What got you interested in learning Japanese? Was it My Neighbor Totoro? The Puffy animation series? Business? Whatever your start, it is always wonderful to learn something new, even as the goals vary from person to person.

At JOI, learning Japanese online connects us all and helps you achieve your goals. Helping you on this path is my greatest joy.

My hobbies are traveling, volleyball, scuba diving, the Boy Scouts, kimono, and the Asahi Shinbun. Even though we all live in different and distant places, your online JOI classmates can become your friends. Let's enjoy studying and realize the dream of learning Japanese together.

What kinds of activities do you include in your online Japanese classes?

Topic-Based Conversation

Recent topics from my Japanese conversation lessons include: "Japanese words I particularly notice", "Internationalization of judo", "The working poor", "Men's work and women's work", and "Rakugo comic storytelling". Do you see one that interests you?

In my Advanced Japanese class, we take up a variety of topics and discuss them freely among the students. Even if everyone reads the same sentence, or looks at the same graph, we all have different impressions and opinions. And yet, it's these very differences that make conversation in Japanese at the advanced level so interesting.

Advanced Grammar and Vocabulary

I present Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and usage information relevant to the selected topic in each online class, often in a quiz-style question-and-answer format. I encourage students to ask questions at any time.

Teaching Materials

I draw instructional material from Japanese magazines for advanced-level instruction, current events in Japan and around the world, Japanese business conversation patterns, modern translations of classical Japanese works (such asMakura-no-Sooshi and Hoojooki).

Please share your thoughts on teaching and learning Japanese.

 What makes a class is everyone's effort.

"Oh, no!" you might say. But I want to invite you to tell me the topics you'd like to discuss and the activities you'd like to pursue in your next online Japanese class. With everyone's goals and requests in mind, I strive to build a lively, engaging Japanese lesson that all students can enjoy. My house is your house? please come pay a visit