Dr. Yamamoto is a board-certified eye surgeon and fellowship trained medical retina specialist. She was born and raised in Tokyo and was exposed to eye care at an early age from her mother who is also an ophthalmologist. She came to the United States to attend Smith College in Massachusetts where she graduated with honors in Economics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She came to Hawaii where she has local ties to attend the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa. After receiving her M.D. degree in 2002, she went to Boston Medical Center for internship training in internal medicine. She remained in Boston to complete her ophthalmology residency at the prestigious New England Eye Center- Tufts University. During her residency, she enjoyed the opportunity to provide surgical care on a medical mission in Guatemala. In addition, she actively participated in several research projects resulting in publications and presentations at national meetings and was awarded the Charles J. Preefer Award for Research upon graduation. She then pursued specialized fellowship training in medical retina at the world-renowned Doheny Eye Institute. During her fellowship, she provided care for patients with retinal diseases such as diabetic eye disease, age-related macular degeneration, uveitis and hereditary retinal diseases.
She returned to Hawaii and started her private practice in 2010. She served as the chair of the ophthalmology department at Kuakini Hospital from 2012 to 2014.
She is from a family of ophthalmologists, including her grandfather, mother and husband. Outside of her work, she is busy raising two boys and enjoys playing flute, tennis and skiing.