Konnichiwa, everyone! 😊

Can you believe it's October already?

Here in Toronto, Canada, the leaves are changing colours, and it's absolutely beautiful! 🍁

This is my favourite time of year to go for a run!

Did you know there's a Japanese word for the beautiful changing colours of autumn leaves?

🍁Kōyō (紅葉・こうよう) : Autumn leaves changing colour

Let's break down the kanji!

Kō (紅・こう)= Crimson red
Yō (葉・よう)= Leaf

Together, they makeKōyō (紅葉・こうよう), a beautiful Japanese word associated with autumn!

It's Not About Stopping. It's About Restarting! ❤️

You may have noticed that my October blog is arriving a little later than usual..😅

Life has been especially busy lately, and I also took a little break from posting my 1 minute Japanese lessons.

But here I am, getting back to it! 😆

I always tell my students that learning Japanese isn't about never stopping.

It's about restarting!

Sometimes we get busy.

Sometimes we lose motivation.

Sometimes we take a break.

And that's ok!

What matters is that we come back and keep going!

So if you haven't studied Japanese in a while, maybe today is a good day to start again.

Even 5 minutes counts! 🇯🇵

🎥 JWA Interview Series #4 - Meet My Very First Student, Ray!

Speaking of never giving up, have you watched my latest JWA interview?

This time, my guest is someone very special to me..

Ray Golich, my very first Japanese student!❤️

Almost 5 years ago, Ray discovered me on YouTube and sent me a message asking if I would teach him Japanese.

At the time, I wasn't planning to start a Japanese language school.

But Ray convinced me to teach him, and that experience eventually inspired me to createJapanese World Academy!

Without Ray, JWA might never have existed!

We recorded this interview on May 5, 2025, in Dearborn, Michigan, when I met Ray in person for the very first time.

I also had such a wonderful time visiting Ray and his lovely wife, Kathy!

In this interview, Ray talks about his fascination with Japan, the Japanese language, and what keeps him motivated to continue studying after all these years.

And look how far he's come!

Today, Ray speaks Japanese and can read and write Hiragana, Katakana, and hundreds of Kanji!

Of course, his Japanese-learning journey isn't finished. But that's what makes it so inspiring!

He keeps going!

Thank you so much, Ray, for the wonderful interview and for being such an important part of my journey! ❤️

🎥 Watch JWA Interview Series #4 here:

I hope Ray's story inspires you to keep going with your own Japanese-learning journey.

Remember, you don't have to be perfect.

You just have to keep coming back!

Happy October, everyone! 🍁🇯🇵

Jyā ne!

Satoko 😊