Toshi

I started learning Japanese in 2006, passed JLPT 3 in 2007 and continued learning intermittently on my own for the next 18 years. In March 2025, I decided to challenge myself and registered for the July 2025 JLPT N2 examination. Browsing through the Italki website, I came across Toshi Sensei’s introduction and was immediately drawn to the fact that his video introduction was the only one entirely in Japanese. The fact that he checked with me that I was sufficiently proficient in Japanese (after all, I was taking N2) before accepting me further confirmed that he was the right choice. Even though 4 months is a short time, we managed to learn and study together and I passed JLPT N2 after a long hiatus. はじめまして！ 私は2006年に日本語を学び始め、2007年にJLPT3級に合格しました。その後18年間、断続的に独学で学習を続けていました。 2025年3月、自分自身に挑戦することを決意し、2025年7月のJLPT N2試験に申し込みました。 Italkiのウェブサイトを閲覧していたところ、Toshi先生の紹介動画を見つけました。そして、彼の紹介動画が唯一日本語だけで作られていることにすぐに惹かれました。 受け入れる前に、先生は私の日本語能力確認しました。後で、勉強は始まりました。 4ヶ月はすごく短い期間でした

I’ve been taking Japanese lessons with Toshi Sensei since early 2022, while still living in the EU. Initially, I started studying with him to prepare for the JLPT and later also job interviews in Japanese. His lessons were both effective and supportive. Thanks to his guidance, I successfully passed the JLPT N1 in two years, starting from almost zero, all while balancing a full-time job and studies. Toshi Sensei has deep expertise in both the JLPT exam preparation and general teaching Japanese to foreigners. His patience, especially during the early stages when I struggled to form sentences, was a tremendous source of encouragement and confidence. In addition to language instruction, he helped me prepare my Japanese resume and ace job interviews. With his support, I secured an internship and later received two full-time job offers. My Japanese resume consistently received praise from interviewers. I highly recommend his lessons!

Toshi's lessons always have a very friendly, fun and relax atmosphere. He is very pantient, polite and kind. I feel he cares about the student understanding and improving and he puts effort in helping in the areas in which the student is strugling the most. He suggests material for the class, activities and homework. In every lesson he takes some time to solve my doubts and answer my questions, then we review for some minutes what we had previously studied, we practice reading hiragana and katakana and then we go for new grammar and vocabulary with a lot of speaking practice. I'll reccommend Toshi's lesson to anyone who want to start learning Japanese.

He estado tomando lecciones con Toshi por poco más de un año y puedo decir que sus clases han sido de mucha ayuda sobre todo cuando tengo dudas acerca de vocabulario o gramática un tanto complicadas. Para mí ha sido muy valiosa su ayuda en aspectos como redacción o el uso de japonés en un ambiente profesional, porque me ha dado sugerencias del uso correcto del japonés mientras hablo y me ha enseñado formas de hablar más corteses. Me gusta que muestra interés en el trasfondo cultural e intereses del estudiante porque hace las clases entretenidas y me ha permitido desarrollar habilidades alrededor de lo que a mí me gusta platicar. Definitivamente su ayuda ha sido un factor que contribuyó a que en diciembre de 2024 pudiera aprobar el nivel N1 del JLPT, y a recibir una oferta de trabajo de una reconocida empresa japonesa. Por todo esto recomiendo a Toshi como un guía en el aprendizaje del idioma, y siempre estaré agradecido con él. いつもありがとうございます、とし先生。

I had fun in today's lesson. We have practiced a lot of vocabulary and speaking.

Toshi sensei is really helpful and encouraging. He also makes complicated things easy to understand, as well as the lessons fun and interactive. He doesn’t just spoon feed answers but forces you to think which is great for practice.