Finding the right partner or even a partner in Japan can be downright frustrating! Have you wondered how some of our members found success? Curious about linguistic and cultural hurdles with a significant other and their family?
Join us for our Mentoring Moment’s Senpai Brunch on Sunday, July 8, with our senpais — FEW Strategic Partner Director, Bianca Himmelsbach, Gizem Sakamaki of Foodie Tours Japan, Cher Mori of Japan Cat Network — who will share their own unique experiences with cross-cultural dating and married life. This will be an intimate group of up to 8 FEW members only. Members of all sexual orientations are welcome.
More information on our featured experts coming soon!
Some topics our speakers will focus on include :
– Language/ cultural barriers
– Definitions of family/ gender roles or expectations
– Common laws
– Challenges and/or benefits
– Sharing fun stories!
About Our Mentors
Bianca Himmelsbach
Bianca Himmeslbach is a German national and long-term resident of Japan, living with her husband in Eastern Tokyo. She has a background in international marketing and has been member of FEW Japan for a few years, currently supporting the organization as Strategic Partners Director.
Gizem Sakamaki is a Turkish-German, who has been living in Japan since 2015. She fell in love with Japan and its culture after one year of working and traveling. She met her Japanese husband during that year at her first job at a ski resort in the mountains of Yuzawa, an onsen town in Niigata prefecture. The couple bonded over their mutual love for Hard Rock and snowboarding. The mixed-cultural couple have been married for 3 years and are currently living in Saitama Prefecture with their Chihuahua-Shizu mix “Shiro”. 
Originally from the USA, Cher Mori came to Japan for sushi with plans to just stay a year or so to pay off MBA school loans and then life, love, marriage, motherhood, and animal rescue work changed her plans for the better. She went from a small countryside Tochigi town to big city Tokyo and met her “brown shoes” man for a friendly date/ salsa dancing in Roppongi… It all started because of a spark on the dancefloor, fast forward 12 years living in Japan and married for 9 years, she will be the first to say, “she didn’t imagine life working out this way”.. Now navigating elementary school and finding balance for family vs self is where the challenge is.About Mentoring Moments
FEW Mentoring Moments Senpai Dinners and Brunches are part of a series exclusively for FEW members to ask questions to our FEW member experts regarding featured personal and professional topics. The event takes place every other month of the FEW year and provides FEW member mentors (“Senpai”) with the opportunity to share their knowledge or expertise in a given area with fellow members as a way of giving back to the community.