Yakuzen coaching
Yakuzen coaching
Turning what you learned into work
What comes after learning yakuzen differs completely from person to person. Some opened a school, some supervise recipes for companies, some launched their own yakuzen tea brand, some added yakuzen to the job they already had. The eight practitioners registered with Yasai Yakuzen each came a different way. Someone whose path is close to yours will take a 45-minute online coaching session with you about your career.
9,800 yen
per session, tax included
45 minutes
Online
5 people a month
maximum
This is coaching about how to use yakuzen and where to take your career. It does not involve diagnosis, treatment, medication or any other medical act. For anything about how you are feeling, please see a doctor or pharmacist.
Career paths
Ways to use yakuzen
We have grouped the paths our eight registered practitioners actually took into six. In 45 minutes we narrow down which one suits you.
01
Add it to the job you have
A pharmacist, a yoga teacher, a chef. Some of our registered practitioners layered yakuzen onto the work they already did. We talk about which jobs it sits well with, and what order to add it in.
02
Open a school or run courses
Cooking classes, yakuzen tea blending classes, online courses. Some run a course every month. We talk about how to start and how to think about where you first announce it.
03
Recipe development and supervision for companies
Tie-in lessons and recipe development for food and appliance makers. Some of our registered practitioners have taken on this work. We talk about how to get in.
04
Make your own product
Two registered practitioners plan and sell their own yakuzen tea brands. What to tackle first, and where people get stuck.
05
Write
Kampo columns for web media, recipes in a brand's member magazine. Coming in as a writer is another way.
06
Move into the yakuzen and kampo industry
One practitioner earned the qualification while working a company job, then moved into the kampo industry. We talk about where a qualification sits when you are thinking about changing jobs.
Members
The eight registered practitioners
Eight yakuzen practitioners are registered with Yasai Yakuzen. All of them hold the Kokusai Yakuzenshi (international yakuzen practitioner) qualification, but their previous careers and current focus are all different.
Pharmacist / Kokusai Chuishi (international Chinese medicine practitioner) / Kokusai Yakuzenshi (international yakuzen practitioner)
Chiho Sanpei
After twelve years in a dispensing pharmacy, including work as supervising pharmacist and pharmacy manager, she earned the Kokusai Yakuzenshi and Kokusai Chuishi qualifications. She spent two years as an adviser at a kampo specialist pharmacy, and now works mainly on one-to-one consultations, courses and column writing.
Yakuzen chef / head of Shinsen Yakuzen
Shuko Muto
A systems engineer in her twenties, she set out to become a chef at thirty and went to evening culinary school. She took up yakuzen around the time her child started primary school, and now runs the yakuzen tea brand adjusTea and leads cooking classes.
Yakuzen and Korean medicine researcher / head of Hanagoto
Ryoko Kobayashi
She earned the Kokusai Yakuzenshi qualification in 2020 while working a company job, then moved into the kampo industry. Since May 2024 she has run monthly courses on Korean medicine, yakuzen and medicinal herbs, and organises trips around Korea's medicinal herb markets.
Yakuzen and yoga / head of Kimusubi-an
Hanako Murakami
Twenty years of yoga. Having a child made her look again at the link between food and the body, and she earned the Kokusai Yakuzenshi qualification in 2016. She plans and sells the yakuzen tea TOKIMUSUBI TEA and develops recipes for food and drink brands.
Yakuzen and fermented food researcher
Mayuko Moriyama
She has led StudioGift, a bread, cooking and confectionery school, for nine years. Holding the Kokusai Yakuzenshi and Kokusai Chuishi qualifications, she has taken on tie-in lessons and recipe development with appliance and food makers, and spoken at seminars.
Yakuzen and yoga / head of COCO STYLE
Ai Haraguchi
Her own health troubles led her to Chinese medicine, and she now runs courses that cross yakuzen and yoga. She has taught plum-preserving courses and spice curry classes, and supervised recipes for home yakuzen.
Yakuzen and wellness producer
Naomi Tashima
She has worked on product development and brand production through yakuzen and Chinese medicine. As representative director of an association she runs courses, continuing programmes and a community, and is a published author.
Representative of YAKUZEN TOKYO Inc.
Asako Yamakawa
After launching a D2C apparel business she took leave through overwork. Looking for the cause led her to Chinese-medicine yakuzen, and she earned the Kokusai Yakuzenshi qualification in 2020. She founded YAKUZEN TOKYO Inc. and handles everything from product design to packaging.
Topics
Questions people bring
These are the questions that come up most. The answer depends on the person, so we work it out once we have heard your situation.
Should I go for Kokusai Yakuzenshi, or is an introductory course enough?
The answer changes depending on whether you want it as a hobby or to teach. Certified qualifications require a set number of taught hours, so you cannot get there by self-study. Get clear on your purpose first, then decide.
I want to start a school, but where do the first students come from?
Among our registered practitioners are someone who has run a cooking school for nine years and someone who runs a course every month. We talk about where to announce it first and how to keep it going.
How do I add yakuzen to the job I have?
A pharmacist, a yoga teacher, a licensed cook. Some registered practitioners have layered yakuzen onto work they already did. We start from the ways that fit well.
Where does recipe supervision work for companies come from?
Some registered practitioners have taken on tie-ins with food and appliance makers. We get specific about what to prepare and where to send it.
Can I make a living from yakuzen alone?
