Modeling Career in a Japanese Agency

Since 2005, Yulia had been travelling back and forth between Russia and Japan for short-term modeling contracts. Back then, she did not imagine she would one day learn Japanese! In 2012, she moved to Japan, as a fashion model for Bravo models Agency. Working with a lot of clients, including Amazon, Yulia loves her agency environment. Being a fashion model is not easy, but according to her, Japanese agencies are nice and friendly.

“The mentality in Japan is different, less flexible, but if you understand the way it goes, everything gets easy. Russians lack patience and self-control, something Japanese are very good at!”

Modeling Career in a Japanese Agency © Bravo Models Agency

In her agency and during photo shootings, Yulia is perfectly fine using English. But she always wanted to learn Japanese as she felt it is important to understand the culture and to stay in Japan.

“I also wanted to travel around, and without the language, it is tricky. Learning Japanese was a way for me to become more mobile. At work, I do not need Japanese so much. But I really think it helps to communicate with the people at the agency, to get their mentality and in the end, to have more fun!”

I had some Japanese lessons before, but I felt they were dull and far from being interesting. I could not keep my motivation on. Ready to try a new start, I searched for a school that would provide me lessons fitting my working schedule and my main criteria was the atmosphere. I wanted to have fun conversational lessons in a relaxed atmosphere.

I have visited other schools but none had a first meeting like Coto is offering. When I came the first time, I liked it very much. I could see the setting was great and that might be the perfect school for me. I actually signed up for 3 months of intensive course right away!”

Last year, Yulia started in the first level of our Beginner Intensive Course. Not only did she like the classes, but she could meet interesting people and make friends from all around the world. Yulia has so much improved that Japanese people around her are always nicely surprised.

“After my first month, I was like “Wow… it’s gonna take a long time!”. But the course kept me motivated. After my first 3 months, I signed up for more and I am glad I did it. When I meet people who has seen me one year ago, I can read their surprise on their face! I became able to express myself in Japanese holding full and complex conversations. I even work with my agency in Japanese now. I understand better my contracts, the paperwork and my contact with the staff is deeper. Learning the language has given me a great insight on the mentality at work. It was truly eye-opening.”

She shared about the difficulty to stay motivated and to keep studying Japanese.

“When I study Japanese, I always have this feeling that I am not committed enough, that I am not doing enough and that I do not improve.

But the truth is, at the end of each month of my intensive course, I look back and I realize my progress. Over the time, I really feel the results.

And well, I guess that studying from the first level of the intensive course and being in the intensive course 4 – 2 is showing quite a huge improvement!”I love my life, and being able to speak Japanese made my days more fun.

So my advice would be: do not give up Japanese because you feel it’s becoming difficult! Always keep going at your pace and you will see how better it gets. Studying Japanese is an investment, but that is a good move for you, for your knowledge and most importantly: for your overall experience living in Japan!”.

Yulia does not know yet what the future holds for her and how long she will stay in Japan. Enjoying her life in Tokyo, she definitely has for plan to become fluent in Japanese!