Find your ibasho 🌱

A warm, safe space to practice English and Japanese with native speakers from around the world.

Community members laughing and learning together

Sound familiar?

😔 You want to speak Japanese, but you don't have a place to practice. 😔 You study, but nothing sticks — you keep starting over.

😔 When it's time to speak, your mind goes blank. 😔 The words don't come out — you fall back on a translation app.

It's not because you're not trying— 👉 it's because you haven't found the right place to practice.

A person struggling to find words while trying to speak
Miyuki, founder of my ibasho

Our Story

I know what it feels like.

On the last day of elementary school, my life changed.

My father told me "we are moving to America." I was 13 years old and I didn't speak any English. Keeping up with classes while learning a completely new language was incredibly hard.

But that wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was that I had no one to talk to.

Years later, I became a language teacher teaching both Japanese and English. And I realized something: learning a language shouldn't feel lonely. It should be something shared with others.

This is where my ibasho 🌱 began.

A place where language learners from around the world can connect, support each other, and stay motivated through real conversations.

I hope this becomes your ibasho— a place where you truly belong😊