Supporters

Noriko Kumazaki is a professional Koto master, having been playing since she was 5. 10 years ago she started performing the traditional Japanese dance called “Yamamura-ryu Kamigata Mai” and began playing the string instrument called “Kokyu” too. For 20 years she has been having guests from many countries stay in her house. It’s been a great pleasure for her to have many opportunities to exchange cultures with foreigners.

Soushin Takashima has been an expert of tea ceremony for 25 years.
She has mainly been active in the Tokyo area, seeking to spread the fun and traditional essence of the tea ceremony.
Enjoy the deep, fascinating nature of Japanese culture with her.

Miyako Yano is an expert both for Sado(Tea Ceremony) and Kado (Flower Arrangement) , Japan’s two major traditional cultures. She has a passion to introduce the traditional cultures in Japan as well as outside of Japan. In 2016 she performed tea ceremony and flower arrangement in Rome under the sponsorship of Vatican.

Maki Miyoshi is a calligrapher and has obtained the title of Shodo Shihan (Master of Calligrapher) at Nihon Kyoiku Shodo Geijutsuin. Mioyoshi has won a number awards in the exhibitions over the years.

Kami Mieko has been an expert of flower arrangement for 35 years. Flowers are very beautiful, so she recommends that people enjoy peacefully talking face to face with flowers. She believes that arranged flowers reflect that person’s true nature.

Kyoko Kobayashi has worked in the tourism industry for over 30 years. She has a lot of knowledge about the attraction of Japanese culture and sightseeing spots. She runs her own travel agency in Tokyo.

Cody Carpenter has a lot of knowledge of Japanese language and Japanese culture. He first took an interest in Japan when he visited at age 13, and as an adult has lived in the Kanto area for over 7 years. He does work based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Mami Kanayama has a deep understanding and connection to Japanese pottery, with experience making Arita Porcelain. She also runs her own pottery shop. She has a lot of teaching experience, both English and Japanese.

Yoshiko Miyazaki has contributed to cultural exchange in many ways. She has a high reputation for supporting and being considerate of visitors in Japan. She is also a proficient photographer.

Born and raised in Kushiro in Hokkaido, Keiko Nagakura is an expert for entertaining and connecting people at her own home in Kushiro with her own cooking. Visitors are warmly welcomed to enjoy the food and meeting the people from different parts of Japan and overseas.

Makiko Fukuda is the kimono lover and also a fully experienced kimono teacher who has developed in the past 20 years an expertise of how to teach others to wear kimono. Fukuda has her own kimono class in Asakusa, called “Kasane” where visitors can sign up for kimono experience. You may feel “Japanese” being dressed in kimono.

Born and brought up in Kushiro in Hokkaido, Manami Ita is an experienced guide for the Kushiro Shitsugen (wetland) National Park. One of the tours is a canoe ride along the Kushiro River exploring the wetland and enjoying the beauty of nature and local wildlife such as the Tancho tsuru (red-crowned crane) , which is one of Japan’s protected species.

Nobuyo Nishimura is professional photographer who specializes in the stage photography focusing in the area of Japanese traditional performing arts, Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku, etc. Through her profession, Nishimura is actives in preserving the Japan’s traditional performing arts mainly in the Kansai area.