An English story world
your child will ask for.

Mukashi is an English immersion world for elementary-school children, and for children from age 4 reading with a parent. Your child reads real stories with Hoshi. You watch real progress, mapped to the Eiken curriculum.

See plans Try 10 free stories →
EN | JP
From once upon a time to happily ever after.

A letter from our founder

Dear parent/teacher,

Before I tell you anything else about Mukashi, I want to convey our most important principle:

Mukashi was founded on a simple belief: children learn best when they are inspired by something that genuinely matters to them. When they care about what happens next. When they are not studying English, but helping a friend find their way home. A child who wants to learn is the child who comes back every day, and consistency is the single most important element of learning a language.

Every decision we make at Mukashi is guided by one idea, our own guiding star: In 30 years, we want your child to remember Hoshi. Remember the whale. Remember the night they finally saw the stars. In doing so, we want them to remember that the journey was the reward. The Mukashi journey was their journey towards English fluency. When they think back on that journey, it is our deepest hope that they feel something warm in their chest.

continue reading ›

Mukashi is not about a test score or a certificate. It is about learning English in a way they truly love. We have gone to every length possible to bring magic to every corner of your child's experience, because it is that magic that will drive their passion for English.

Hoshi is a star spirit, far from home. Every world your child explores is part of his journey back to the stars. Every word they learn lights his path a little brighter. They are not a student being tested. They are a companion. That distinction changes everything about how they experience the work.

The reading is real. The method is proven. The progress is trackable. But the reason it works is simpler than any of that: your child will open Mukashi because they want to know what happens to Hoshi. And while they are finding out, they will learn English.

That is the whole idea.

I hope you will give them the chance to find out.

And if anything is ever not right, or you simply want to say hello: write to me. I read every letter, and I answer every one.

With warmth,

Tom
Founder, Mukashi

A letter from our founder

Dear parent/teacher,

Before I tell you anything else about Mukashi, I want to convey our most important principle:

Mukashi was founded on a simple belief: children learn best when they are inspired by something that genuinely matters to them.

continue reading ›

When they care about what happens next. When they are not studying English, but helping a friend find their way home. A child who wants to learn is the child who comes back every day, and consistency is the single most important element of learning a language.

Every decision we make at Mukashi is guided by one idea, our own guiding star: In 30 years, we want your child to remember Hoshi. Remember the whale. Remember the night they finally saw the stars.

In doing so, we want them to remember that the journey was the reward. When they think back on it, it is our deepest hope that they feel something warm in their chest.

Mukashi is not about a test score or a certificate. It is about learning English in a way they truly love. We have gone to every length to bring magic to every corner of your child's experience, because that magic is what drives their passion for English.

Hoshi is a star spirit, far from home. Every world your child explores is part of his journey back to the stars. They are not a student being tested. They are a companion.

The reading is real. The progress is trackable. But your child will open Mukashi because they want to know what happens to Hoshi. And while they are finding out, they will learn English.

That is the whole idea.

I hope you will give them the chance to find out.

And if anything is ever not right, or you simply want to say hello: write to me. I read every letter, and I answer every one.

With warmth,

Tom
Founder, Mukashi

Why it works

It doesn't feel like learning.
That's the point.

Mukashi builds real English skills through a story your child genuinely cares about.

The story is the engine.

Other apps contain stories. Mukashi is powered by one. Hoshi has a quest. The child has a reason to care. When the motivation is real, the learning is invisible.

Something is always waiting.

Hoshi's house fills with memories. Postcards arrive from new worlds. Easter eggs reward the curious. With new worlds to explore every month, your child won't need reminding to come back.

You'll always know where they are.

The Lighthouse gives you Star Charts, progress reports, and A Letter from Hoshi: a personal summary at the end of every world. In English and Japanese. Everything included. Always.

Click the lighthouse door below to learn more.

From first word to real stories.

Mukashi gets you to storytelling faster than anyone else.

Start before the first word.

Mukashi Prep is the schoolhouse at the start of the path. Letter sounds first, then forty short books that repeat, and repeat, until reading feels natural. It is included with every plan. When the stories are ready for them, the door is already open.

It keeps watch, so you don't have to guess.

Every book ends with a tiny quiz, and Mukashi reads the results with you. A child who is flying is invited forward, at their own pace. If a little more review would help, you hear about it early, with the numbers in front of you. Moving is one tap, and nothing they have done is lost.

The right first page, from day one.

