Arai Academy of Japanese Studies

13/06/2026

🌸For anyone learning Japanese: I was surrounded by English every day… and still couldn’t speak. And the reason why might be the same thing holding back your Japanese.

I once believed that studying abroad would magically make me fluent. So I moved to Ireland, lived with a host family, and tried to speak English every single day.

But nothing changed. I still froze in real conversations.

That experience taught me something essential:
👉 Environment doesn’t make you speak. Your approach does.
And this insight is incredibly important for anyone learning Japanese — especially if you’re studying outside Japan.

If you’ve ever felt: “I study… so why can’t I speak?” this video might give you clarity and a new direction.

I turned the first part of my story into a short YouTube video. I hope it helps you rethink how you learn and how you practice speaking.

👉 Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/mfDzirWMC3M

If you’ve been studying Japanese for a long timebut still can’t sp...

09/06/2026

I wish I had known this before my first business trip to Japan.
In Japan, business moves at the speed of trust.
And that changes everything.

A recent day in Atami with Maya reminded me how trust shapes every connection in Japan.
What started as friendship has grown into a partnership—and next month, we’re launching a seminar to help professionals understand how communication and trust truly drive success in Japan.

🌸 Practical communication
🌸 Cultural understanding
🌸 How to build trust in Japanese business settings

If you’re preparing for a business trip to Japan—or know someone who is—this will give you the insights most people only learn afterward.

👉 https://www.araiacademy.com/business-trip-japan

Learn practical Japanese language skills and cultural awareness for business trips to Japan. Online seminar by Arai Academy of Japanese Studies and Japan Expert Insights. Online Seminar

11/05/2026

🌸Do you know a Japanese teacher around you? If so, would you kindly share this ‘Japanese Language Teachers’ study group, as they might find our activities helpful! The group LINK↓
https://www.araiacademy.com/japanese-language-teachers

I am an organiser of the 'Japanese Language Teachers' group. It would be wonderful to share our teaching ideas with Japanese teachers worldwide.

On monthly online learning session, Japanese teachers worldwide are dedicated to share their teaching experiences and ideas with other teachers.

The next session will be held on 14th of May 2026.

Those teachers are passionate for improving teaching skills each other to make better lessons for their students.

I’d appreciate if you could share this post and support Japanese teachers and students worldwide!

Thank you very much for your warm support! 🙇‍♀️

All the best,
Mineko Arai

Online Event for Japanese Teachers

19/04/2026

🌸Do you find Japanese pronunciation challenging? I totally understand your feeling because I couldn’t catch any English words and my English really sounded Japanese. I was so hopeless…

But don’t worry, my students got over this stage after understanding the core points and they all started speaking Japanese with confidence.

Reflecting my 20 years of teaching Japanese mainly for British people, I want to share my English learning journey from zero to a business level.

I hope my story and learning tips from my experience as (1) an English language learner, (2) a Japanese language teacher and (3) an applied Japanese linguist will help your learning on Japanese pronunciation to the native like after reading/watching my learning tips!

In this article, I want to share how I got over my pronunciation by myself living in Shizuoka, Japan and what I usually share with my students.

Read/Listen/Watch the whole⇩
https://youtu.be/d7hIZxWwJUQ

Let’s enjoy the journey together!

Learn Japanese Effectively! How To Speak Japanese for beginner - Learning App for Basic Japanese

08/04/2026

🌸こんにちは！Most Japanese people live their lives under the influence of Zen. It seems this tradition has been passed down from their ancestors to the present day.

My best friend is based at Myōshin-ji, the head temple of the Myōshin-ji branch of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, the biggest Zen temple in Kyoto.

She kindly shared the teaching displayed in front of this temple with people like you around the world who love Japan.

日本語で読む＆聞く↓
https://www.araiacademy.com/blog/zen-teaching-3

Here is this month’s teaching.

