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

- -
Recent Posts
Stats
headline image

#013 Map of a Blue City Listening Party

I've recorded one of my posts for the first time in a while! It seems that the cold I caught just before moving was apparently COVID, and I had been suffering from Long COVID for almost two months,
2
1
Sep 7 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Work, Life, Art

I live in a danchi in a rather inconvenient area, and there's no library nearby. However, a bookmobile visits our danchi every other week and brings an excellent selection of books. The person in
4
9
Sep 7 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

My Friend, Yoko

Today, I want to write about a friend of mine, Yoko. I met her at the butoh workshop I've mentioned several times in my posts. Our workshop and rehearsals were really intense, so at that time we saw
8
62
Aug 15 - 3 min. read

Read post

headline image

A Kind Older Lady

Although I mentioned I'd found an apartment in this post, the place I'm currently living in isn't the one with the view of the crape myrtle that I talked about before. On the first weekend after
10
25
Jul 31 - 2 min. read

Read post

headline image

日本の浴室について

前回の投稿では日本の一般的な入浴方法と、私の一風変わった入浴方法について紹介した。そこで私が shower holder と書いたのがウーリーに通じなくて、結局は写真を見せてやっと通じたんだ。見せた写真はこれ。通じなかった理由は、私はシャワーはホースの先についてるのが当たり前だと思っていたし、ウーリーは壁にくっついているのが当たり前だと思っていたからだと判明した
4
14
Jul 25 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

I'm the Ultimate Minimalist in the Bathroom

Although I used this move as an opportunity to get rid of a lot of my stuff, I wouldn't call myself a minimalist. However, I've unintentionally become the ultimate minimalist when it comes to my
6
43
Jul 23 - 2 min. read

Read post

headline image

A New Career In A New Town

In the comments on this post, via-chan worried about the heat when I moved, and I didn't expect it to be that bad. Actually, via-chan was right—Japan was incredibly hot from late June to early July,
4
27
Jul 16 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
8
12
Jul 7 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

#012 The Old Photographs

https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/doh3hyv4 I wonder what color the morning glory was.
6
11
Jun 4 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
9
42
May 25 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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.
7
18
May 22 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
6
17
May 19 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

"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
4
13
May 16 - 2 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
8
12
May 16 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
5
31
May 13 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

#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
3
10
May 11 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
9
18
Apr 26 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

#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
4
7
Apr 22 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

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
8
15
Apr 12 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

"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
9
23
Apr 3 - 2 min. read

Read post