Hello,

I hope you are doing well! It seems like people's lives are mostly returning to normal after Covid-19, and I think that is a good thing. I attended an art exhibition this weekend, and attending that exhibition made me appreciate how nice it is to be able to go out and do things in the world.

I am writing this message today to discuss some changes that I will be making beginning in October. You may have read in the news that the value of the yen is quite low these days. The value of the US dollar is also quite strong. Right now, about 142 yen equals 1 USD, but back in December 2020 about 104 yen equaled 1 USD. Even one year ago, in September 2021, 110 yen equaled 1 USD. In other words, the yen has lost over 20% of its value in the last year compared to USD. 

This is important because Cafetalk tutors are paid in yen. Cafetalk is a Japanese company. I have been watching the price of the yen slowly decrease over the past 2 years, and now I think it is time to make a change. Beginning October 1st, the price for many of my lessons will increase by 5% to 10% depending on the lesson.

Individual lessons will have a higher increase than Lesson Packs. Therefore, Lesson Packs will continue to be a very good value! Please consider the Lesson Packs if you enjoy my lessons. 

I apologize for this change, but the weak yen has negatively affected my income. Please understand that I buy lesson materials and spend a lot of unpaid time preparing lessons, too. The lesson price increases will be lower than the amount of value that the yen has lost in the past year (about 20%). I will also offer special coupons for anyone who takes my lessons during the month of September ^^

I will continue monitoring the price of the yen. When the price goes back to 110-120 yen per 1 USD, I will decrease lesson prices back to where they are right now. Thank you in advance for your understanding. I want to continue offering great lessons to so many interesting and amazing students, and making this change will allow me to do that. 

 Sincerely,
Josh C