Tomita was born on a military base in Okinawa, Japan, but grew up in Los Angeles. Her Japanese-American father was in an internment camp during World War II. He met her mother while stationed in Okinawa between the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Her mother was half-Japanese, half-Filipino (Ilocano), born in Manila and had emigrated to Okinawa after World War II. Her father became an LAPD officer upon returning to Los Angeles.