English teacher, Tokyo recruiter, product manager: all of it in Japanese.

Ten-plus years in Japan, working entirely in Japanese, now coaching the professionals I have spent my career alongside.

Years in Japan: 10+
JLPT certified: N1
Every session, never a group: 1-on-1

The JET years

I arrived as an assistant language teacher on the JET Programme in Gunma Prefecture in 2016. Students who could diagram a sentence perfectly on paper went silent the moment I asked a real question in English. Closing that gap, between knowing English and using it, is the work I have done ever since.

Then I worked entirely in Japanese

After JET, I moved to Tokyo: recruiting across tech, financial services, and consulting, then into product management at a major Japanese tech company, and now at a global consumer company. Long meetings, keigo emails rewritten four times, negotiations where my second language was on the line. I spent years doing the hard thing you are doing now, in the other direction.

JLPT N1

I passed JLPT N1 in 2021. The certificate matters less than what it proves: I have made every mistake you are about to make. When an explanation does not land in English, I switch to Japanese, unstick it, and bring us straight back.

Why I coach

I know exactly what it feels like to be afraid to speak a second language: first as the learner, then as a recruiter watching candidates freeze in interviews, and now doing the job myself in Japanese every day. Those three angles are why I can spot what is actually wrong, not just what sounds wrong. Every student should leave not knowing more English, but trusting the English they already have.

A result I'm proud of

One student, from a small town in Gunma, won her local speech competition, then the prefectural round, then went all the way to the national English speech competition, where she met the Emperor. Public speaking under pressure, in a second language, is exactly what I coach. That result is how I know it works.

I am no longer an English teacher. I am someone who did what you are trying to do, in reverse, and I know exactly which few things make the difference.

What I am, and what I am not

A native English speaker with years of experience inside Japanese professional settings.
Bilingual, JLPT N1 certified, so I can explain in Japanese when English is not landing.
Not a certified TEFL or CELTA instructor, and not running an accredited curriculum.
What I offer is practice with someone who has already done what you are trying to do.

The fastest way to know if this works is to talk.

A free 30-minute trial call. We will speak English, I will listen for where you get stuck, and I will tell you honestly whether I can help.

Book your free 30-minute trial call

30 minutes, free, no obligation.