children’s
WORLD
Megumi has over 20 years of experience in the ECE field in both Canada and Japan. she values her learning and experiences with children and having a good time. She also hopes to share in the joy of the children’s growth together with their parents.
Megumi likes hiking, easy DIY, collecting children’s books, natural dyeing, tea ceremony and driving.
Mitsuru has been working at Children’s World for last 23 years with pride and joy. She has been inspired by children’s imaginations since she began teaching in Japan. She values each child’s sense of creativity and unique abilities.
Mitsuru loves to garden and watch medical dramas. She also loved to read medical stories from the point of the perspective of the doctor.
Natalie has been working with children since 2019 and started working at Children’s World in the summer of 2020. She is a certified Early Childhood Educator and Special Needs Educator. Before pursuing her career in child care, she worked in a range of different industries which helped build upon her interpersonal skills, workflow, creativity, and teamwork skills. She believes every child is unique and it’s important to learn their individual needs.
Natalie enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Her hobbies include watching movies, reading, and crocheting.
Akiko has experience in family drop-in and child minding within family centres and neighbourhood houses, including strong start for 2 years, ready, set, learn, and a mother goose program. She has been working at Children’s World for 10 years and am currently taking the ECE certificate course. By going back to school, she’s learning useful, current methods and theories to apply to her real-life work. Akiko loves to support children’s learning and development.
She likes to observe different kinds of gems, minerals, and stones.
Miyuki tries to provide childcare that allows children to have fun and enjoy in their activities without worries, improve their self-esteem and consideration for others.
Miyuki likes to bake, garden, and watch sports.
Mika worked as a kindergarten teacher in Japan for 7 years. She would like to use the experience I gained there while enjoying time spent with children while incorporating Japanese culture.
Mika likes to do her nails, explore new cafes, and eat good food.
Early Childhood EducatorOn Leave
Ryoko has 10 years of childcare experience as an ECE in Japan, Bolivia, and Spain. She joined Children’s World in March 2022 and has since learned a lot from both the children and her colleagues. She aims to be an educator who empathizes with the children, listens to the children’s voices, and helps them enjoy and relax while at Children’s World.
Ryoko likes playing musical instruments, baking, and learning English and Spanish.
Miyuki has a Junior and high school teacher’s license. She started Japanese classical dance at the age of five and has performed as accredited master. She would like her students to learn the Japanese language and culture as well as etiquette – she tries to include those elements into her classes so that students can experience them while having fun.
Miyuki has an 8th Dan in hard brush and plays Koto. She has a loud voice. Before the pandemic, she used to do hot yoga 5 times a week at yoga studio but now she enjoys it at home every day.
JAPANESE
LANGUAGE SCHOOL
Principal
Kotoe Hisata began working with kindergarten children at VJLS-JH in 2004 and has been an employee here since 2007.
In her personal life, she raised three children as Japanese-Canadians, and now she is dedicated to helping her two grandchildren learn Japanese culture and language, as well.
At VJLS, she especially enjoys conversations with students, parents, and staff, and for her, these relationships have become an essential part of her life.
Kiyoko Fujii contributes to VJLS through her many years of experience in teaching Japanese to learners of all ages in Japan, the U.S., France, and Canada. She excels at clear grammatical analysis and phonetic instruction. She is the former principal of VJLS. She holds a Japanese language teaching certificate and she is also certified as a Japan Vocal Reading Association Dyslexia assessor.
In her free time, Kiyoko enjoys dancing and learning Chinese.
Licensed to teach junior high and high school, Naoko Naito has 12 years experience planning and editing magazines in Japan and has been working for a Japanese newspaper company in Canada for many years. It’s been 20 years since she started teaching Japanese for all ages from children to adult at VJLS.
In her free time, she likes to collect general education information. She enjoys watching figure skating and cooking for people. She is also interested in writing tanka, haiku, and poetry. She has a 5th Dan in calligraphy and belongs to a chorus group.
Ayumi Sugita is a certified kindergarten and daycare teacher, and has been working with children for 20 years in Japan, U.S., and Canada. She aims to provide enriching classes by incorporating a lot of traditional Japanese culture.
