is a Japanese figure skating coach.
Nakano is best known for coaching Kaori Sakamoto, a four-time Olympic medalist and four-time World champion, and Mai Mihara, a two-time Four Continents and the 2022âÂÂ23 Grand Prix Final champion, for their entire careers.
Nakano was born on October 16, 1952 in Kobe, Hyà Âgo Prefecture. She is a graduate of Nihon University.
Nakano coaches alongside Mitsuko Graham, Masahiro Kawagoe, and Sei Kawahara for the Kobe Figure Skating Club. Following the 1995 Kobe earthquake, Nakano cycled to check on the safety students.
Nakano's team originally trained in rinks in Port Island, Kobe, Himeji, and Osaka as the original rink in Kobe was only open from autumn through spring, up until a full-year facility was built in Nishinomiya in 2013. As of June 2025, the team trains out of the Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus, a new full-year facility in Kobe.
Nakano is a vice chairman of the Japan Figure Skating Instructor Association. She occasionally choreographs for her skaters.
Nakano inspired her student Kaori Sakamoto to want to become a coach. After Sakamoto won the silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Nakano told her: "You won silver, Kaori. That means itâÂÂs now your turn to try to raise a gold medallist." She remarked that following their coach-student relationship ending with Sakamoto's retirement: "This time, I need to teach her how to teach technique, not technique. That's the only thing that will change."
Her current students include:
Her former students include: