience will make you feel: “Japan was wonderful.” “I want to visit again.” “I want to learn more about Japanese culture.” I would be very happy to share such a special moment with you. Would you like to experience the beauty of Japanese culture through calligraphy? Write with your heart. Take home a memory of Japan.

Instructor Itaya – Japanese Language TeacherAfter graduating from university, Ms. Itaya joined Sony Corporation, where she worked in the International Business Division, creating advertising and marketing materials for overseas markets.She later accompanied her husband's overseas assignments and lived in Italy, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. Together with her earlier experience as an AFS exchange student during high school, she has spent a total of 26 years living abroad, gaining a deep understanding of diverse cultures and international communication.After returning to Japan, she worked for an import company specializing in Italian fashion, handling international trade and product sourcing in Italy. As a licensed Italian-language interpreter-guide, she also contributed Italian voice translation for the NHK television program Sekai wa Hoshii Mono ni Afureteru ("The World is Full of Things We Want").Inspired by her years overseas and her renewed appreciation for the beauty of the Japanese language and culture, she earned certification as a Japanese language teacher. She currently teaches Japanese to international students from around the world at Human Academy Japanese Language School.Drawing on her extensive international experience, Ms. Itaya creates lessons that are practical, engaging, and tailored to each student's cultural background. Her goal is to help learners gain confidence in communicating naturally while deepening their understanding of Japanese language and culture.板谷先生 プロフィール大学卒業後、ソニー株式会社海外事業本部に入社し、海外市場向け広告・マーケティング業務に携わりました。その後、夫の海外赴任に同行し、イタリア、プエルトリコ、ブラジル、アルゼンチン、アメリカで生活。さらに高校時代にはAFS交換留学生として海外で学ぶなど、合計26年間にわたり海外で暮らし、多様な文化や価値観に触れてきました。帰国後は、イタリア製アパレルを扱う専門商社にて貿易業務や現地買い付けを担当。また、イタリア語通訳案内士として活動し、NHK番組「世界はほしいモノにあふれてる」のイタリア関連企画では音声翻訳にも携わりました。長年海外で生活した経験から、日本語や日本文化の魅力を改めて実感し、日本語教育能力検定試験に合格。世界各国からの留学生に日本語を教えています。海外生活の経験を活かし、学習者一人ひとりの文化的背景や気持ちに寄り添いながら、「伝わる日本語」と「日本で役立つコミュニケーション」を分かりやすく、楽しく学べるレッスンを心がけています。