Ayumi likes swimming and baking sweets. She also likes making crafts and thinking ctaft ideas for each of the four seasons.
Keigo Miyazawa aims to create a welcoming classroom environment so that students can enjoy learning and have a great experience.
He is a big fan of Japanese samurai-era history. His favourite samurai is Sanada Masayuki from his home prefecture Nagano. He also likes comedy.
Hazuki Mizobuchi had worked as a teacher in an elementary school for four years after studying special education at a Japanese University of Education. She values personalized education for each student, providing an environment where everyone can have meaningful experiences through group activities.
Hazuki likes playing volleyball, watching anime, and enjoying seasonal cooking and events.
Japanese Teacher
Chinatsu Ikeda holds a teaching license for junior high school. She has experience working as a sales administrative assistant in Japan. After moving to Vancouver, she volunteered with organizations that support school communities. She is committed to creating engaging classes that students will look forward to attending and enjoy. Chinatsu is also eager to learn from the senior teachers at VJLS.
Chinatsu enjoys reading books and traveling. She is a big fan of Anne of Green Gables and hopes to visit Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada, where the story is set.
Akira Saito studied Plant Biology at UBC. He hopes that he can help students feel more welcome in the classroom.
He has played the trombone for 12 years and plays music in a marching band. He also sang in an a cappella group at UBC for 4 years. Akira’s favourite food is bánh mì. He enjoys playing board games and reading books about history in his spare time.
Rino Haneda previously worked in Japan as an automobile salesperson and a recruitment officer for three years. She is a licensed secondary school teacher, and is currently studying Japanese Language Education. She values the learning experiences of her students; always striving to make learning fun and create an enjoyable classroom environment.
Rino practices kickboxing as a hobby.
Japanese Teacher
Yoko Katsuki worked for 50 years in Japan as a university faculty member at a teacher training institution for childcare workers, kindergarten, and elementary school teachers. Over the years, she has contributed to early childhood education in various roles, including as the principal of a university-affiliated kindergarten and as a lecturer for teacher license renewal courses. Believing strongly in the importance of education for children, she was also involved in building elementary schools in Myanmar through an NGO.
She holds a teaching license for junior high and high school education.
Yoko enjoys traveling, sewing, exploring different cuisines, attending concerts, and watching Rakugo performances. She is currently juggling the care of her three grandchildren.
Japanese Teacher
Yukina Fujiwara holds teaching licenses for junior and senior high schools in Japan, and since graduating from college in Canada, she has been running a Japanese language school from her home. As a Japanese language teacher, she aims to create a classroom where students can learn in a fun environment, respecting their individual strengths and interests.
After winning a gold medal at the NHK National School Music Competition, a choral competition, she took up singing as one of her hobbies.
Japanese Teacher
Yuka Hoshi holds a Japanese elementary school teaching license and has experience teaching in Japan. She is currently involved in education in Canada, aiming to create international learning environments that respect each child’s individuality while sharing Japanese culture and values.
Her hobbies include yoga and visiting cafés. She played volleyball through university and continues to enjoy playing on grass, beach, and indoor courts in Canada on weekends.
Japanese Teacher
Ayumu Hatakeyama studied elementary education at university and obtained a teaching license for elementary schools. He taught at a private cram school in Japan for four years. He values the individuality of each student and strives to create lessons that allow them to experience the joy of learning and a sense of accomplishment.
His hobbies are watching sports and movies.
Japanese Teacher
Japanese Teacher
Japanese Teacher
Japanese Teacher
Junko Wruck draws on her experience in the Japanese community and as a study-abroad agent to teach Japanese language and culture in an engaging, practical way. She believes that “language has the power to expand your world” and tailors lessons to each learner’s goals.
In her free time, she enjoys dancing and reading.
Japanese Teacher
In Japan, Risaki Sawada works as a child guidance counselor at an after-school day care center.
As a student, she volunteered teaching Japanese to foreigners. She enjoys the reward of seeing language learners live richer and more enjoyable lives through the joys of cultural exchange and the Japanese language.
