Who is Walter SenseiI grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois, an area outside of Chicago that boasts a very high Japanese population. I started studying Japanese in Freshman year of college and immediately fell in love with the language. For my sophomore year, I did a year homestay and study abroad in Uji City, near Kyoto. This region is famous for flavorful green tea and rich history. After returning to America, I continued my Japanese studies and eventually got achieved a Bachelors of Arts in Japanese Language and Literature in 1991.
That same year, I returned to Japan to teach English in public schools in Osaka City. After three years, I moved to Kobe, just in time to get caught in Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Luckily, I survived the quake and was able to continue to live and work in Japan. It was at that time that I met my wife, Junko, and we married the following year. In January 2000, I came back to the US to work at an American company that had need for a liaison for their Japanese office in Tokyo. During my seven years there, I traveled frequently to their office in Aoyama. During my years in Japan, I learned Japanese martial arts such as Aikido, Iaido, and Kenjutsu. Upon returning to the US, I started to teach these arts at a local community center in St. Petersburg, Florida. Although, I have not had time to practice these arts since coming to Memphis, I hope to start these up sometime in the future. In addition to the above, I am an avid photographer, and I like to play guitar and ukulele. Additionally, I enjoy throwing pottery on a pottery wheel to make Japanese tea cups and teapots. |