Our Story
Introduction
Hello, my name is Nicholas. I am the cofounder of Little Book of Japan along with my wife and partner Sachi. I would like to share my story with you about how Sachi and I met, and how the website got its start. Enjoy!
January (2018)
In January 2018, I traveled to Japan and started teaching English in Gakugei Daigaku within the greater Tokyo metropolitan area. I worked hard to create fun and unique English lessons for his students. After work, I enjoyed exploring new locations and taking photographs of beautiful sights around Tokyo, Japan.
February - March (2018)
In February, I discovered the English Only Café, which hosted regular language exchange events for Japanese and English speakers. At the English Only Café, I met many people from Japan and around the world. I was shy and reserved at first, and often worried about making mistakes while speaking Japanese. However, after attending several meetings, I gradually gained confidence, and made new friends, including my future partner Sachi and long-time friend Ryo.
March - June (2018)
At the time, Sachi was working as a professional interpreter and English teacher. She and I bonded over their shared interest in teaching and quickly became good friends. Each week we met up and traveled to a different place in Tokyo. Some of the places that we visited included the Tokyo National Museum, Ueno Zoo, Meiji Shrine, Sensoji Temple, Odaiba, owl café, and Todoroki Valley. Sachi taught me many unique and interesting facts about Japan and Japanese culture on our adventures throughout Tokyo. Sachi and I started dating and eventually became engaged in June.
October - November (2018)
After staying in Japan for six months, I returned to the United States in July to finish his bachelor’s degree. The plan was to live together in Tokyo sometime next year. On October 27th, 2018, we got married in Texas, USA. Our wedding was held in the backyard garden of a close family friend. For the next three weeks, Sachi got to meet and spend time with my family. Sachi returned home to Japan in November as we both prepared to live together in the near future.
Feburary - April (2019)
Having successfully completed my bachelor’s degree, I moved to Japan in February 2019. After settling into our Tokyo apartment, I spent two months applying for English teaching jobs with Japanese companies. I eventually got hired as an online English teacher for a company called VIPKid, and began teaching English remotely to students in China in mid-April. Although I anticipated working for a Japanese company, it was a great gig at the time that gave me the flexibility of working from home, which was much better than commuting during rush hour in Tokyo.
2019 - 2021
Sachi and I were enjoying their life together in Tokyo. We celebrated and participated in many Japanese holidays, traditions, and events together, such as Hanami (flower viewing), hanabi taikai (fireworks display) and Japanese New Year. Over time, we also gradually traveled outside Tokyo to places such as Kamakura, Kyoto, and Hokkaido. I had finally achieved my dream of living in Japan. Furthermore, I was gaining more confidence and skill at my work.
Summer 2021
In early 2021, rumors began circulating online of an imminent crackdown on the private tutoring industry by the Chinese government. These rumors were later confirmed by the Chinese government. The plan would impose strict regulations on private tutoring companies that would likely lead to massive layoffs across the industry. I would also be impacted by these changes since he was working for a Chinese private tutoring company. After careful consideration and discussion, Sachi and I decided to move to the United States. Together we planned on pursuing our dream of sharing our passion and knowledge of Japan with the world.
Summer 2021 - Fall 2022
After completing the move in summer 2021, we began to brainstorm ways to achieve their goals and pursue new opportunities. I applied to and began teaching for some different online education companies, including Outschool, Allschool and BookNook. I began to create online courses based on different aspects of Japanese culture, such as anime, manga, video games, and language. My most popular classes were ‘How Anime is Made’ and ‘The History of Anime.’ Sachi even created a ‘Virtual Tour of Tokyo’ class on Outschool. However, demand for online classes on platforms like Outschool was rapidly declining as the pandemic restrictions were lifted and children returned to their regular routines.
Fall 2022 - November 2023
Sachi and I realized that in order to reach as many people as possible we would need a new strategy. We came up with the idea to combine our passion for teaching and Japan by creating a Japanese language and culture website. Rather than just create a simple blog-style website, we set their ambitions higher. We decided to create a fun, interesting and unique system for learning Japanese. Furthermore, we wanted our system to be revolutionary in its approach to teaching Japanese. This turned out to be a very challenging goal as there were many obstacles and barriers. In total, we spent over a year working building the first version of their website, vision and content.
July 2024
We decided to launch our project in July 2024 to obtain feedback from the community, as well as gain support and insight into how to continue improving the website. What we have created so far is just a small fraction of our goals and vision, as we have many other ideas, plans and features in the works. What the future holds is unknown, but one thing that is certain is that this is just the beginning and there is still a long journey ahead. We remain strongly committed to our vision and hope that you will look forward to what’s to come.
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