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Akira
- Rate £41
- Response 2h
-
Students50+
Number of students Akira has accompanied since arriving at Superprof
Number of students Akira has accompanied since arriving at Superprof

£41/hr
1st lesson free
- Japanese
Are you planning to travel to Japan? Are you interested in Japanese music or culture? Or are you studying on your own and having trouble with particles such as が (ga) and は (wa)?
- Japanese
Lesson location
Recommended
Akira is a respected member of our tutor community. He is highly recommended for his commitment and the quality of his lessons. An excellent choice to progress with confidence.
About Akira
If you’re looking for Japanese lessons that go beyond textbooks and help you understand how Japanese is actually spoken, felt, and lived, I’d be happy to work with you.
I was born and raised in central Tokyo, growing up with standard Japanese, and I’ve been living in Los Angeles since 2017. I studied Literature at Waseda University in Tokyo and later music at Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Since 2020, I’ve taught Japanese to students in the U.S. and Canada, with over 4,000 hours of teaching experience.
My lessons are thoughtful, flexible, and always personalized. I take time to understand who you are, what you enjoy, and where you want to go with Japanese. Together, we focus on speaking naturally, understanding nuance, and building confidence.
Many students enjoy learning Japanese through culture, and we often use topics such as:
Anime & Film: Studio Ghibli, Demon Slayer, Chainsaw Man, Kokuho, Rental Family, Perfect Days, and films by Akira Kurosawa
Music: City Pop (Taeko Ohnuki, Miki Matsubara), Jazz/Fusion (Hiromi Uehara, Masayoshi Takanaka, Ryo Fukui), and film & contemporary music by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi
Art & Pop Culture: Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono
Comedy & Sports: Atsuko Okatsuka, Naomi Watanabe, Shohei Ohtani, Ichiro
Food & Travel: ramen, sushi, tempura, matcha, Japanese beer, and everyday life in Tokyo
I’ve taught students from 6 to over 60 years old, from beginners to advanced learners. I also have experience teaching students with autism or ADHD, and while I’m not a specialist, I approach each lesson with patience, care, and flexibility.
Some of my students work in creative fields such as film, music, and entertainment, and others simply want to connect more deeply with Japanese language and culture for personal reasons.
I also teach guitar and compose music for films, which often helps when explaining Japanese rhythm, timing, and natural expression.
If you’re looking for Japanese lessons that feel human, cultural, and meaningful, not rushed or mechanical, I’d be glad to support your learning journey.
Feel free to message me with any questions. I offer a FREE 30-minute trial lesson via Zoom so we can see if we’re a good fit.
I mainly use GENKI as a foundation, along with customized materials.
(concealed information)
About the lesson
- Primary
- Secondary
- GCSE
- +19
levels :
Primary
Secondary
GCSE
AS Level
A Level
BTEC
Adult Education
Masters
Doctorate
MBA
Nursery
A1
A2
B1
B2
C1
C2
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Professional
Kids
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
Unlock Your Potential with Engaging Lessons!
Are you ready to transform your learning experience? I am dedicated to making every lesson meaningful by truly listening to your needs and interests. Together, we'll explore the subjects you love and tailor our sessions to align with your goals. My approach ensures that learning is not only informative but also enjoyable.
Here's what you can expect:
- Personalized lessons that cater to your unique interests
- A fun and engaging learning environment
- Progress that aligns with your academic and personal goals
Let's embark on this educational journey together. Book your first lesson today and discover the joy of learning!
Review
All of our reviews are collected by us and are 100% reliable. They correspond to a real experience lived by the students of Akira.
Perfect! Akira is friendly, knowledgable, and a great instructor. I look forward to future instruction.
Perfect! Akira is an excellent teacher, he is patient and has a lot of materials for his students!
Perfect! He was very thorough when explaining the grammar and helped correct my mistakes
Excellent! My 8 year old is very happy with his instructor. Mr. Akira has a lot of patience with my son and I can tell he also enjoys working with him. Mr. Akira always takes the time to give me a summary of the lesson and what my son needs to go over before his next lesson. Awesome experience so far.
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Recommendations
Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher
Very fun free lesson to start! Easy to understand and willing to answer questions.
Helpful, engaging lessons and can adjust freely to your needs.
Learning Japanese can be incredibly intimidating, but Akira makes it feel manageable from day one. He has a gift for breaking down complex grammar structures into simple, logical steps. If you’re looking for a supportive environment to build your confidence, I highly recommend Akira!
Had a great introductory lesson with Akira! He is a very interesting person and easy teacher to get along with - we had a lot of overlapping interests which will make it even more fun to continue learning Japanese from him.
He is accommodating and offered to do both web video classes as well as in person, and can work around my schedule.
