Japanese Women in Canada Vol. 28 Tomoko Komazaki

What do you like about Canada?

I like how relaxed it is. Canada is a country rich in nature. I think people who have lived in Canada know that there is a difference between Canadian time and Japanese time. I feel Canada time is more suitable for me because it is more relaxed and easy-going. Also, I think Canadian people are very calm. I like the feeling that multinational people respect each other and live together.

How long have you lived in Canada? Please tell us why you came here.

I came to Canada in 2003 and met my husband in Japan when I was 21. We had planned to go study in the U.S., but when he decided to return to Canada, we decided to come to Canada together on a working holiday visa. When I started to realize that my working holiday visa was coming to an end, I proposed to my husband. The funny thing is that I really wanted to tell him that I wanted to marry you “in the future”, but my English was not very good at the time, so he took it as a proposal right then and there. He later told me that he thought I was fidgeting and that I was going to break up with him. We got engaged right away and married the following year.

What have you done since you came here?

During my working holiday, I was allowed to work at Happa zakaya. After I got my PR, I went to an esthetician school for less than a year to get my esthetician’s license because I liked beauty. I worked in spas and as a teacher at the school where I got my license.

While doing so, I became pregnant with my first child, who unfortunately was stillborn. I was allowed to work at that school during my pregnancy, and the school also had a hair salon and nail art courses, so I was in a very chemical-filled environment. I didn’t know the cause of the stillbirth, but I thought to myself that I had exposed myself to chemicals and that this might have caused the fetus to have problems. Then I began to think that pregnant women in particular should lead a natural, chemical-free life! I began to think that it would be better for pregnant women in particular to lead a natural, chemical-free life. I wanted to share this with pregnant women and mothers with infants, so I studied about organic products, and my life changed to a lifestyle of choosing natural products to protect my young child. From there, I noticed many changes in my physical condition, skin tone, and mind. It has led me to the present, where I take care of my skin with a natural product called sakekasu.

I also started a Youtube channel during the pandemic, and thankfully it has grown to 16,000 subscribers. I have always been the type of person who can concentrate when I decide to do something, so I continued for a year and a half, but now I want to concentrate on Sake Glow, so this channel is updated only occasionally.

Please tell us about Sake Glow, a skincare product produced and sold by Tomoko.

I have very sensitive skin and I like natural skin care, so I used to make my own creams and other products as a hobby. One day, I learned that sakekasu was very good, so I bought some sakekasu from a sake brewery in Vancouver, strained it, and experimented with various ways to make lotion and apply it to my skin. It was very good, but very time-consuming. So after further research, I discovered sakekasu powder and tried to use it by mixing sakekasu powder, clay powder, and arrowroot powder which is good for the skin.

In 2022, we started to sell SAKEGLOW, a skin care product using Sake Lees in Canada.

Please tell us about the benefits of sake kasu.

The toji (master brewers) who make sake in Japan are said to have smooth hands. To make sake, rice, koji, water, and yeast are used to ferment the rice, and the strained product is sake. Sakekasu contains condensed vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. When ingested, it is good for intestinal bacteria, and when applied to the skin, it is effective in moisturizing and whitening (lightening). If you use this mask, your skin will feel brighter, and if you have dry skin, you will notice that your makeup will look completely different the next day, and you will notice the effect of moisturizing.

University research has shown that drinking 50ml of sake a day increases collagen. It is also said to be good for anti-depression and aging prevention.

Thoughts on Sake Glow

Until 120 years ago, there were as many as 8,000 sake breweries in Japan. Today, the number is down to about 1,400. It is sad to see the decrease of traditional Japanese products. When I thought about how I could support the sake breweries, I thought it would be to promote sake overseas. However, I myself do not know much about sake (I am currently studying), so I hope that I can help spread sake to the world through Sakeglow by telling people that sake lees and sake are good for both beauty and health through beauty treatments that I can do.

Sake is becoming popular all over the world. I want to spread the word that sakekasu is so good for the skin. And I want the population of sake drinkers to increase.

Sakeglow Website & Shop

About Wa Beauty, the company Tomoko founded

I believe that natural products lead to people’s mental and physical health.

