Hi I'm Kana! I'm a national-licensed interpretive guide of Japan. I've been guiding over 10 years since 2009 all over Japan welcoming guests from around the world.

Since my school days, it has been always clear that in order to understand anyone, whether he/she is from the same country or not, it is very important to understand what kind of philosophy he/she grew up with. It's true even when we try to understand someone in our own country, and it's very true when we try to understand people from different countries with different religious background and resulting different values and customs.

Through my 10-year career as a guide, I've been always paying attention to what's common and what's different between my guests' culture and mine, and it has been always crucial to clearly explain the basic philosophy of Shinto and Buddhism for their deep appreciation of Japanese culture and arts.

In this course, I explain the important philosophy of Shinto, Japanese Buddhism as a whole, and specifically Zen Buddhism, as they are indispensable to really understand people and culture of Japan.

This course is recommended for those who are interested in Japan, those who are working for a Japanese corporation with Japanese boss/colleagues, those who are planning to visit Japan soon, and those who guide visitors to Japan.