Award-Winning Japanese Tutors
serving Olympia, WA

Having taught himself Japanese alongside his formal studies in public policy and education, James knows firsthand where English speakers get tripped up — especially with particles, basic verb conjugation, and the leap from hiragana to katakana. His education background means he's trained to spot where understanding breaks down and adjust his explanations on the fly, which is exactly what beginners need when nothing about Japanese grammar maps onto what they already know.

Sho teaches Japanese with attention to the details that trip up English speakers most — particle usage, verb conjugation groups, and the shift between casual and polite registers. Whether a student is learning hiragana for the first time or working through intermediate kanji and grammar patterns, he brings structured practice to a language that rewards consistency.

I'm a candidate for a B.S. in Business Administration at Northeastern University. In addition to tutoring, I enjoy playing the tuba and learning about transportation engineering/planning. I'm also fully Japanese and can read, write, and speak the language. As someone who scored 1530 on the SAT and 800 on the Math II subject test, I'd love to assist you in preparing for college!

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! :)

As an Asian Studies major at Duke, Caitlin engages with Japanese language in an academic context that goes beyond textbook dialogues — she understands how kanji, hiragana, and katakana each function within the writing system and why particles like は and が trip up English speakers. She walks through sentence structure and honorific levels with cultural context that makes the grammar patterns memorable.

I am studying Chemical Biology in UC Berkeley. One of my passions is Organic Chemistry, which I used to loath but now enjoys after taking a year of it. Also, because I like helping others, I enjoys tutoring/teaching students who are struggling. During high school, I have tutored other high students after school on various subjects such as Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Latin. During college, I have held informal review sessions for General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry for my underclassmen. I tutored my roommate and one of my underclassmen in Organic Chemistry. Finally, with a Graduate Student TA, I co-taught a Organic Chemistry Lab class section , where I answer questions regarding lab material and demonstrate lab techniques. Currently, I am interested in tutoring Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, and Calculus

Crystal minored in Japanese Language and Culture at Northern Kentucky University, so she brings both formal study and genuine cultural curiosity to teaching everything from kana writing to grammar fundamentals. Her day job as a K-12 reading and ESL instructor means she's trained to break down unfamiliar language structures for learners at any level — a skill that pays off when explaining Japanese concepts like sentence-final particles or basic verb tenses that have no English equivalent. Rated 5.0 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!

I would like to work with people who want to advance their Japanese knowledge and capabilities. I have lived for 18 years in Japan and can guide someone through the intricacies of the language. I have certified top level proficiency on the Japan Foundation Japanese Proficiency Test.

Most students stall in Japanese once they move past hiragana and katakana into kanji recognition and grammatical particles like は versus が. Wahala minors in Japanese at Indiana University Bloomington and treats the language as a system to decode — connecting sentence structure, verb conjugation patterns, and cultural context so that reading and conversation reinforce each other.

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.

Learning Japanese means juggling three writing systems, a grammar structure that's the reverse of English, and cultural nuances that change how you speak depending on who you're talking to. Natasha taught Japanese at the high school level and lived in Japan teaching in elementary schools, giving her the kind of practical fluency that makes hiragana drills, particle usage, and conversational practice feel grounded in real life. She's 5.0-rated and works with beginners through advanced learners.