Japanese Coaching, Built for One Professional at a Time

For more than twenty years I have taught one kind of student: working professionals, one to one. Executives, diplomats and professional athletes — not classrooms, not language-school groups, not a course you join partway through.

Your goal. Your schedule. Material written for your week. Everything here is built around a single person, because that is the only way I have ever taught.

Japanese Coaching, Built for One Professional at a Time

Your goal. Your schedule. Material written for your week. Everything here is built around a single person, because that is the only way I have ever taught.

20+ years of one-to-one coaching | Executives, diplomats and professional athletes | Nationally certified Japanese instructor since 2004 | Former contracted instructor, U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe

Professionals from Amazon, Google, Citigroup, Accenture, Mercedes-Benz, P&G, Johnson & Johnson and Netflix

More about Miki-sensei →

The Gap You Already Know

You have studied. You recognize the grammar, and you know the words. But in the moment — in a meeting, at a counter, over dinner — the Japanese does not come out.

That is not a lack of effort, and it is not a lack of ability. It is the stage where your knowledge has outgrown your use of it. Closing that gap is the entire purpose of this program.

Who I Work With

I teach professionals.

I teach professionals. That is the one thing my students have in common — not their level, and not their reason for learning.

Most of them work for global companies

where the office language is English and Japanese is never strictly required. They study anyway: to be in the room when things are decided, to speak with their team without going through someone else, to live in this country rather than beside it.

Their levels run from complete beginner to near-native.

Their goals run from ordering confidently at a restaurant, to chairing a meeting in keigo, to passing N1. All of it is welcome here. What does not change is the standard of the coaching — and the fact that every lesson is built for one person.

This is a good fit if you:

work as a professional and want Japanese that holds up in real situations
want a program built around your life, rather than a syllabus you have to keep up with
are willing to spend some time on Japanese between lessons

The WELC Method

1 — The lesson is designed for one person

Your first session is a deep-dive needs analysis and level check. From it I build your roadmap: Daily Life, Business, JLPT, or any combination of the three. Pace, difficulty, lesson style, and the balance between speaking, reading and writing are all set by you — and revised whenever your situation changes. A new project, a transfer, an exam date: the program moves with you.

2 — The book is chosen for you, and the lesson goes beyond it

Most programs pick a textbook and ask the student to fit it. I do the opposite. Your course books are selected for you after the needs analysis — one or more, matched to your level and to what you need Japanese for — and sent to you around your second lesson. They give the work its structure and its progression.

But no published book knows that you have a presentation next month, or that you keep getting stuck at your child's school. When something in your own work or life calls for Japanese, I write the material for it and we work on it in the lesson.

This is only possible one to one, which is the reason I have never taught any other way.

3 — Every lesson leaves you something you keep

The vocabulary and expressions from each session are turned into a digital flashcard set and sent to you after class. Nothing stays behind in the video call, and you never have to write things down while you should be speaking.

A few minutes of review a day is what moves a word from "I have seen that" to "I can use that." Over a year, this quietly becomes the largest part of your progress.

4 — If you are aiming at the JLPT, you see the whole route

For students preparing for the JLPT I build a roadmap that runs from today to exam day — several months, or a full year. What is covered when, which skills are built first, where the checkpoints fall, and what you should be able to do by each one.

You always know where you are and what remains. For someone preparing around a demanding job, that visibility is what removes the anxiety — and what makes it possible to keep going.

How It Works

Session 1

A deep-dive needs analysis, a level check, and a demonstration lesson. We agree on your goal and on how you want to work.

From Session 2

Your course books arrive — chosen for you, not assigned in advance — and the work begins. Each session is 55 minutes, one to one.

After every session

Your digital flashcards arrive.

Whenever you need it

The roadmap is revised. Your Japanese should follow your life, not the other way around.

Coaching Plans

6 SESSIONS ---------- 36,000 JPY

✅¥6,000 per session

✅Valid for 3 months

✅For a specific short-term goal, or to see how we work together.

12 SESSIONS ---------- 66,000 JPY

✅¥5,500 per session

✅Valid for 6 months

✅Long enough to build the habit — and long enough to feel the change.

☆MOST CHOSEN

24 SESSIONS ---------- 122,400 JPY

✅¥5,100 per session

✅Valid for 12 months

✅Around six months of weekly work, toward a goal that needs the time.

Validity periods are deliberately generous: travel and busy periods should never cost you sessions.

Every Plan includes:

55-minute one-to-one sessions
one or more published course books, selected for you after your needs analysis
digital flashcards after every session
original material, written whenever your own work or life calls for it
a roadmap, reviewed whenever your goals change
first-session satisfaction guarantee

12 and 24 session plans also include:

Email support between lessons — one question a week, answered within two working days.

24 session plans also include:

A written roadmap review every three months.
Priority when material has to be written to a deadline.

Practical Details

Scheduling

Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (JST). Cancellations and changes are accepted up to one hour before your session.

Materials

Every plan includes both: one or more published course books, selected for you after your needs analysis and sent to you around your second lesson, and digital flashcards after every session. Lessons are built around the books, with original material added whenever your own work or life calls for it.

Satisfaction

If your first session does not convince you, you may request a refund of the remaining balance within 24 hours of that session.

Enrollment Success Check

Please review the following to ensure the best learning experience for your customized program.

☐ Availability Check

I can attend sessions within the standard window: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Japan Standard Time).

(Please verify your local time equivalent before proceeding).

☐ Professional & Flexible Curriculum

I understand that my lessons are rooted in Daily Life, Business, or JLPT Preparation (N5 to N1), but can be highly customized to include my specific interests (e.g., dialects, media, or cultural topics) to enrich my learning journey.

☐ Cancellation Policy

I agree to provide at least 1 hour notice for any cancellations or rescheduling to maintain a flexible yet consistent routine.

☐ Process Awareness

I understand that my first session is a Deep-dive Needs Analysis & Level Check plus a Demo Lesson. Based on the results, my course books — selected for me after the analysis — and my digital flashcards will be provided starting from the second session.

And what I commit to you

Your books are chosen for you, not assigned in advance. Your flashcards arrive after every session. When something in your work or your life calls for Japanese, I write the material for it. When your goals change, your roadmap changes with them. And if your first session does not convince you, you may request a refund of the remaining balance within 24 hours.

Tell me what you need Japanese for.

Send a short message about your work, your current level, and what you want to be able to do. I will reply with an honest view of what is realistic in your situation, and how I would approach it.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR SITUATION