Learn & Speak Japanese with a Native Tutor (16+ Years of Experience) – Personalized, Engaging Lessons Crafted to Make Learning Enjoyable and Effective!

I have been studying with Wakana for 5 years now. I started as a complete beginner, and I’m very happy to share that I passed the JLPT N4! Passing N4 has motivated me even more, and now I’m looking forward to challenging myself with N3.
Wakana always makes sure I understand how the Japanese used for the JLPT is different from actual spoken Japanese. She teaches me both formal Japanese for the JLPT and more natural, conversational Japanese. I really appreciate this approach because it has helped me become more natural, both when studying for the exam and when having actual conversations.
Thank you for helping me come this far, and I’m excited to continue learning Japanese with her!

I’m so grateful to Wakana-sensei for helping me gain the confidence to actually speak Japanese in real life. Before taking her lessons, I knew some Japanese, but I was often too nervous to start or continue a conversation because I was afraid of making mistakes.

Her patience, encouragement, and practical approach made such a difference. I was able to practice what I learned and actually use it in real-life situations. When I traveled to Japan, I was so happy and surprised to realize that I could have conversations, ask questions, and communicate with people much more confidently than I expected.

What I appreciate most is that she helped me not only learn Japanese, but also overcome my fear of speaking it. She created such a comfortable and encouraging environment that I never felt embarrassed about making mistakes. Now, I genuinely enjoy speaking Japanese and feel much more comfortable having conversations.

I’m truly grateful for all her guidance, patience, and support. I highly recommend Wakana-sensei to anyone who wants to improve their Japanese conversation skills and, most importantly, gain the confidence to actually speak Japanese!

I have been studying Japanese with Wakana for the last 6 years and greatly enjoy her lessons. She explains the nuances of Japanese grammar, of which there are many, extremely well and makes learning the language very fun. I learn not only spoken Japanese with her but also kanji (Chinese characters adopted into Japanese): when I use a new word in conversation, she writes the kanji in the Chat feature and also writes the furigana (how the character is pronounced) below the kanji. As I know some Japanese from having lived in Japan for 2 1/2 years, I like that Wakana speaks to me in Japanese unless I ask her to explain something in English. I heartily recommend Wakana to anyone who wants to learn Japanese, no matter what level they may be at--she's an excellent teacher!

I’ve taken numerous Japanese classes and private lessons over the years, but Wakana sensei stands out as the best teacher I’ve had. Despite my extensive study, I struggled to speak confidently until I began lessons with her. She quickly identified my needs and guided me to express myself more naturally. Beyond language skills, she delved into the nuances of Japanese culture, enriching my understanding.
This spring, I visited Japan and was pleasantly surprised by how much I could converse with locals. I’m eager to continue learning from Wakana sensei and look forward to returning to Japan next year.

Wakana is very encouraging and fun to learn with. Practicing Japanese with her is actually the best part of my week because I love learning Japanese and she is truly an amazing teacher and amazing person to be around. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a Japanese instructor.

Wakana-san is an amazing Japanese teacher. I've worked with her for several years and thanks to her I am able to do my lessons entirely in Japanese. Not only is she a friendly, patient, and fun teacher, but she is also very very knowledgeable about how Japanese and American culture are different. One of the best things is that she is always able to translate English idioms and complicated vocabulary into the Japanese equivalent. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a Japanese teacher.

Amazing teacher, focus is not on memorizing words, but rather on the building blocks of the language and how to put words and ideas together. Lessons are tailored to the needs of the student, and both informative and enjoyable. It's been over a year now and I couldn't ask for a better teacher to help me progress in the Japanese language.

Wakana has been working with our daughter since high school. She wanted to study abroad in Japan and needed to pass exams and interviews. Wakana made an enormous difference. Our daughter not only learned quickly but also showed marked improvement in her progress. She earned great grades and received strong, positive feedback from her teachers. Wakana developed a wonderful working relationship with her. I cannot recommend Wakana highly enough!

I highly recommend Wakana-san. I have been taking lessons with her for 3 years. I was a complete beginner and the only exposure I had to Japanese prior to that was from Japanese anime. I am glad that Wakana-san has been very patient with me and putting up with my interests in animation. Her lessons have allowed me to understand the differences between the words and structure used in real life vs. those used in animation. Her ability in explaining the grammar and structure to me has definitely worked much better than any textbooks I have read. My first trip to Japan last year was enjoyable, thanks to the lessons I have had with Wakana-san. I was able to get around Tokyo without much communication issues. My goal is to be able to speak and listen to Japanese in a business setting and will continue to have Wakana-san help me reach this goal. Arigatou gozaimasu!

Wakana is an incredibly gifted teacher! I have been studying Japanese with her for almost ten years. She is bright, warm, flexible, and she has a wonderful sense of humor. Anyone interested in learning the language would be lucky to have her as a teacher!

Wakana sensei is extremely knowledgeable and able to explain the reasoning behind concepts and the nuances of Japanese in a way that’s easy for me to relate to and understand. She answers all my questions, whether it's about grammar or random cultural topics, which I really appreciate since I usually can’t find answers anywhere else. She’s incredibly patient, accommodating, and fun. Wakana sensei itsumo arigatougozaimasu!

I've never learned more from a single person than from Wakana. She not only makes me excited to learn Japanese, but to come back to class and learn more as well! She is amazingly kind, extremely approachable, and I can't help but smile around her. Lessons brighten my week and I feel more capable as a learner and am honored to be her student. I couldn't recommend her more!

I've been seeing Wakana for Japanese tutoring for more than two years now, starting with some lessons to prepare me for four Japanese classes required for graduation. She has consistently been patient, courteous, and helpful for weekly/bi-weekly lessons. The lessons made difficult classes far more manageable, which made learning Japanese more enjoyable. At my request, lessons have included reading through parts of a Japanese Biology field guide and working on song lyrics in Japanese, which went over very well with the class when performed for a project. I've been continually grateful for her help and strongly recommend Wakana.

Wakana's Japanese lessons are fun, dynamic, and tailored to individual student needs. I always look forward to my Japanese lessons with Wakana, which motivates me to study even more! Wakana's lessons have prepared me to visit Japan several times, and each time I go, I find I am able to communicate more fluidly and fluently than before. Even though I study all year at home in the U.S., each time I am able to do more in Japan and speak with more people on a variety of topics in Japanese. Wakana's lessons have truly opened up my ability to communicate and get things done in Japan, and to meet and engage with more people! Wakana's dynamic lesson style and expert knowledge in Japanese language and English-Japanese and Japanese-English translation and interpretation makes her the best Japanese teacher out there! I highly recommend Wakana's Japanese lessons for anyone who wants to learn Japanese or level-up their Japanese skills!

I've been taking lessons with Wakana for over 4 years now. I'm so thankful to have her as my teacher! Since I already knew some Japanese when I began lessons with Wakana, our classes have been mostly practicing speaking by having conversations about various topics. Wakana is a very kind and patient teacher. So many times, she waits while I try to remember a word. If I can't remember a particular word, she always helps me, and over time I start to expand my vocabulary. I also try to write a journal each week in Japanese, which we go over each lesson. If I do not have enough time during the week for the journal, Wakana is very understanding. Wakana is also very energetic, which I love because she makes every lesson fun. She will answer any question I have about Japan or Japanese, even if it is a silly question. I started with an hour lesson, but soon realized it went by too fast, so I changed to an hour and a half lesson. We have so much fun talking in Japanese that even an hour and a half goes by quickly. After having lessons with Wakana for the past four years, I am confident in my Japanese listening and speaking. I look forward to each lesson.