Kohei Kashiwaba

Born in Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan in 1978 B.A. from University of Illinois at Chicago, the U.S.
Representative and instructor of OAKLEAF the school for English and the international-minded
TOEIC score: 990
Practical English proficiency test: 1st grade
English Technical Writing: 2nd grade (Japan Society for Technical Communication) Certified translator (TQE)
Member of Hanamaki Homestay Association Managing Director, Iwate Handball Association (in charge of kids handball clubs in Iwate)

I'm actively work as a certified guide interpreter (English, No. 18321). In 2011, a group of sites in Hiraizumi was registered as a world heritage site by UNESCO under the name of "Hiraizumi - Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land." It was the first world cultural heritage site in the northeastern Japan, and since its registration, the rising number of foreign tourists has started to come visit Iwate. My hometown Hanamaki also is a birth place of Kenji Miyazawa, a famous post and writer, and you can see wonderful nature and scenery with a lot of atmosphere, which appears in his works. It's completely different from what you see as a general image of Japan, usually taken from major cities like Tokyo or Osaka, but we have many places that attract you in the countryside of our country. My first priority of guiding is to let you enjoy something you can feel only by visiting here in a local area of Japan.

OAKLEAF the school for
English and international-minded

For children who will live in the new generations, it’s really important to become an “international-minded person” in a true meaning. It doesn’t only mean that you can speak English, but it also means that you are aware of who you are as a Japanese citizen and able to see the world with their own interest and curiosity. And they are also able to “think” how they live as a member of this international society. The mission of this school is to educate and support such children in Hanamaki and let them fly to the world.

The main characteristics of this school are as follows:

1.The instructor is as fluent as a native speaker of English and the lessons are provided all in English. If you don’t understand, well, he can speak Japanese fluently, so no worries!

2.The students will become interested in learning English as they learn history, culture, or geography of many countries, and the instructor shares his own experience from his living, studying, and traveling overseas!

3.The instructor has been coaching handball for kids for a long time, so he’s very good at communicating with kids!

4.And the lesson fee is very reasonable!

Please contact me for a free trial lesson any time!

I'm also active as a freelance interpreter/translator. As I was a member of the student delegation when I was in junior high school, I've been supporting the sister-city exchange program between Hanamaki and Hot Springs, Arkansas, the U.S. for a very long time. I also worked for a manufacturing company, and during this time I made manuals and documents in English for the products to be exported or I took part in business negotiations with customers overseas. Based on these experiences, I can support local companies, mainly in engineering and industrial field, to do business for overseas market.

I've played handball (also known as "team handball") since I was in junior high. I'm a player in a local adult handball club, but I'm also a coach for a kids club and a junior high school team in Hanamaki. I support many kinds of tournament and official games as a certified referee on the side as well. In addition, I'm a managing director of Iwate Handball Association and mainly in charge of managing kids clubs in Iwate; in this way, I strive to spread and increase the handball community in youth.

Program host for a community radio station

From April 2016, I made my debut as a program host for FMOne, a local community radio station in Hanamaki. I'll talk on a live show every Tuesday morning. You canlisten to my radio program on the Internet at the following.