Yukiko Bassett Okasa worked at John Lobb for eight years. She was the first Japanese person to be hired full time at John Lobb and was even given the responsibility of training apprentices. She was awarded the 'Young Designer of the Year', an award given to talented designers. In 2004, she returned to Japan and started a shoemaking school called Bench Work Study. In 2006, she launched her own shoe company: Bench Made Yukiko Bassett Okawa.

Sanyo Yamacho is a brand created by Masaki Nagashima. The trademark was bought by a clothing company called SANYO & Co. It's a company known for introducing brands from other countries such as Burberry, Loveless and Guildprime.

Sanyo has only been in business for 10 years but already has a reputation equal to other Japanese shoemakers with a much longer history.