Egaoiku offers one-on-one lessons at a cost of 7,700 yen per hour.
In Japan, smile training courses have become popular as people seek to improve their smiles after a period of mask-wearing during the pandemic. A smiling instructor, Keiko Kawano has seen a significant increase in demand for her services. Students, including Himawari Yoshida, have enrolled in the classes to enhance their smiles and exercise facial muscles. Kawano's company, Egaoiku, offers one-on-one lessons at a cost of 7,700 yen per hour.
Wearing masks in Japan has been common even before the pandemic due to reasons like hay fever and exams. Although the government lifted its mask recommendation, many individuals continue to wear them regularly. A recent poll showed that 55% of Japanese people still wore masks at the same frequency as before. Some art school students even kept their masks on during the smile training class, indicating their familiarity and comfort with mask-wearing.
Kawano, a former radio host, started offering smile lessons in 2017 and has trained other smiling coaches. Her method, known as the "Hollywood Style Smiling Technique," focuses on aspects like "crescent eyes," "round cheeks," and shaping the mouth to reveal eight upper-row teeth. Students can practice their technique using a tablet and receive feedback on their smiles.
Kawano believes that Japanese people may smile less than Westerners due to cultural factors like a sense of security as an island nation. She suggests that smiling can convey a lack of threat and facilitate communication, particularly with the increasing number of foreign tourists visiting Japan.
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