Beautiful messages for 10th Anniversary of Arai Academy of Japanese Studies

Thank you very much for all your warm support! I am happy to share the beautiful and unforgettable time together with all of you. I wanted to make this special page as our memory together💖

♥ Matt Ward has been learning Japanese with me for 14 years since 2012 before I started Arai Academy of Japanese Studies.  We have shared all the moments of struggles and joys in our journey.

‘Thank you for organising such great events! The tea ceremony was very interesting, and Mamiko-sensei truly managed to bring a piece of Japanese tradition to the centre of London. The party was a great opportunity to meet others, speak Japanese and celebrate your great 10 year achievement. Thank you so much! Arai Academyの10周年おめでとうございます。サポートしてくれてありがとうございます。’

♥ Christoph Lutterburese is a senior member of Dentsu Group and chose me as a teacher of the Japanese courses for the executives when I provided a taster lesson at King’s College London in 2013. He also introduced the CFO and CSO for their courses with Arai Academy.

"Congratulations to Arai  Academy for its 10th anniversary. I was taught Japanese by Arai sensei before she established her Academy and it's been great seeing her establish and develop her Academy so well through her enthusiasm, willpower, and dedication. On to the next 10 years!"

♥ Dr Rodney Pickering was 66 years old when my former boss at King’s College London introduced me in 2010. He took my lesson every week for over 10 years and wanted to continue as long as possible. It was unfortunate that he had to stop it since Covid.

‘As one of the oldest of Arai Sensei’s students I am very happy to congratulate her on the 10th anniversary of the Academy. Its success has been plain to all. The variety of topics covered has been very wide, but underpinning them has always been Arai Sensei’s admirable conception that underlying a grasp of the Japanese language is a grasp of Japanese culture in all its major aspects. May it long continue its valuable contribution to human understanding.  ’

♥ Nicco Salvatori was a PhD student at King’s College London and took my Japanese lessons until I left the university. He loves Japanese martial arts, and he kindly made a presentation about it at the Japan Focus, the Arai Academy’s culture event.

‘I first joined her classes back in 2013 and continued until 2017, and those lessons were always the highlight of my week as a student. Beyond the language itself, Arai-sensei shared her love for teaching and her beautiful culture with such generosity that it left a lasting impression on me. Thanks to her, a wonderful friendship grew alongside the learning, and I have treasured staying in touch and joining her speaking events ever since.

Arai-sensei is truly a gifted teacher, her passion shines through every lesson, and she has an incredible ability to give her students both the skills and the confidence to communicate in Japanese. I’m so sorry to have missed the 10th anniversary celebration, but I will certainly be there for the next one.

Thank you, Arai-sensei, for your dedication, kindness, and inspiration over the years. Here’s to the next chapter of your incredible journey, and to many more students falling in love with the Japanese language and culture through your teaching.’

♥ Leon Sanders is my new student from last year. He used to work at SONY Entertainment in London. Arai Academy had a contract with SONY and I was teaching Japanese there too, although we didn’t know each other that time.

‘Thank you so much for such a special day, I feel very lucky to have been a part of your celebration! It was an honour to experience the tea ceremony with Makiko-sensei and the amazing friends and students sharing time together, coming from near and far. With so much bad news in the world, such wonderful times are a reminder of the kindness and connection that most of us desire Japanese culture, language and people are perfect example of how beautiful life can be. Thanks again and here’s to the next 10 years!’

♥ Samuel Dalimore is a CEO of LUX Industries based in Oxford and learning business Japanese for his occasional business trips. He has created successful business with his Japanese clients.

‘The day started with a beautiful and peaceful tea ceremony, which showed us the incredible culture of Japan, in an intimate setting. Arai-sensei organised a lovely lunch party, filled with interesting people and conversation!’

♥Herman Deetman was a Master student at SOAS and I taught his Japanese class in 2016. He started our private lessons though Arai Academy in 2017. And I'm happy to have been teaching him every week since then.

'おめでとうございます、先生。　what an amazing achievement, Arai Academy has become one of the leading Japanese language schools in the world. I am very proud to be your student.'

♥ Lauren Oudart studied business Japanese with me when she was working with Japanese people, and she was a regular member of ‘Learning Session In Japanese’ in London and also successfully passed JLPT N1.

‘The tea ceremony was very intimate. I learnt new things. Thank you to Mamiko-sensei and Naoko-san, for travelling all the way from Japan.  The celebration party had very nice food and great location! I enjoyed the nice atmosphere and meeting nice people. It was so much fun to change seats :）Arai Academy of Japanese Studiesの10周年おめでとうございます。先生がいつも頑張っていて、とても刺激を受けています。楽しくて、興味深いイベントにいつも誘ってくれてありがとうございます。20周年の時にもまた一緒に祝いましょう。’

♥ Brenda Ramirez was my colleague at King’s College London. She was a Spanish teacher, and we did language exchange for a few years.

‘Tea ceremony was a wonderful experience and I feel privileged and fortunate to have experienced it. Thank you to everyone involved for providing such a fantastic experience, especially to teishu for her knowledge and care. Domo arigato gozaimas. Muchas gracias!’