‘Rain and hail,
Though separated
From snow and ice,
When melted,
They are but the same
Water of the mountain stream.’

Although rain and hail differ in form from snow and ice, once they melt, they all become the same water in the mountain stream.

Read The Whole
https://www.araiacademy.com/blog/zen-teaching-3

I hope this message helps you all lead wonderful lives！

Let’s build a better life together!

Mineko Arai from Arai Academy of Japanese Studies & Makiko Tokai from Myoshin-ji Temple

日本人はたいてい禅の影響を受けて生活しています。今も先祖から伝わっているようです。

17/02/2026

🌸What is the key for a successful business trip in Japan? Your first trip is the most important to give a great impression in business. This is a real success story to share with you.
My British student Samuel, the CEO of Lux, prepared basic Japanese and trust building in a Japanese way.
He was aware that learning the language and culture was crucial to prepare for his success form the first-time meeting.
His effort for speaking basic Japanese impressed his Japanese clients and his partnership was accepted successfully. Their business has been growing since then.
Maya, a founder of Japan Expert Insights and I are jointly hosting online seminars
◆Key points to covered:
- Japanese way of trust building
- the importance of speaking Japanese even basic expressions
- the importance of understanding cross-cultural behaviour
- selected expressions to impress Japanese clients/colleagues effectively
- selected points of cultural awareness in business
◆The settings covered at the seminar:
- The first business greeting
- The first business meeting
- The first business lunch
- The first business dinner
◆Date＆Time

Please select your suitable date.

12th of March 2026
10:00 - 11:00 TOKYO
01:00 - 02:00 LONDON
20:00 - 21:00 NEW YORK

14th of March 2026
20:00 - 21:00 TOKYO
11:00 - 12:00 LONDON
07:00 - 08:00 NEW YORK

People who have been to Japan in the past are also welcome.
We are happy to have many people joining. If you have not, please reserve your seat from the link on the chat section.

We’d appreciate if you could share these rare events with people who might find them helpful.

Thank you very much for your kind support!

16/02/2026

🌸I'm delighted to have a live talk with Maya Matsuoka, a founder of Japan Expert Insights, on different learning environment and learning styles between Japan and the rest of the world especially the UK.

I hope this will be helpful for you to accelerate your language learning journey.

I look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7429054318085025792

15/02/2026

せんしゅうは とても さむかったです。It was very cold last week ❄❄❄

それで、あたたかい ラーメン🍜を たべました。so I had a hot ramen!

あにが すきなラーメンやです。My brother's favourite ramen shop.

わたしは はじめて いきました。I went there for the first time.

とてもおいしかったです！💫😋It was soooo tasty!

すきなラーメンやが ありますか？Do you have your favourite ramen shop?

02/02/2026

こんにちは! The season of cherry blossom viewing is coming!

I’m running a workshop for you to enjoy HANAMI (cherry blossom viewing) like Japanese people do!

This event is perfect for you if you want to know what an authentic HANAMI experience is like.

Date: March 3 & 8, 2026
Time: 20:00 – 21:00 Tokyo (11:00 – 12:00 London)

What you’ll learn:

• seasonal Japanese food in spring
• nice Japanese food that locals know
• where to buy this food not only at a convenience store
• how to see cherry blossoms as much as possible
• how to avoid busy HANAMI spots
• what to do and what to avoid
• essential Japanese phrases to make your holiday enjoyable

Here’s a link to the registration page:

https://www.araiacademy.com/holiday-trip-japan

I hope I’ll see you there!

Mineko

29/01/2026

ラーメン🍜Ramen

かぞくと ラーメンやに いきました。
I went to a Ramen shop with my family!

うちのちかくに おいしいラーメンやが あります。
This tasty restaurant is near our house.

ねぎラーメンを たべました。
I ate negi Ramen!

とてもおいしかったです。
It was very tasty 😋

なにラーメンがすきですか？
Which Ramen do you like?