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

#007 "Heat Shimmer" By Fujifabric

I've chosen the seventh episode from my recent posts. I find that words connected to emotions are easy to memorize, and I think this method of learning really suits me. I'm using the Repete Plus app
2
2
Feb 22 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

A Strange Festival At A Snowy Mountain Village

This is a story from nine years ago. I tried to research this festival to write this post, but I couldn't find anything. I've already forgotten the exact location and the name of the village. The
5
44
Feb 14 - 3 min. read

Read post

headline image

#006 The Same Guitar Strings That Elliott Used

The sixth episode is also about music. https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/ndrsapcc I have to read it aloud a lot of times, so I always choose posts that I enjoy reading. That's why I frequently
5
4
Feb 11 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

"Heat Shimmer" By Fujifabric

I read a young Journaler's post about Japanese rock, which prompted me to write this post. I'd like to talk about Fujifabric, a band from the 2000s. Shimura, the former frontman, passed away at the
11
21
Feb 8 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Midwinter

This morning, I had to go to the Driver's License Center, so I got up early and shoveled the snow from around my car. I don't know much about the driver's license system outside of Japan, but we
5
30
Feb 4 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

#005 My Favorite Korean Artist

I've uploaded my fifth recording. https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/kctqvimr I recorded this post just after writing it as well. At that time I was completely worn out and even experienced jaw
3
2
Feb 3 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

A Ramen Shop

I haven't been to a ramen shop alone for several years because ramen has too many carbs for me. However, during my son's stay last month, we went to this ramen shop together for the first time in a
9
15
Feb 2 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

A Preconception Of Having No Preconceptions

Most of what Uly teaches me isn't individual word pronunciation but phrasing. However, there were a few words he pointed out that I didn't pronounce correctly. One of them was photo. I didn't know
13
9
Jan 30 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

#004 My All-Time Guitar Idol

I've decided to record some of my past, well-written posts. This is the first try. https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/jogtbqoj I enjoyed repeating after Uly's flawless recording. Thank you as
4
7
Jan 29 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Pronunciation and Phrasing Influence The Four Language Skills

I haven't written any posts lately because I've been focusing on improving my pronunciation and phrasing. Needless to say, practicing them improves your speaking skills. Also, as Uly said to me, it
6
11
Jan 28 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

#003 Mochi Is Deadly Weapon

I've uploaded the third episode. https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/xtfvfhn0 Uly helped me again. I understood all of theories he explained, but some of them are difficult for me to pronounce in
6
12
Jan 17 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

My Blowout With My Son

I'm planning to move to Tokyo in the middle of this year and have started to drastically cull my things. I made my son come home to help me declutter my apartment. I even paid for him to take the
5
21
Jan 13 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

My After School Hours

Starting this year, I'm going to be working six hours a day. Of course, I'm going to take a pay cut, and I'll no longer get bonuses, but I'm satisfied with my decision. I'll be working nine to four
5
10
Jan 9 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

More About Mochi

I want to add a few details to my brief post about mochi that I made before. To begin with, mochi is made from a different type of rice from what we eat every day. It's more pricey and has a stronger
2
13
Jan 8 - 2 min. read

Read post

headline image

#002 I've Started A Podcast

https://listen.style/p/paperandguitar/qvyicqxf I've uploaded my second recording. Uly helped me a lot with my pronunciation. Big thank you, Uly! I left this for my record even though I couldn't
7
5
Jan 6 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Mochi Is Deadly Weapon

This year, I skipped most of the New Year's traditions, but the one thing I couldn't do without was mochi. If I don't have mochi on New Year's day, it just doesn't feel like New Year's. Things were
6
24
Jan 3 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

I've Started A Podcast

I've been evaluating both my guitar practice and English study strategies, and I've started a podcast. Having said that, there will only be recordings of me reading my Journaly posts aloud. For a
11
14
Dec 27 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Stage Fright

Last night, I attended an amateur musician's year-end party and performed a cover of an Elliot Smith song. I believed I'd overcome my stage fright when I was able to give my all in a dance recital,
6
23
Dec 22 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Lactose Intolerance

I recently had a stomachache. I'd always assumed my stomach was weak because it hurt regularly when I was little. As an adult, I've rarely had abdominal pain, so I forgot about it. This last one took
7
31
Dec 13 - 1 min. read

Read post

headline image

Guitar As A Lover

Quite a few guitarists treat their guitar like a lover. When you play the guitar, you hold it tight. It's portable, and you can go anywhere with it. That's how it differs from a piano, which I
7
9
Dec 11 - 1 min. read

Read post