♥ Mark Hayward never missed our weekly lessons and attended our ‘Learning Session in Japanese’ every single month and also greatly passed JLPT N4. He also helped with the IT system for Arai Academy.

‘I really enjoyed the event today. Thank you for hosting and inviting me. It was great to finally experience a tea ceremony, and I hope to learn more about this tradition in future. Thank you for the inspiration! It was great to listen and speak Japanese again after many years! Thank you for all the lessons and sharing insights into Japanese culture.おめでとうございます。’

♥ Asif Jeevanjee is my oldest student who took my lessons when I was a student at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He had to stop when I started my professional career as a full-time lecturer at the East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield.

‘Thank for the wonderful tea ceremony and lunch! You are so generous in spirit. Congratulations for this amazing achievement! Arai-sensei creates a nice community!’

♥ Gillian Musgrave intensively prepared Japanese in London before starting her work in Tokyo. She continued our lessons and is settling well in Japan.

“It has been my pleasure to study Japanese with Arai Academy for the last 8 years.  It’s been a truly rewarding experience, both in London and in Tokyo.  Arai-sensei undoubtedly has many exciting innovations ahead and so all of her students have much to look forward to.  I wish her immense luck!”

♥ Dominic Carter is a CEO of Carter Group and has been living in Japan for the last 26 years. He started our business Japanese lessons to improve his Japanese even further from this year.

‘Greetings from Japan, and congratulations on the 10th anniversary of Arai Academy! I was sorry I could not attend the party with you. We students all share the goal of speaking better Japanese, and I truly value my lessons with Arai-sensei. Wishing you another 10 years of success!’

♥ Manuel Munoz first took my Japanese course at King’s College London and studied Japanese for a few years. He also took my online self-study course, Master Speaking Japanese and prepared Japanese conversation before his research program at Keio University in Japan.

‘Congratulations to Arai-sensei for her 10th anniversary of bringing joy through the Japanese language!

Arai-sensei is such a gift as a teacher, making the language accessible and helping you learn what you need to really communicate. We met about 10 years ago and it’s been great seeing her grow as a teacher and mentor and embrace technology in a really effective way. Since then, our paths have crossed more than once, and thanks to her and her Academy I arrived in Japan in 2023 feeling more confident.

Thank you for making me fall in love with the Japanese language and culture and thank you for all you do to help others learn in such an enthusiastic and comprehensive way.

Happy 10th anniversary!’

♥ Daniel Binns and I first met at our common friend’s music events. He took our lesson every week for 10 years. He is going to resume our lessons again once his situation changes.

‘Congratulations on the 10 year anniversary and good luck on the next 10 years too! It has been great to see the academy grow from strength to strength, both with its online offering and the expansion in lessons. I will always be grateful to Arai-sensei and the academy for helping me with my Japanese and introducing me to lots of interesting people.

I would thoroughly recommend without hesitation the academy for anyone wanting to learn or improve their Japanese. I look forward to seeing the academy grow even more in the coming years. 10 years is a great achievement and Arai-sensei should be very proud of the community she has grown ’

♥  Bob Lenttel started learning Japanese as a preparation for his holiday in Japan. He has continued learning after he came back from his trip. He has been subscribing to Master Speaking Japanese too.

‘I’m really pleased that I studied with the Arai Academy. I learned not only some Japanese language but also some features of the culture. This has so enriched my life! Wishing Arai sensei a very happy ‘10th birthday’ and I’ve no doubt the Academy will continue to flourish!’

♥ Kai Loy started our lessons as his hobby and changed to business purposes. He wanted to start a franchise business from a Japanese company and learned Japanese ways of trustworthy communication and successfully got a contract with them and runs 5 shops.

「あらいアカデミーの１０周年おめでとうございます！日本語を学ぶだけでなく、日本人の考え方やビジネス習慣なども学べました。たくさん勉強になりました。ありがとうございます！」

♥ The tea master, Mamiko Takatori-sensei, visited London all the way from Shizuoka, Japan to celebrate our 10^th anniversary. We are going to work together to share Japanese tea culture to the world.

「このたび10周年誠におめでとうございます。あこがれのロンドンに来ることができて、お茶会まで開くことにご協力いただき夢のようなひとときです。感謝しても足りませんが、心からお礼申し上げます。誠にありがとうございます！これからのご活躍も応援しています。」

♥ Naoko Takatori is a daughter of the tea master, and she kindly served tea for our students.

「ロンドンのいろいろな方に日本の煎茶を楽しんでいただくことができてよかったです。またロンドンに来たいです。日本語を頑張って話してくださる方々がたくさんいて、嬉しかったです。次に来るときは私も英語が話せるようになりたいと思います。あらいアカデミー10年おめでとうございます！」

♥ Kaoru Godoy was my boss at King’s College London. The way she treated me showed what a great boss should be and I was very happy to have met her in my life. I appreciate her tremendous support and our relationship even today.