When I was young and living in Japan, I was not very attracted to Japan and wanted to live abroad in the future. But after living abroad for a long time, I realized what an amazing country Japan is. Since then, my desire to be involved with Japan and support Japanese things, culture, and people has led me to my current job.

The name of our company, Wa Beauty, is derived from “Wa” = harmony and “Beauty” = beauty. I chose this name with the meaning of spreading the beauty and splendor of Japan to the world.

What was the most difficult thing about coming to Canada? What did you learn from it?

When I came to Canada, I did not know anyone at all. （When I became pregnant (except for my husband), I was worried because I did not know any Japanese people around me who were pregnant. I sometimes wonder if I would have been able to avoid a stillbirth if I had known more people and had been able to get information and advice during my pregnancy. The Japanese community is very important when you live abroad. I ran “Mama x Net” (a community that supports “moms working at a job they love”), “Himemama Vancouver” (Japan’s largest mommy community, V (the Vancouver branch of Japan’s largest mommy community). I am very thankful that all the people I have met are now connected and helping each other.

What do you like to do?

I like working. I do what I love, so I enjoy it when I am focused on it.

I also like to watch Japanese dramas in bed when my batteries run low after a hard day’s work.

Is there anything you would like to do in the future?

I would like to spread SAKEGLOW around the world. Currently, we have nearly 10 stores in Canada. I hope to expand to the U.S. first.

When I mentioned Sake Skincare at the Japan Market in December last year, I received a variety of reactions, from those who were interested to those who were surprised to hear that Sake is applied to the skin. The word “Sake” is a word that almost everyone knows, so I would appreciate it if even half or a quarter of the world would be interested in my products.

Also, we are having a hard time because there is not much information about Sakekasu in Canada, but I hope we can make our own Sakekasu powder in the future. There are also sake breweries that are making Sake overseas. I hope to work with them in the future. Sakekasu also cleanses the intestines. If your intestines are clean, your skin will also be clean. We hope to develop such products.

What is your motto?

I don’t want to bend what I call “this”. For example, it is my commitment to “use natural products. Using chemicals would be more profitable because I could make products cheaper, but that is something I never want to bend because it would deviate from my motto. I want to make something that I really like. I don’t want it to be something that doesn’t reach a level I’m happy with.

I am good at the fact that if I intuitively feel that I want to do this, I will start from the spot anyway. I went abroad for the first time when I was in junior high school and decided then that I would go abroad in the future. I had decided to go to the U.S. after graduating from high school, so I did my own research without consulting my parents first, chose a school with low tuition fees, and then negotiated with them to ask if they would pay for my tuition because I wanted to study abroad for the first time. I am willing to put in the effort to do what I wanted to do.

Message to the people who are thinking of starting a business.

I believe the most important thing is to take action first, whatever it is. Trust your intuition, do a lot of research, and take action. Whether it works or not, do your research first, and if you think it’s a good idea, act immediately. If I find something doesn’t work after I try it, I don’t consider it a failure, but rather just change it from there.

Growing up in Japan, where it was considered a good thing to master one thing for a long time, I always thought it was my fault that I changed what I wanted to do from time to time. Since I was a child, I would do something that I wanted to do, and when I was able to do it, I would be satisfied and move on to the next thing. Recently, however, I have come to recognize that having many interests and being able to do many things is a good thing, and my attitude has changed.

When I came to Canada and was choosing a school program to get a job, I suddenly thought that I wanted to do beauty and chose an esthetician school.

I had a child and wanted to be able to work from home, so I opened a home esthetic salon, but something didn’t feel right and I quit. After that, I started my own business that had nothing to do with beauty, but now I am back in the beauty business. Isn’t that a good thing? It’s fine to be casual, do various things, learn from them, and connect them to something else. I will move as much as I can and make progress little by little. This is what I have done and will continue to do. Before you get stuck worrying about various things, I think you should think more lightly and enjoy your life doing what you want to do lightly!

Sakeglow Website & Shop

Editor’s Note

Energetic and charming. That’s Tomoko. She takes action as soon as she has an idea. She has the skills to quickly and easily set up a Youtube channel and mama x Net community.

With a passion for good things, Tomoko hopes to spread Sakeglow, a skincare product, around the world to promote the beauty and traditions of Japan. We look forward to seeing how Tomoko’s various ideas will take shape in the future.