Akiko

Akiko's avatar'

speaks: Japanese

learns: English

likes: reading, travel, cooking, language learning, health, art, cinema, language exchanges, philosophy, music, history, tv shows, programming, movies

Akiko's avatar'

I live in Toyama, Japan. In winter it snows a lot and we have to dig our cars out of the snow. I was a single mother raising my only son. Now he is independent and lives in Tokyo. Later then, I have started to relearn English during the Covid lockdown period and also started playing guitar at the same time. I am a web engineer and working remotely for a company.

Toyama, Japan

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The Hardest Part Of The Move Is Over

In June, I suffered from heatstroke, then went to Nagoya on a business trip and caught a cold there just before my move. I've been so exhausted and sick that I haven't been able to think in English
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Jul 7 - 1 min. read

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#012 The Old Photographs

https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/doh3hyv4 I wonder what color the morning glory was.
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Jun 4 - 1 min. read

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I Found an Apartment!

An apartment that meets all my requirements has become available, so I’ve decided to take it. My main condition was that it had to be a corner unit—the most difficult type to find. That's what I have
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May 25 - 1 min. read

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I Gave It My All, But My Son Seemed Unimpressed

My daughter-in-law had always wanted to visit Toyama before I moved, so at the beginning of May, she and my son came and stayed at my apartment during Golden Week, which is a holiday period in Japan.
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May 22 - 1 min. read

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Map of a Blue City Listening Party

Today at 2 a.m. Japan Standard Time, I attended the listening party for my guitar hero Marc Ribot's new album on Bandcamp. The album is titled Map of a Blue City. Marc Ribot himself, along with
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May 19 - 1 min. read

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"Friends" by KOHH

Writing about danchi made me reflect on danchi culture. There’s a rich tradition of anime and manga set in danchi, and countless artists from danchi backgrounds have created amazing works. One of the
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May 16 - 2 min. read

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How I Started Drinking Matcha Regularly

I think almost everyone in Japan has tried matcha-flavored desserts or drinks, but I guess that about half of us have never actually tasted proper matcha. I was one of those people until about ten
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May 16 - 1 min. read

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Going Back To Danchi (Apartment Complex)

Are there massive apartment complexes in your country? In Japan, especially around large cities like Tokyo, there are a lot and they're called danchi. I'd been apartment-hunting in danchi and have
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May 13 - 1 min. read

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#011 Apartment-Hunting

That cherry tree was perfect — like something out of a Japanese painting, swaying in the wind. I wish I could watch it change with the seasons. https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/cy1lno58
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May 11 - 1 min. read

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It Took Me 36 Years To Realize It Was Just A Joke

I just watched Stranger Than Paradise on YouTube. Younger journalers may not have heard of this movie—it's from 1984 and was Jim Jarmusch's second film. Back then, it was all the rage. It came to
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Apr 26 - 1 min. read

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#010 Brixton

I booked a hotel in Brixton because I wanted to see two Placebo concerts in the area. It’s not in central London and I had to take the bus into the city center each time. But I really enjoyed riding
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Apr 22 - 1 min. read

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Apartment-Hunting

I'm currently apartment-hunting in Tokyo. My budget is quite small, so I’m exploring the western suburbs. Today, I saw one on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator. I’m used to being on the
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Apr 12 - 1 min. read

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"I Cried At An Udon Shop" by W.C.Karasu

W.C.Karasu, based in Toyama, is a popular musician throughout Japan. He debuted quite late, in his forties, and continues to work as a woodcutter alongside his music career. As a music lover living
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Apr 3 - 2 min. read

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Language Exchange Between Babies

I recalled an old memory while writing my previous post. I once visited a friend of mine with my son when he was six months old. My friend had a seven-month-old baby. At that time, my son only said
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Apr 1 - 1 min. read

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Children's Laughter and Voices

This weekend, I attended my monthly guitar practice meetup, and there’s so much I want to share with you. However, since it’s already late, I’m going to write about just one small thing. A friend of
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Mar 31 - 1 min. read

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Cloudy Heaven

I have a lot of favorite musicians, but Tenniscoats is undoubtedly a special one for me. Tenniscoats is a duo consisting of guitarist Ueno Takashi and vocalist Saya. Saya's vocals are my greatest
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Mar 26 - 1 min. read

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#009 The Tough Days Of February

I've uploaded my ninth episode! https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/vznlen83 Previously, I recorded sentence by sentence because it was difficult for me to pronounce the whole episode correctly.
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Mar 23 - 1 min. read

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My Dearest And Oldest Friend

I met up with my dearest and oldest friend last month, and today, I want to write about her. She and I first met as coworkers when I started working as a new graduate. We worked in the secretarial
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Mar 16 - 3 min. read

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#008 A Strange Festival At A Snowy Mountain Village

I've uploaded my eighth recording! https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/pnwdbbdd Uly gave me a lesson on the pronunciation of [r], and I can now pronounce it correctly when speaking word by word.
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Mar 12 - 1 min. read

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Cormorant Fishing

Have you ever heard of cormorant fishing? Well, in the midst of all my hustle and bustle, I feel like one of those cormorants. It's a traditional fishing technique whereby these skilled birds are
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Mar 1 - 1 min. read

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