Award-Winning Japanese Tutors
serving Oakland, CA

Brian prepared for and took the SAT Subject Test in Japanese with Listening, which means he's worked through the grammar structures, kanji recognition, and listening comprehension challenges that define intermediate Japanese study. He approaches language learning with the same systematic thinking he applied to economics and CS at Caltech — breaking down sentence patterns and verb conjugations into logical rules rather than pure memorization.

A drama degree might not scream Japanese fluency, but John's literary work — he's a section editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books and literary manager for two theater companies — means he's deeply attuned to how language shapes meaning, tone, and register. That sensitivity to nuance transfers directly to navigating Japanese's layered politeness levels and context-dependent sentence endings. Rated 5.0 by students.

Cori is pursuing a Japanese minor at MIT, which means she's actively working through the grammar structures, kanji readings, and particle usage that trip up most learners. That proximity to the learning process gives her a practical sense of what sticks and what needs extra repetition.

I am a great tutor because not only are my fundamental verbal and quantitative skills strong, but I am able to communicate my reasoning and problem solving skills quickly and clearly.

I am an experienced tutor and teacher from Okinawa, Japan who recently graduated from Brown University and now lives in Brooklyn.

Studying Japanese as a minor at Columbia — with plans to eventually work in Japan's renewable energy sector — Shin uses the language as a living tool, not just a classroom exercise. He teaches everything from hiragana and katakana basics to intermediate grammar patterns like ～てしまう and ～ことにする, adjusting to each student's level and building real conversational confidence alongside written accuracy.

Shona's semester abroad in Seville proved that immersion reshapes how you learn any language — a lesson she carries into teaching Japanese, where she emphasizes building comfort with sentence patterns and particles through active use rather than translation drills. Her AP Japanese Language and Culture tutoring draws on both her structured math-trained thinking and her own experience navigating a second language in real-world settings. Rated 4.9 by students.

I am particularly passionate about math as well as standardized test prep. I studied math on a double-accelerated track throughout middle school and high school, covering math from algebra to multivariable calculus. Aside from teaching academic subjects, I am also trained in playing the piano and violin, having taken lessons for piano from the ages of 4 to 18 and playing violin in my school orchestra from 5th to 12th grade. I love working with students to improve their skills in an area of study, and my favorite part is getting to see them gain confidence in themselves and their own abilities!

Most students learning Japanese hit a wall somewhere between mastering hiragana and actually constructing sentences with particles, verb conjugations, and counters. Kai has been teaching Japanese through the student organization meetings on campus, building lessons that move learners from basic self-introductions to reading short passages and holding simple conversations.

Holding a degree in Japanese Studies, Andrew brings deep familiarity with not just hiragana, katakana, and kanji but also the cultural context that shapes how the language actually works — keigo politeness levels, sentence-ending particles, and the logic behind counter words. He connects grammar patterns to real conversation so students internalize structures instead of just drilling flashcards.

Few Japanese tutors can combine formal academic study with real teaching experience in Japan — Sophie has both. Her East Asian Studies work at Princeton included intensive Japanese language training, and she spent time teaching English in Japan, which gave her deep familiarity with how the two languages map onto (and diverge from) each other. She tackles everything from hiragana and katakana basics to particle usage and keigo politeness levels.

Having completed an Asian Languages minor at UCLA, Abrahim brings formal training in Japanese grammar, kanji acquisition, and reading comprehension to his tutoring. He approaches the language methodically — building from particle usage and verb conjugation patterns up to reading authentic texts — which works especially well for students who want structure rather than immersion-only learning.

As a native Japanese speaker who has also worked professionally as an interpreter, Sonya understands both languages from the inside — the particles, sentence-final expressions, and politeness shifts that sound natural versus textbook-stiff. Her bilingual preschool volunteering sharpened her ability to explain concepts at any level, from first encounters with hiragana to nuanced keigo distinctions that even intermediate learners struggle with.

I'm a student at Brown University with an eclectic set of interests. I am trilingual, analytical, and creative and look forward to tutoring you! :)