At signup, Mukashi shows you two real pages and asks one question: which could your child read today? Not sure? Hand them the screen for two minutes and let them try a few. There is no score and no wrong door. Just the page where reading begins.

About Mukashi

The observatory in Hoshi's house, a child watching the stars

Explore the world with Hoshi. Every book your child reads helps him find his way home to the stars.

The method is tadoku: extensive reading. Children acquire a language by reading many books they enjoy, at a level that fits them. Decades of research support it. Mukashi turns it into an adventure.

Inside the Whale, one of Mukashi's worlds

There are hundreds of books across dozens of worlds to explore, with new adventures every week.

Mukashi follows the Eiken framework. Your child begins at Eiken 5 and progresses, world by world, toward Eiken Grade 2.

The Big City at dusk, lanterns coming on

Each world holds 14 to 20 books. Every word is chosen by native speakers and experienced ESL teachers. Every book builds on the vocabulary before it.

Children learn a language by coming back every day. Every part of Mukashi is built to make your child want to return. Consistency does the rest.

The Arctic under the aurora, a tent glowing on the ice

When a world's books are all read and its stars all collected, the world ends with an animated cutscene. The story moves forward. So does your child.

At the end of each book, Hoshi asks a few questions. The answers show you what your child understood.

The Lighthouse shows you everything: stars collected, word lists, and your child's current Eiken level.

Enter the lighthouse

Open the lighthouse door. Inside is your space: every tool and resource for parents and teachers.

Choose your path.

Every path leads to adventure. Choose your plan below:

A cozy illustrated cottage

The Cottage

For families who love to read together.

The Cottage

Increase your child's confidence with English. For less than a juice box a day, or one English lesson a month.

  • A full program planned at 200+ books across 10+ worlds, getting harder step by step
  • Additional content added every week, so your child never runs out of new things to read
  • Mukashi Prep included for complete beginners: phonics and forty first books before the stories begin
  • Parent dashboard and reports for every child
  • Each book ends with multiple choice questions from Hoshi
  • Full audio throughout: every book, every quiz and answer, and every object in the world
  • Colouring pages, word flashcards and spelling tests, ready to print
  • Siblings read for less: ¥1,480/month from the second child
¥1,980 / month ¥19,800/year, 2 months free when paid annually

tax included · about ¥66 a day · cancel any time

Start the adventure →
For schools
An illustrated schoolhouse at dusk, a lighthouse glowing behind it

School plan

For classrooms ready to explore.

School plan

A full 50-minute lesson, planned for you, every day.

  • Everything in The Cottage, for every student
  • The Teacher's Lantern: class management, per-student reports, small-group modes
  • Read together: one book on every screen in the class, following your pace, questions included
  • Printable lesson plans for every book: vocabulary, tracing, worksheets, discussion points, flash cards, spelling tests
  • Automatic alerts when a student stalls, and when one races ahead
  • Class codes: students sign in at mukashi.world/student, with no passwords to manage
  • Plan ahead: worksheets open three books past your furthest student
  • Priority support, with replies within one school day
  • Complete beginners start in Mukashi Prep, set per class or per student
  • Learn more →
from ¥1,380 / student / month

tax included · the more students, the less each costs

Explore pricing → Start the adventure →

Questions from the doorstep.

Things parents often wonder before they knock.

Is it safe for young children?

Mukashi is made for elementary-school children, and for children from age 4 reading with a parent. There is no social component, no advertising, and no user-generated content. Stories are written by our team. Every word is chosen carefully.

What language is it in?

The stories are in English. That is how children learn to read it: by meeting words in a story rather than in a translation, with pictures and audio carrying the meaning. Everything written for you is in Japanese and English, including this page. The EN | JP switch in the corner changes it.

How often do new stories arrive?

New stories are added every week, and a new world opens every month. Subscribers receive a small letter from Hoshi when something new is waiting. We never add a new world without telling you first.

Can I cancel any time?

Yes. Cancel from your dashboard with one click. No phone calls, no hoops. Your child keeps access until the end of the paid period. Everything they read is remembered if you come back.

Does it work offline?

Not yet. Mukashi streams the worlds and the audio as your child reads, so it needs a connection. There is nothing to install and nothing to update: any modern browser works, and what your child opens is always the newest version.

What devices does it work on?

Mukashi runs in any modern browser, with no app to download. It works on every device, phone included. The worlds are richly detailed and made to be explored, and they open up on a larger screen, so a tablet or a desktop gives your child the fullest experience. Hoshi has more room to roam there.