「新井アカデミー峰子様、学習者一人一人に、より適切な教材を、より興味深く意味ある経験をと、進んでこられてはや10年なのですね。賢い異文化コミュニケーションが大切な今、新井アカデミーの企画が楽しみです。　持ちまえの明るさと、強さと、前向きな姿勢をそなえられた峰子さん、益々のご発展をお祈りいたします。お身体お大事になさいますように。」

♥ Kyoko Kusunoki is a specialist in Japanese art and is working at the Japanese section in the British Museum. Arai Academy had a contract with the British Museum and we’ve known each other for 9 years. She kindly joins Arai Academy events to support our students.

「信念を持って日本語－英語の活動を続けておられる姿に強く感銘を受けております（私も頑張ります！）これからもますますの活躍、学校の発展を心よりお祈り申し上げます。」

♥ Dr Seiko Harumi is a lecturer at SOAS and kindly took over my course when I left SOAS. She keeps providing a Visitor Session, a lesson where students can challenge a conversation with a native Japanese speaker. I help her organise it every time.

「新井先生、今日は、みなさんと一緒にお祝いさせていただき、とても楽しかったです。素敵なおみやげやお心遣いも本当にありがとうございました！とても素敵でした。生徒さんたちとも沢山おしゃべりできて楽しかったです。次は15周年ですね！感謝を込めて」

 ♥ Keiko Kelly-sensei and I worked together at King’s College London and SOAS. And she started working with Arai Academy from last year, and now is teaching for Master Speaking Japanese.

「Arai Academy 10周年、心からお祝いを申し上げます。日本語教育に関する情熱が半端なく、とても素敵な先生のお姿、尊敬の念が堪えません。本当におめでとうございます。」

♥ Kumiko Ohta is a founder of Sake Sommelier Academy and Arai Academy provides a special Japanese language course for their students who stay in a sake brewery in Japan to learn how to make sake.

「10周年本当におめでとうございます！！これからもステキに輝いてください！楽しいすばらしい教育活動に尊敬しています。今後ともどうぞよろしくお願いします。 Best wishes」

♥ Mariko Skorupski-sensei was my Japanese colleague at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

「10周年記念パーティーに招待してくださってありがとうございました。ご自分のアカデミーを設立するなんて、私には雲の上のこと、新井先生だからできたんだなあと感じました。今後もさすますのご活躍、お祈りいたします。」

♥ Michiko Kimura-sensei first joined my Japanese lesson at SOAS. She was studying Japanese teaching and started her career as a Japanese teacher 10 years ago and I started my academy. We improved our life together. She helps our monthly ´Learning Session in Japanese' and learning Session in English' too.

「アライアカデミー創立十周年記念おめでとうございます。約10年前、新井先生がSOASで日本語を教えていた時に、日本語会話クラスにボランティアで参加したことをきっかけに出会いました。

新井先生の授業はとてもワクワクする内容で、学生達がとても楽しそうに学んだり会話したりしている様子がとても印象的で、今でもその様子を覚えています。まだ日本語教師の駆け出しだった私は、「生徒が笑顔で受けられる授業をする」という目標を掲げました。

あれから約10年が経ち、今ではアライアカデミーの一員として一緒にお仕事をさせて頂いています。常に前向きで、自分が培った経験を惜しむことなくシェアしてくれる新井先生のおかげで、成長することができました。

気づけば私も新人教師ではなくなりましたが、「初心忘れるべからず」ーあの日に感じた気持ちを忘れずに、これからも進んでいきたいと思います。

改めまして、十周年おめでとうございます。これからもよろしくお願い致します。」

♥ Mariko Yamamoto-sensei has been working with Arai Academy since 2019. She is specialised in business Japanese because she used to be a COO of a famous Japanese company.

「新井先生とビジネス日本語の講座をどのようにするか、一緒に考えさせていただいたことは、私にとって素晴らしい経験になっています。そして、今はそれを土台にして、日本で働きたい人に向けて、日本人の考え方や日本でのビジネスマナーのレッスンをしています。Arai Academyが、今後もずっとずっと長く続いて、たくさんの日本語学習者の良い学びの場になることを願っています。」

♥ Yuriko Nakamura-sensei and I first met at the university in Istanbul in 2023. We meet every time I go back to Turkey, and we love to share our passion for teaching Japanese. She started working with Arai Academy 2 years ago.

「新井先生のキラキラした笑顔と温かい言葉に、これからもたくさんの学生さんが励まされ、夢を広げていきますように。10周年、本当におめでとうございます！」

♥ Mika Yoshikawa-sensei helped to make the conversation videos in Master Speaking Japanese. Now she is helping to share this speaking course for many learners worldwide and is teaching for the course with Arai Academy from this year.

「新井先生、この度はArai Academy of Japanese Studies 10周年おめでとうございます。残念ながらパーティーには参加できませんでしたが、遠く離れた日本から益々のご発展をお祈り申し上げます。」

Thank you very much for those who gave me warm messages on LinkedIn notification :)　and  hundreds of direct messages to me💗