All in Japan

How This Female Founder Spearheaded Innovative Kimono Accessory Designs

How This Female Founder Spearheaded Innovative Kimono Accessory Designs

Julie Taeko
Female Empowerment, Female Entrepreneurship, Japan, Women Leaders, Entrepreneurs II

A stunning, fashionable, light-hearted, and fun woman, Yukiko Yamamoto happily shared her personal trajectory. Now at the age of 67, she runs a design studio for kimono accessories called 紅小梅 (べにこうめ)・京都 (きょうと) in Kyoto and Shanghai with 4 full-time employees. Yukiko creates custom-made and personalized goods for her customers based on their wishes.

Fundamentally optimistic and warm, you would never guess that Yukiko has overcome betrayal and embezzlement of a former employee, surmounted huge piles of debt, and been the target of constant gossip. But she has

Harue’s High-end Women’s Fashion Store in Kyoto

Harue’s High-end Women’s Fashion Store in Kyoto

Julie Taeko
Japan, Female Entrepreneurship, Women Leaders, Entrepreneurs III

Meet Harue — a unique, captivating, and extremely warm individual. She’s different. She’s fashionable. And she’s strong! Over the course of multiple meetings including a dinner and a few visits to her store, I got to know this remarkable woman.

Launching her first store at the young age of 21 in Aichi Prefecture and running that business for 12 years, Harue has now been overseeing a high-end women’s fashion business in Kyoto called Hodge Podge for the past 18 years.

A Calming & Creative Twist to a Centuries Old Tradition

A Calming & Creative Twist to a Centuries Old Tradition

Julie Taeko
Female Empowerment, Women Leaders, Japan, Female Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurs II

Graceful. Elegant. And mired in tradition. These were my three takeaways from my visit with Atsuko Mori at Camellia — the founder of a traditional tea ceremony experience, geared towards foreigners in Kyoto. Atsuko started her company a mere 3 years ago, and already plans on expanding to a new location within the next year. 

Now with a steady business under her belt with 13 people working for her, all of whom are women, Atsuko is conducting more PR and making more time for herself. She recently appeared on television, was featured on Facebook Japan’s #SheMeansBusiness to promote female founders, created a video on how to make matcha tea, and married a man from the UK

Breaking Stereotypes —  A Young Foreign Mother & Female Founder in Japan

Breaking Stereotypes —  A Young Foreign Mother & Female Founder in Japan

Julie Taeko
Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Women Leaders, Japan, Entrepreneurs II

Impressive. Inspiring. And invigorating! These were the words I immediately felt while speaking to amazing female entrepreneur  —  Omima M. Miki, or “Mimi” for short. Currently, her task list is larger than most Japanese サラリーマンor “salary men.” One of her latest initiatives is planning and launching an “温泉と旅館” or a Japanese-style hotel paired with a relaxing onsen spa and delectable Japanese-style food.

The Gratitude Diaries // Cheesy, Yet So True

The Gratitude Diaries // Cheesy, Yet So True

Julie Taeko
Japan, Expat Life, Life

Happy 8th Month Anniversary, Julie Taeko! Congratulations on lasting this long!

Even more importantly, congratulations to all of my fellow MEXT scholars and friends, who have also surmounted many obstacles, made peace with the そこびえ “penetrating cold” winters, securedアルバイト or “part-time jobs,” located barebones apartments for relatively inexpensive prices, navigated the bureaucracy of the Japanese government, discovered the most delicious restaurants for reasonable prices around town, traveled all over Japan and to nearby countries, made friends with people from literally all over the world, and most importantly, uncovered ways to truly enjoy living in Kyoto, Japan!

The Wonderful World of Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremonies

The Wonderful World of Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremonies

Julie Taeko
Expat Life, Japan, Life

I’ve been taking advantage of every opportunity available to me such as visiting Taipei for Christmas with Mariko Fukui, attending yoga classes entirely in Japanese, running along the river, attending entrepreneur related events, visiting my aunts and uncle in Osaka, and literally saying “yes” to almost every opportunity that came my way. After all, I am here to learn — about Japanese female entrepreneurs, economics & business, the Japanese language, the culture, traditions, and history!

Introducing Japanese Female Entrepreneur — Emi Takemura Miller of Peatix.com & FutureEdu Tokyo

Introducing Japanese Female Entrepreneur — Emi Takemura Miller of Peatix.com & FutureEdu Tokyo

Julie Taeko
Women Leaders, Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Japan, Entrepreneurs II

Recently, I interviewed an incredible female founder, Emi Takeumura Miller. We spoke about everything ranging from the advantages of starting a female entrepreneurship to the importance of sharing your vision with everyone you meet. Not only did she co-found Peatix.com, a mobile-focused event platform, but she also co-founded FutureEdu Tokyo, an education-based community, and co-hosted Unreasonable Labs Japan, a 5-day, hyper-accelerator to give Japan-based, social entrepreneurships an “unfair advantage to scale and succeed.” Most recently, Emi spoke at TEDxRoppongi to encourage more young female participation in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math).

A Quickie // The Complexities of Throwing Away Trash in Kyoto

A Quickie // The Complexities of Throwing Away Trash in Kyoto

Julie Taeko
Japan, Expat Life, Life

One of my first “adventures” living in Kyoto was deciphering the mesmerizingly complex trash dispensing system. No, it’s not as straightforward as “trash” versus “recycling.” Instead, there’s at least 6 different ways to separate trash. Not only do you have to learn what exactly goes into a “プラ” or plastic bag, but you also have to clean the interior of all items such as bento boxes, almond butter cans, used natto containers, etc. Most places even require you to remember what days specific types of trash can be thrown out.

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