We are a school. Can we use Mukashi?

Yes. The School plan is built for classrooms. It includes a teacher dashboard, printable lesson plans, automatic progress alerts for each student, a whole-class mode for shared reading, and much more. Click the lighthouse to see more features, or go to the school page to learn more. Feel free to contact us with any questions and we will get back to you within one school day.

Who makes the stories?

Mukashi is a small studio. The stories are written by our team of native English speakers, with input from early childhood educators and readers. Hoshi is very involved in the editorial process.

How are the books structured?

Each world contains between 14 and 20 books. Every word is hand selected by native speakers and experienced ESL teachers to build on the child's existing vocabulary. Every book builds on the vocabulary of the last, and each world continues that progression, from Eiken 5 onwards. Every book ends with a low pressure quiz to test your child's comprehension, as well as a proper noun quiz: click the correct image.

Using proven linguistic techniques, we combine the latest in linguistic research with cutting edge technology, to provide an engaging and educational experience that has your child wanting to come back day after day. Consistency is key to language acquisition.

Why does Mukashi follow the Eiken framework?

Because a framework gives you a map. Without one it is hard to know where your child stands, or to explain it to a teacher. Eiken is the standard Japan already trusts.

Mukashi does help with the tests, and teachers use it for exactly that. But it is not the primary purpose. We made it so children learn English the way native speakers do: by reading. The Eiken level measures the journey. It was never the reason for it.

Can I try Mukashi before I subscribe?

Yes. The demo opens on a chooser, so you can start at the right level. Five books are for children who are brand new to English. Five more are for children who already know a little grammar and vocabulary. No signup, no email. Mukashi Prep, for a complete beginner, is 40 books, with a full phonics program, its own vocabulary list, and practice for everything learned. For a child who can already read simple stories, the first world holds all 14 books and their learning resources. There is also Tanuki's Tower, a phonics game. The full program, from Eiken 5 to Eiken Grade 2, is planned at 200+ books across 10+ worlds, and a new world opens about every month.

The full first world has all 14 books.

Click here to try the demo

Found a bug? Have an idea?

Mukashi is made by a small team, with a lot of passion. If something is not right, if you have an idea, or if you simply want to say hello: write to us. We read every letter, and we answer every one. This world gets better because of the people in it.

Can the whole class read one book together?

Yes. A teacher opens a book and every screen in the class opens it too, turning with them. Hoshi's questions appear on every screen as well, so a teacher can call on anyone. When the class finishes, each child goes straight back to the book they were reading, on the page they left, with nothing lost.

My child has no English at all. Is it too early?

That is what Mukashi Prep is for. It is the schoolhouse at the start of the path, and it begins with the very basics. Phonics teaches your child how to sound out each letter. Forty books teach the most basic grammar and build their base of the first couple hundred words. The books are designed around repetition, repeating until reading feels natural. Fun matching activities, printable worksheets, and listening practice allow your child to develop their skills beyond reading. It is included with every plan, and it is the same app and the same friend, so nothing changes when the stories begin.

How do I know where my child should start?

At signup, Mukashi shows you two real pages and asks which your child could read today. Not sure? Hand them the screen for two minutes and let them try a few pages. There is no score and no wrong door.

After that, Mukashi keeps watch with you. A child who is flying is invited forward, and if a little more review would help, you hear about it early, with the numbers in front of you. Moving is one tap, and nothing is lost.

Is it safe for young children?

Mukashi is made for elementary-school children, and for children from age 4 reading with a parent. There is no social component, no advertising, and no user-generated content. Stories are written by our team. Every word is chosen carefully.

What language is it in?

The stories are in English. Children learn to read it by meeting words in a story rather than in a translation, with pictures and audio carrying the meaning. Everything written for you is in Japanese and English, including this page.

How often do new stories arrive?

New stories are added every week, and a new world opens every month. Subscribers receive a small letter from Hoshi when something new is waiting. We never add a new world without telling you first.

Can I cancel any time?

Yes. Cancel from your dashboard with one click. No phone calls, no hoops. Your child keeps access until the end of the paid period. Everything they read is remembered if you come back.

Does it work offline?

Not yet. Mukashi streams the worlds and the audio as your child reads, so it needs a connection. There is nothing to install and nothing to update: any modern browser works, and what your child opens is always the newest version.

What devices does it work on?

