Ikuya Takahashi was born in 1983. When he was 20, he went abroad to England for the first time as an exchange student and stayed there for 10 months. There, he found intercultural communication both fascinating and difficult, and he strongly felt that he needed to know more about the culture and history of his own country. For this reason, he decided to become a tour guide interpreter. Subsequently, he worked as an interpreter for JICE, a government-affiliated organization for several years. When he was 27, he decided to go to Paris, one of his dream cities, and stayed there for one year. The following year, he did his master’s degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London.

After coming back to Japan, he started working as an English instructor at one of the most prestigious language schools in Tokyo. He taught classes for various corporate clients as well as interpretation courses and classes in preparation for exams such as IELTS or TOEFL iBT. In addition, he offered numerous private lessons for professionals and students alike who were preparing to study abroad in order to obtain advanced degrees. He was also in charge of managing teams of instructors with different nationalities and backgrounds as well as developing curricula for Academic English classes at several universities in Tokyo.

In 2020, he established his own teaching platform, where he has been teaching Japanese literature discussion classes for participants all over the world. He has a strong passion for literature and believes in its transforming and transcending power. To date, students of more than 20 nationalities have joined his classes. In 2021, he embarked on a new journey, moving to Taiwan and teaching Japanese and English there. As of 2024, he is living in Berlin and continues to commit himself to intercultural communication. He is enthusiastic about traveling. He has been to 35 countries so far, the most memorable one of which is Cuba.