Hayato Hoshikawa

Hayato Hoshikawa

Founder of 90us, Inc. · Builds HiKana · Writes the guides on this site

I build HiKana and write the guides on this site. I was born in Tokyo in 1986 and live there now, after a few years in San Francisco. I have been learning English since I was twenty-five, and it is still far from perfect. So I know what it feels like to be on your side of the conversation.

What I have done

Why I built HiKana

HiKana did not come from a business plan. It came from my own life.

A few years ago my work took me to San Francisco with my family. I learned fast how hard it is to live in a foreign country. Taxes, contracts, making friends, working out how everything works. San Francisco is one of the most welcoming cities in the world, and even there it was hard. It made me think: if it is this hard here, what must it be like in Japan? Japan has its own language and a deep culture. It also has a reputation for being hard to get into, even for the people who love it.

It was also one of the best times of my life. My children grew up speaking English. I made friends from all over the world. Looking back, I would not change a thing.

After we came home I had a few months free. I bought a round-the-world ticket and traveled slowly through the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South America. Everywhere I went, I met people who loved Japan. Not the idea of it. The food, the anime, the design, and the feeling of walking through a Japanese city at night. The world had quietly fallen in love with Japan, and I had been too close to notice.

That is why I built HiKana. For everyone learning Japanese because of an anime or manga that moved them. For everyone who wants to visit Japan someday and understand what the people around them are saying. For the people already living in Japan and building their lives there. I hope they look back one day and say it was one of the best things they ever did.

What I believe about learning a language

I have been studying English since I was twenty-five. I am a decent learner, and my English is still far from perfect. I have come to think that a language is different from other skills. Effort alone is not enough. You also need time, real interest, and someone to practice with. You learn, you forget, you learn again, and that goes on for years.

That is what I want Kana to be for you. Not a game with points. A companion who gets to know you, and whom you get to know over time.

How the guides are made

I write each guide myself. I start from the questions learners type into a search box, and from the mistakes I see in the app. A native Japanese speaker reads the text and listens to every audio clip before a guide goes up. If you find a mistake, write to [email protected] and I will fix it.

Find me