She aims to create an environment where children can have fun and feel safe.
Japanese Teacher
Arisa Irimura holds junior and senior high school teaching licenses and previously worked as a financial counter clerk in Japan for six years.
She values providing personalized learning support for each student and strives to apply the knowledge and skills gained from experienced colleagues to her teaching.
In her free time, she enjoys watching dramas and traveling.
Eri Hato has been teaching Japanese to students from diverse cultural backgrounds in Canada for ten years. With her ongoing interest in teaching, she is currently pursuing studies in education around themes of belonging and inclusive education. She aspires to impart a positive impact on both her students and the community.
In her spare time, Eri enjoys walking, bird watching, and calligraphy.
Keiko Koizumi specializes in sociology and enjoys research and data analysis. When she started teaching Japanese at university in Canada, she obtained a certificate of Teaching in Higher Education, where she studied curriculum, evaluation methods, and syllabus development.
She likes skiing, skating, and listening to J-pop. She also designs containers for gardens.
Hayato Sakamoto has many years of experience teaching Japanese to adults. His goal is to make classes understandable and enjoyable for all learners.
He likes cooking, yoga and listening to music. Hayato especially enjoys Showa era songs and is also interested in history.
Yuki completed her major in Japanese language education at university. She used to work in the academic curriculum department at a Japanese language school in Tokyo.
In Canada, Yuki teaches 0-level beginner to advanced classes, mainly for adults. She teaches Japanese in a wide range of ways, such as conversation practice and JLPT exam preparation. She is also a Kanji and Kana Calligraphy Skill Test Master license holder. Her hobbies are reading manga and playing games. She also has two lovely cats.
Japanese Teacher On Leave
Beginning as a part-time worker for elementary students when she was a university student in Japan, Noriko obtained her elementary school teacher’s license and has been teaching for many years. She would like to motivate children to learn Japanese through creating fun classes.
Noriko enjoys finding exciting things for her two sons.
MANAGEMENT
STAFF
Luke Chuang joined VJLS-JH in June of 2018. As Facilities Manager, he is responsible for building related maintenance and projects, rentals and health & safety concerns.
Luke plays badminton regularly on weekday evenings. He enjoys playing board games with friends on weekends and during the holidays. He’s not a big fan of outdoor activities, but still likes to go hiking in summer when it’s nice out.
Introduction to come
Keiko Kaneko has been working in the accounting field since 2020. She is very happy to help people who are interested in Japan and Japanese culture and to support the Vancouver Downtown Eastside community.
On her days off, she spends time relaxing on the beach and hanging out with her family and friends.
Kazuko Iwata has eight years of experience working in the accounting department of a construction company in Japan. Since December 2023, she has been working at VJLS-JH, where she is responsible for handling payments.
Her favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and cats. On her days off, she enjoys knitting and sewing.
Sabina Iseli-Otto helps with English-language office tasks and grant-funded projects. Before coming to VJLS-JH, she worked as a librarian and as an artist’s office manager.
She is originally from Alberta and likes talking about geography and weather. Her hobbies are looking for mushrooms and spending time with dogs and children.
Misaki Nishimura joined VJLS-JH in September 2024 as a Japanese Teacher. Since March 2025, she has been working as Project Coordinator and Research Assistant under the leadership of Laura and Debra Saimoto, preparing for the launch of an Interpretive Centre at VJLS-JH in the fall of 2026. Her research and many contributions to the project will be shared with all those interested in Japanese Canadian history and who will visit the future Interpretive Centre.
She enjoys karaoke, movies, picnics, travel, cooking takoyaki, and hair-styling.
Yoshi Sugiyama came from Japan in 1996. His twin sons attended VJLS-JH for many years, beginning with the toddler program and ending with one son’s graduation from VJLS Grade 12 in 2023.
He served as a member of the VJLS-JH board of directors from March 2021 to June 2023 when he was assigned to become General Manager.
Before working at the school, he was an organic market gardener with an interest in growing Japanese vegetable varieties. Prior to farming, he worked for several Vancouver firms as a structural engineering technician.