Locations may differ, depending on the circumstances of the time.
Japan Society of Northern California [map]
500 Washington Street, Suite 300, San Francisco
Union Bank (in Financial District) [map]
400 California St., San Francisco
Union Bank (in Japantown, “Hospitality Room”) [map]
1675 Post St., San Francisco (Inside the Miyako Mall)
Sony Electronics, Inc. [map]
1730 N. First St., San Jose
Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey, LLP [map]
600 Hansen Way, Palo Alto
Datum-sensei earned her BA in Intercultural Communication from Hosei University and MA in Japanese language education from Reitaku University in Japan. She also attained her certificate for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language from Sendagaya Japanese Institute. She has been teaching Japanese at language schools, universities, and as a private tutor in Tokyo area since 2005. She holds 2-Dan in kendo and practiced Japanese traditional dance for seven years.
Furr-sensei has her B.A. in Chinese language from Meikai University. She obtained her Certificate for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language from Arc Academy in Tokyo. She has been a private tutor since 1998. She joined the Japan Society teaching staff in 2002.
Hara-sensei holds her B.A. in French from Tamagawa University in Tokyo. She is also a graduate from the Rudolf Steiner College in California Waldorf Teacher Training Program. She studied at the Pana Lingua Institute of Japanese Language in Tokyo before coming to the US. She has also studied German at the Goethe Institut in Tokyo. She has taught Japanese for all age groups–young children, teens and adults in Marin County–for the past 5 years, using games, crafts and arts to facilitate learning.
Fitzmaurice-sensei holds her B.A. in Japanese Literature from Kinjyo Gakuin University, Japan. She earned her Certificate for Teaching Japanese as Foreign Language from the Human Academy in Nagoya. Since 2003, she has been teaching group & private lessons to students of all different levels and nationalities in Japan and USA ( preparing to enter Japanese universities, and employees on assignment for their companies including Toyota, Denso, Finnier, Bank do Brazil etc.).
Ino-sensei received her B.A. in English Literature at Kyoritsu Woman’s University in Tokyo. She obtained her Certificate for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language from Kanda Institute of Foreign Language in Tokyo. She experimented and practiced teaching methodologies for two years under Professor Michiko Hiramatsu in Foothill College. She has been a Japan Society instructor since 1999.
Maeda-sensei holds her BA in English literature from Fuji Women’s University in Sapporo. She attained the certificate of Japanese Teacher Training from English Circles in Sapporo. Prior to moving to San Francisco in 2006, she taught Japanese for almost ten years at Vancouver Community College and Richmond School District in Vancouver, Canada.
McMullin-sensei received her M.A. in Japanese from San Francisco State University. She joined the Japan Society as an instructor in 2006. She teaches courses various groups: working professionals, middle school students, and university students. She also works as a language translator.
Minami-sensei received his B.A. in Economics and second B.A. in Literature from Kyoto University. He received an Ed.M in Education and Ed.D in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University. He is the President and CEO of the Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association (NCJTA) and an Executive Council Member of the Foreign Language Association of Northern California (FLANC). He is a professor of Japanese and the Japanese Program Coordinator at San Francisco State University.
Nelson-sensei received a Master of Science in Mass Communications from San Jose State University. She has been a Japan Society instructor for eight years. Nelson-sensei also has experience in technical translation and cross-cultural training seminars for corporations.
Otsuka-sensei came to the Japan Society in 2001 with 15 years of experience teaching Japanese in both the United States and Japan. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rakuno University and certificates in ESL, Travel & Tourism, and Landscape Design from North American universities. He is also involved in chanoyu.
Sanchez-sensei earned her BA in Japanese and MA in East Asian Language and Cultures, with a concentration in Japanese from UCLA in 2000 and 2003, respectively. After obtaining her MA, she taught Japanese language at a junior college in Southern California. She also has experience in privately tutoring Japanese language to children. She joined the Japan Society teaching staff in Fall 2008.
Shioguchi-sensei holds her BA in English Literature from Kobe College in Kobe. She attained the certificate of Japanese Teacher Training from Alpha Language Institute in Osaka. Prior to moving to San Francisco in 2008, she taught Japanese at the same school. She joined the Japan Society of Northern California as part of the teaching staff in summer 2008.
Takeshita-sensei holds an MA in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language and a BA in Japanese from San Francisco State University, as well as a BA in Education from Yamanishi University. She has many years’ experience teaching both adults and children Japanese at SFSU, Clarendon Alternative School, and others, and first taught with the Japan Society several years ago.
Wood- sensei was born in Tokyo, Japan. She earned her B.A. in English from the School of Education at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. She earned her M.A. in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language at San Francisco State University. She has been teaching both group classes and private lessons to a wide range of students, including students at UC Berkeley
Yamada-sensei received her BA in French Literature at Keio University in Tokyo. She earned the certificate of Japanese Language Teaching Competency Certificate in 1990 and started teaching. She received an MBA from Oregon State University, where she also had the opportunity to work as a teacher’s assistant for Japanese language classes. She has been a Japan Society instructor since Fall 2007.
Yasutake-sensei received her Master of Arts in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language from San Francisco State University. She completed her undergraduate study in computer science at San Jose State University and received a BA in Japanese literature in Japan. She holds a Japanese teaching credential for both junior high and high school level students. She has 13 years of experience in corporate translation and technical writing as a software engineer.
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