Happy to see where our learning journey takes me!Akira is an extremely patient and professional teacher. He doesn't waste time on aspects of language learning that aren't important to your goals, and makes sure you understand the material that really matters.
He has never been late to a lesson and always brings his best.I had a great first lesson with Akira-san. The session was well-structured, and Akira was patient and encouraging. We even talked about Kabuki. I appreciate the effort put into making the lesson engaging. Although I have decided to go with another tutor due to my scheduling, I highly recommend Akira for anyone looking to improve their Japanese skills and learn more about the culture.
Akira was personable, patient and amenable to my questions about how to speak to store and restaurant staff.
Akira Komatsu's lessons are well worth your money! I found Akira sensei on Superprof and I have been taking lessons two times a week. He is very patient and will work with my ability whether I have studied a lot, or have not studied for awhile. He also adjusts lessons according to what you need. He gave me extra time to discuss kanji and phrases to help when I visited Japan.
I have been taking lessons for about 1.5 years and will continue to do so. I highly recommend Akira for all Japanese language abilities.I've been doing weekly speaking practice with Akira for almost two years. and the time has been invaluable. The zoom sessions feel like I'm just chatting with a friend about whatever topic we want to discuss. If I have questions about how to say something in Japanese, I know Akira will be able to tell me how to express my thoughts fluidly in Japanese. This guy is the real deal and I recommend getting to know him if you are learning Japanese!
Akira is a very helpful and patient teacher. I would 100% recommend him if you're trying to learn Japanese. Much better then any of the learning apps. Not to say those apps are bad. If you're looking to learn Japanese Akira is the man.
The most trust worthy teacher. Our son has been taking lessons with Akira for 2 years now from the comfort of his home. What better way to leave Japanese and not have to leave your house. He is an an amazing teacher. Our son is majoring in Japanese in college and can’t wait to tour Japan because of Akira
Arika sensei is very helpful in improving my spoken Japanese. I used to learn Japanese on my own and never got oral practice with a native speaker so I used to be shy in speaking Japanese. Akira sensei is patient enough to bear my silly grammar mistakes and gradually I’m not afraid to make mistakes and speak out. Akira sensei is flexible in designing the courses to achieve my goals. For me, as I’d like to improve my listening and speaking skills, short videos in various topics are used for listening practice and during the courses, I’ll talk with Akira sensei in Japanese about the videos I watched.
Akira is an excellent teacher! He provides both a great mix of listening, speaking and practical learning activities, also provides written learning materials.
I would recommend him to everyone who would like to learn the Japanese language and the traditions. He is very patient and keeps the classes fun.Akira is an excellent teacher. He is understanding and patient with his students, while also making it enjoyable to learn. Pronunciation is usually difficult with learning new languages and Akira has made it much easier to understand and relate. I couldn't recommend a better teacher for learning Japanese!!
Very nice and very patient.
Mr. Akira Komatsu caters to the level of your needs. Thirty five years ago I studied abroad in Japan and have not used Japanese all these years. Since COVID-Times, I figure it's time to keep myself occupied other than watching TV. I've had four lessons with Mr. Komatsu and each time, he is patient and caters to my broken Japanese. My focus is to converse and I can see myself slowly getting more comfortable. I started with a 30 minute lesson trial and now I'm continuing with 60 minute lessons. I highly recommend Mr. Kotmatsu if you want to learn Japanese, or simply like me, re-learn it after many year.
Great lessons!
I sought the help of a Japanese tutor for brushing up on some very basic conversation skills that I had acquired having grown up in a household with Japanese speaking parents. I realized after having gone to Japan with my husband that my conversation skills were very rusty. With Akira’s help, I have been able to relearn how to speak correctly, how to correct use the appropriate phrases in particular situations and increase my vocabulary.
My son and I have used several language apps but nothing compares to working one-in-one with an instructor. My son is progressing well through introductory Japanese despite his learning disabilities. Akira has demonstrated so much patience and ability to keep so my engaged.
Akira is the best foreign language teacher I've ever had! He does an excellent job explaining complicated concepts, follows up on questions after the fact, and is just an all-around excellent teacher. I cannot recommend him highly enough!
I have been taking beginner level Japanese lessons from Akira for almost three months now. In this time I have increased my ability to speak, read, and compose sentences in Japanese. He brings a good sense of humor to his lessons and is always on-time. He also focuses heavily on pronunciation, which I appreciate, because I feel like I will be understood better by native speakers.
Going over the correct pronunciation
I like how my instructor email’s me the assignments that I can work on and I would like for my Instructor to keep emailing me more assignments for me to work on also I’m also satisfied of me working on my Japanese everyday.
View more recommendations
Rates
Rate
- £41
Pack prices
- 5h: £188
- 10h: £375
free lessons
The first free lesson with Akira will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.
- 30mins
online
- £41/h
Akira's Video
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