Mukashi runs in any modern browser, with no app to download. It works on every device, phone included. The worlds are richly detailed and made to be explored, and they open up on a larger screen, so a tablet or a desktop gives your child the fullest experience. Hoshi has more room to roam there.

We are a school. Can we use Mukashi?

Yes. The School plan is built for classrooms: a teacher dashboard, printable lesson plans, automatic progress alerts, and a whole-class mode for shared reading. The school page has the rest.

Who makes the stories?

Mukashi is a small studio. The stories are written by our team of native English speakers, with input from early childhood educators and readers. Hoshi is very involved in the editorial process.

How are the books structured?

Each world contains between 14 and 20 books, with every word hand selected by native speakers and ESL teachers. Every book builds on the vocabulary of the last, from Eiken 5 onwards. Every book ends with a low pressure comprehension quiz and a noun quiz.

Why does Mukashi follow the Eiken framework?

Because a framework gives you a map. Without one it is hard to know where your child stands, or to explain it to a teacher. Mukashi does help with the tests, but that is not the primary purpose. Children learn English the way native speakers do: by reading. The Eiken level measures the journey, never the reason for it.

Can the whole class read one book together?

Yes. A teacher opens a book and every screen in the class opens it too, turning with them. The questions appear on every screen, so a teacher can call on anyone. Afterwards each child goes back to their own book, on the page they left.

Can I try Mukashi before I subscribe?

Yes. The demo opens on a chooser, so you can start at the right level. Five books are for children who are brand new to English. Five more are for children who already know a little grammar and vocabulary. No signup, no email. Mukashi Prep, for a complete beginner, is 40 books, with a full phonics program, its own vocabulary list, and practice for everything learned. For a child who can already read simple stories, the first world holds all 14 books and their learning resources. There is also Tanuki's Tower, a phonics game. The full program, from Eiken 5 to Eiken Grade 2, is planned at 200+ books across 10+ worlds, and a new world opens about every month.

Click here to try the demo

My child has no English at all. Is it too early?

That is what Mukashi Prep is for: the schoolhouse at the start of the path. Phonics teaches your child to sound out each letter; forty books teach the most basic grammar and their first couple hundred words, repeating until reading feels natural. Matching games, printable worksheets, and listening practice grow the rest. Included with every plan, same app, same friend.

How do I know where my child should start?

Signup shows you two real pages and asks which your child could read today. Not sure? Let them try a few pages, two minutes, no score. After that Mukashi keeps watch: ready children are invited forward, and you hear early if review would help.

The Lighthouse. Your space as a parent.

Mukashi and the Lighthouse

While your child explores Hoshi's world, The Lighthouse is yours.

It is the place where the journey is watched over. Where progress is recorded, and where notifications arrive, just as they would from a teacher watching over a child at school: successes, struggles, progress reports. The Lighthouse also holds a variety of resources for both parents and teachers.

The Lighthouse gives you Star Charts that show your child's journey at a glance. Letters from Hoshi that arrive when a world is complete: warm, personal, and written about your child specifically. Spelling Cards for every word your child has learned, to make notes on or build your own spelling tests from. Every plan, at home or in a classroom, also has colouring pages and word flashcards ready to print, and full audio throughout the reading itself: every book, every quiz and every answer, and every object your child can find inside a world. For educators, a full suite of tools and classroom resources, pre-planned for you, enough to fill around 50 minutes of classroom time a day: extensive printouts built around the content of every book, tools for creating additional spelling tests, and all of the multi-student management tools.

Everything in The Lighthouse is designed around one principle: a parent or teacher should be able to understand exactly where a child is, feel genuinely good about it, and know what comes next, without it ever feeling like a performance review.

Hoshi is in there somewhere, travelling. The Lighthouse watches over the journey. You can always see how far they have come.

The Lighthouse: Group Pricing

Annual contracts, from 5 students. Each student is priced by the band they fall into, so the more students you bring, the less each one costs.

The first 10 students

¥1,980 per student per month (tax included)

Students 11 to 20

¥1,580 per student per month (tax included)

Students 21 to 50

¥1,380 per student per month (tax included)

51 students or more

Let's find the right fit for your school. Enquire →

How many students?

One subscription runs a full 50-minute lesson: about 30 minutes of guided reading in the app, 20 minutes of printed worksheets. The Teacher's Lantern watches every student while you teach.

All Lighthouse plans are billed annually. Schools that budget by semester can ask us for two installments aligned to the school year: April and October. All prices include consumption tax.