Yakuzen qualifications are mostly private ones, and making a career on yakuzen alone is not simple. We are straight with you about what the people doing well have combined it with.
I want to start publishing, but what do I write first?
One practitioner writes kampo columns for web media, another has had recipes run in a brand's member magazine. We talk about the order to come in as a writer.
Scope
What we can and cannot advise on
What we can advise on
- What to learn first (books, introductory courses, schools, and in what order)
- Which qualification to take, and by when
- How to start a school or a course, and where to announce it first
- The route into recipe development and supervision for companies
- How to add yakuzen to the job you have
- How to go about making a product such as a yakuzen tea
- How to start writing and posting on social media
What we cannot advise on
- Anything about how you are feeling or your symptoms
- Judging a diagnosis, or whether a food is safe during treatment
- How yakuzen combines with medication you are taking
- Referrals to medical institutions or medicines
- Any promise that you will pass a qualification exam
- Any promise of work or income
Program
What the coaching covers
How it runs depends on what you bring. Below is one example of how the 45 minutes might go.
e.g. first 10 minutes
Hearing where you are
What you do, how much time you have in a week, and what you can spend. We also ask what drew you to yakuzen.
e.g. next 15 minutes
Narrowing to realistic options
Of the six paths, we separate the ones you can reach with what you have now from the ones you cannot yet. We explain using real cases from practitioners who took the same path.
e.g. next 10 minutes
Deciding whether you need a qualification
Certified qualifications require a set number of taught hours, so you cannot get there by self-study. Going to a school means roughly twice a month for a year. We separate the cases where you need one from the cases where you do not.
e.g. last 10 minutes
Deciding what you do this month
How to land the first one. For a class, where to announce it; for supervision, where to send it; for publishing, the order to write in. We finish with something concrete.
The timings are a guide. We may spend longer on one point, or take them in a different order.
Matching
About the practitioner assigned to you
In the application form, tell us what you do now and how you want to use yakuzen. We read that against the backgrounds of our eight practitioners and pick someone whose path is close to yours. A yoga teacher gets the yoga teacher, someone working in a pharmacy gets the pharmacist, someone who wants to open a school gets someone who runs one.
Once the match is made, we send you their name and profile in the scheduling email. If you read it and feel it is not right, you are free to decline at that point. Payment comes after that, so nothing has cost you anything.
If the dates do not work, a different practitioner takes over. If you have someone in mind, write their name in the notes field. We will give it priority but cannot guarantee it, and there is no extra charge. Even when the pharmacist is assigned, we cannot take questions about medicines or treatment.
Price
Price
Yakuzen coaching, 45 minutes per session
9,800 yen (tax included)
Forty-five minutes on a video call. You book session by session; there is no ongoing contract.
We take up to five people a month.
We cannot answer questions about symptoms or a diagnosis, or whether a food is safe for someone in treatment.
Flow
How to apply
Sending the form holds a slot provisionally. Your booking is confirmed when you reply to the email with the dates and the price.
01
Send the form
Tell us what you do now, how you want to use yakuzen, and up to three preferred dates. Please do not write in a diagnosis, symptoms or medication you are taking.
02
We send your match and the dates
Within two business days (excluding weekends and public holidays) we email you the profile of the practitioner assigned to you and some possible dates.
03
Payment
Please pay by the day before the session, once we have confirmed the date with you.
04
On the day, 45 minutes of coaching
We send the video call link by the day before.
Q&A
FAQ
Can I apply with no knowledge of yakuzen at all?
Yes. The session is there to help you decide what to learn first, so you are welcome to apply knowing nothing.
I already hold a qualification. Is it still useful?
Our eight registered practitioners each moved differently after earning theirs. What to do next after qualifying is very much in scope.
Can I choose the practitioner?
We read your application and decide. If you have someone in mind, write their name in the notes field. We give it priority when the dates work, but we cannot guarantee a particular person.
What if the practitioner is not right for me?
The scheduling email gives you their name and profile. If you decide it is not what you were looking for, you can decline at that point. It comes before payment, so there is no cost.
Can I also ask about how I am feeling?
No. We cannot answer questions about symptoms or a diagnosis, or whether a food is safe for someone in treatment. Please speak to a doctor or pharmacist.
Can I book more than once?
You book session by session. There is no ongoing contract, so please apply again whenever you need to.
When do I pay?
Once the date is confirmed, please pay by the day before the session. We tell you how to pay in that same email.
If I apply, am I guaranteed a session?
We take up to five people a month. If this month is full, we will offer you next month.
Please read before applying
- This is coaching about how to use yakuzen, how to choose a qualification, and work and career. It is not a service aimed at improving how you feel or your symptoms.
- We do not diagnose illness, treat it, or direct medication, or perform any other medical act. We cannot answer questions about symptoms or a diagnosis, or whether a food is safe for someone in treatment. Please speak to a doctor or pharmacist.
- The result of the constitution check follows the thinking of Chinese medicine. It is not a medical diagnosis.
- Practitioner backgrounds are as declared by the practitioners themselves. Nothing here promises the same outcome for you, that you will earn a qualification, or that it will lead to work.
- If you are under 18, please get a guardian's consent before applying.
- For the seller, payment methods and cancellations, please see the legal notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions.
Application
Apply
Up to five people a month. When it is full we will offer you next month.
Before you apply, please read the legal notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions and Privacy Policy.