SFVJLI Teachers
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Ayumi Inoue (Nyumon/J1A)
I am fortunate to have an understanding husband and a bright, creative daughter who keeps me up-to-date with the latest technology trends. My career is diverse and fulfilling; I split my time between teaching at a Japanese school and working as a preschool teacher. My true passion is early childhood development, as the energy and curiosity of young children keep me feeling lively and joyous. Outside of teaching, I cherish moments spent with my family and love gyoza and penguins.
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Miwa Kanno (J1B)
Miwa sensei grew up in Yokohama, Japan . and moved to Los Angeles where she has been living for the past 30 years. Now that her children are grown, she enjoy weightlifting as a hobby. Now she has the opportunity to become a teacher and learn with children.
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Shigeko Hanada (J2)
Hi, my name is Shigeko Hanada. I was born and raised in Tokyo. After completing two years of college, I studied psychology in Boston, Massachusetts. I then moved to California and began working in the media field where I spent nine years. After that , I dedicated my time to raising my three children. Currently, I work at an elementary school in Burbank as a school aide, a role I've held for 13 years. I also teach origami at my school and am always pleasantly surprised by how much the students enjoy it. I've been teaching origami for 8 years from kindergarten through 5th grade. Teaching Japanese can be challenging, but it also brings me great joy to share my experiences and knowledge. I am truly excited to be part of the San Fernando Japanese Language Institute family.
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Yumiko Kuroki (T1)
Yumiko Kuroki was born in Tokyo and spent her early years in Japan and the U.K. She holds a B.S. in Management from Pepperdine University.
She worked in retail and broadcasting company in Tokyo, then spent over 20 years in the U.S. as a manager and director in sales, marketing,
and business operations at U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese companies.
At SFVJLI, she teaches Japanese language and culture, encouraging students to stay curious and explore future possibilities.
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Rie Taylor (T2)
Hello, My name is Rie Taylor. I am currently teaching the Teen class and the adult beginners class. I am so happy to see people who have interest in Japan and Japanese culture. Through teaching Japanese, I also discovered Japan from a different perspective. I love animals, especially dogs. I have one daughter and one son. See you all in the SFVJLI classroom!
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Yasuko Kobayashi (T3)
I came to Los Angeles in 2008 when I got married. I have two sons, ages 16 and 14. I enjoy going to live concerts and love thrifting. Since I really enjoy working with children, I also work at local schools in the community. I will do my best to contribute in any way I can at this Japanese school.
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Nozomi Hirota (T4)
Nozomi Hirota was born and raised in Fukuoka, Japan. After graduating from the Kyushu Institute of Design, B.A. Environmental Design, she worked in the architectural and fashion trend forecasting fields in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. She has spent the past 25 years living in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong and most recently Shanghai. This global traveling influenced the raising of her 3 children (currently 19, 17 and 14) and now she has been enjoying sharing her experiences to help her students think both creatively and with a broadened outlook on the world at SFVJLI.
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Azumi Yamashita (Adult Beg.)
Hi, my name is Azumi Yamashita. I was born and raised in Gifu, Japan, and I moved to the United States after graduating high school. I recently earned my B.S. in Interior Design from Cal State University Northridge in 2024, graduating cum laude. I work as an interior designer during weekdays. I'm very extroverted and love meeting new people, building connections, and sharing cultural experiences. I'm excited to be here at SFVJLI to connect with everyone and help improve language skills. I look forward to getting to know you all better and sharing our interests and backgrounds.
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Nina Kato (Adult Interm./Principal)
Nina Kato was born and raised in Okinawa, Japan. She has also lived in Brazil, Mexico, NYC and California. She has B.A. in Languages (Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese),and M.A. in Spanish Linguistics from the UC Riverside, and M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the CSULA. Currently, she lives in San Fernando Valley with her family and teaches at local colleges and universities, and on Saturdays she enjoys working with children and adults at SFVJLI. Her adult conversation classes focus on business/corporate conversations as well as casual speeches. She loves music and dancing too!