guiding brands
across borders
Brands customers can't find. Words that don't get through.
Atelier Lighthouse solves both.
A website for Helsinki's beloved Sakura Festival
Designed and built the bilingual event site for Roihuvuori Hanami 2026, covering programme, vendors and access info for Helsinki's Japanese community festival.
It showed what kinds of shops would be there in a fun, easy-to-follow way. Really helpful.
Festival visitor 
NPO website in a no-code tool
Designed and built a website for a Japanese non-profit workshop community using the no-code tool Studio, at the client's request.
We started with no design or copy ideas at all, but Nao proactively suggested concepts and answered every question quickly. We could entrust the whole project to her with real peace of mind.
Secretariat, Kansai SGE Study Group 
Curious about Finnish culture and tech?
Coming soon.
01 Web Design & Build
Built to be found. Designed to convert.
Fast, well-structured websites, designed and coded by one pair of hands from first sketch to launch.
- I specialise in Next.js development: custom-built sites that load faster than a WordPress site, from a one-page landing site to a full web app.
- A simple editing UI for things you update often, like a blog or a menu, and custom features built to order.
- Everything around launch handled: domain, hosting, analytics and the small technical details.
- A website really starts working after launch: maintenance and analytics are available as a monthly retainer.
02 Brand Localisation
Not translation. Transposition.
Your brand has a voice. I make sure it carries across language, culture, and context. This is human work.
- Website and content translation EN ⇄ JP that carries tone and intent, not just words.
- Naming, taglines and key copy checked against how they actually read in the other culture.
- Menus, signage and print for shops and restaurants welcoming Japanese customers.
03 Market Entry for Japan
Where you start decides how far you go.
I research the market and find the entry point that fits your brand, not just the obvious one.
- Market research: the landscape, competitors and where your audience actually is.
- A go-to-market plan sized for your brand and budget, not a generic playbook.
- Your Japanese-language presence built right: website, social and first content.
04 SEO & GEO Optimisation
Found by Google. Cited by AI.
I optimise your site so search engines rank it and AI assistants recommend it.
- A technical and content audit, from page speed to copy: what holds your ranking back, with fixes in priority order.
- Structured data, metadata and page structure that make your business legible to search engines and AI models.
- GEO: content shaped so ChatGPT and Google AI cite you as the answer, not just another link.
Built to be found. Designed to convert.
Fast, well-structured websites, designed and coded by one pair of hands from first sketch to launch.
- I specialise in Next.js development: custom-built sites that load faster than a WordPress site, from a one-page landing site to a full web app.
- A simple editing UI for things you update often, like a blog or a menu, and custom features built to order.
- Everything around launch handled: domain, hosting, analytics and the small technical details.
- A website really starts working after launch: maintenance and analytics are available as a monthly retainer.
Not translation. Transposition.
Your brand has a voice. I make sure it carries across language, culture, and context. This is human work.
- Website and content translation EN ⇄ JP that carries tone and intent, not just words.
- Naming, taglines and key copy checked against how they actually read in the other culture.
- Menus, signage and print for shops and restaurants welcoming Japanese customers.
Where you start decides how far you go.
I research the market and find the entry point that fits your brand, not just the obvious one.
- Market research: the landscape, competitors and where your audience actually is.
- A go-to-market plan sized for your brand and budget, not a generic playbook.
- Your Japanese-language presence built right: website, social and first content.
Found by Google. Cited by AI.
I optimise your site so search engines rank it and AI assistants recommend it.
- A technical and content audit, from page speed to copy: what holds your ranking back, with fixes in priority order.
- Structured data, metadata and page structure that make your business legible to search engines and AI models.
- GEO: content shaped so ChatGPT and Google AI cite you as the answer, not just another link.
I light the way.
You set the course.
I started out as an embedded Linux engineer in the automotive industry. Somewhere along the way I realised I also love connecting technology, cultures and people.
With a brand's true appeal and value at the centre, Atelier Lighthouse helps you enter new markets between Japan and Finland and establish your online presence.
On my days off, you'll find me in a Helsinki café with a black Pomeranian in tow.
Clarifying your goals and connecting with the right local partners. I guide you through both, step by step.
Yes. Rebuilds and speed-ups of existing sites are just as welcome as brand-new ones.
Generally, no. WordPress pages tend to load slowly, and plugin updates and conflicts can break a site, so I prefer building lean, fast sites with Next.js. If you're on WordPress today, I can help you migrate.
Yes. Small jobs are welcome, from a single menu to a one-off document. Technical translation is a particular strength.
Yes. I can audit any site, including ones built by someone else. Implementing the fixes needs access to the site's admin or source code.
English and Japanese.
If you're in or visiting Helsinki, gladly. Otherwise everything runs smoothly over video calls.
It depends on scope. Book a free 30-minute call and we'll map out what you need together.
Let's build
something
together .
お気軽にお問い合わせください。