I TAKE COVID PRECAUTIONS SERIOUSLY(lost my besties to it) SO WILL NOT HOST FOR A WHILE.

I was born and raised in Tokyo/Yokohama Bay Area of Japan (meaning that I speak smelly-delicious Japanese by choice), lived in New York (so I picked smelly-delicious tongues from my friends), and San Francisco Bay Area(so I have some little situated knowledge around identity politics), now migrated to Sapporo, Hokkaido (so I am tip-toeing around the gentle subtle somethings like a foreign person).
I am a translator/interpreter, personal assistant, an assistant program director at a Sapporo-based artist in residency program (S-AIR), Japanese language teacher (certified), and work on many random projects (monitoring radiation in food, organizing programs for formerly incarcerated youth, illustrate, garden, feeding my menstrual blood to crows) I had been a roadie, a voice actress, a rape crisis counselor, a KFC cashier and many, but now I am just a person who is both chill and high-energetic about whatever (I am less energetic in the winter, though).

I know by heart (and by those who educate me daily) that the world is tough and full of love and happiness. Being comfortable and happy are nice, but to be free is what we need to struggle for. 
I am enough judgemental in my own ways, but I always seek to balance with my respect and fondness to others and my irresistible silliness. I am omnivorously curious, but I am content when I sit down with a good cup of coffee and a notepad (oh well, that´s already a lot). Oh, I am a hardcore beach bum.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I realize that I need to say this aloud that I would love to support unlikely surfers.
80％ of the surfers whom i met are fit, young, able-bodied, middle class, privileged, white(btw, being Japanese in Japan contains similar set of invisible baggage), cis, heterosexual, male socialized people who claim their adventures for granted. Or invisible male partners whose requests and emotional works are on shoulders of their girlfriends. I’m not saying that you should feel embarrassed about your privileges. But as another privileged one who get to do a lot, I just hope that we use our resources to the fullest to shift dynamics that are not really serving us.
Needless to say, if you were not a type-A surfer, I’m glad you’re out there.

Interests

- cartooning
- making my plan Bs my primary options 
- sudden dancing, sudden singing 
- learning to put my clothes on, and I am terrible at it! 
- engage in conversation with strangers (and I do this wether I am traveling or walking around my neighborhood) 
- making love to the Ocean and tanning
- surfing
- tiny-ass hiking that you would laugh at
- little bit of stretching and possibly acroyoga 
- observing cars on street (I call cars "babes," and yes I know it's horrible!) 
- soundscaping 
- Hanafuda, pictionary and other games 


• festivals
• dancing
• cooking
• meditation
• gardening
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• surfing
• skateboarding
• gymnastics
• languages
• ocean
• feminism
• queer
• acroyoga
• community
• disability
• disability rights
• decolonization
• acrobatics
• brazilian jiu jitsu
• going to the beach
• zero waste
• intersectional feminism
• soundscaping
• immigrant rights

Music, Movies, and Books

Hard to tell. I love mediocre music that everybody knows. I’m not too interested in talking about music.

I’ve seen so far somewhat around 6000 movies. I’m not that interested in talking about movies either, but I love watching movies.

I’m not an avid reader, but I love reading what my friends have written or expressed. I seem to like topics that I find relevant to the community growth. Spoken words are important to me.
My favorite includes: Mimei Ogawa, Ango Sakaguchi, Takeshi Motai, Mitsumasa Anno, Shi-Jong Kim, Leslie Marmon Silko, Carrot Quinn, Yayori Matsui, Chimamanda Adichie, Tich Nat Hanh, Achille Mbembe, "Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities of the Successful Organizer" by Eric Mann, "Undoing the Silence" by Louise Dunlap, Richard Wright, bell hooks, Angela Davis, Frantz Fanon, ah...basics.

I watch a lot of YouTube videos for the same reason.

My favorite artists include: Allison Akootchook Warden (AKU-MATU), Ana Mendieta, Marina Abramovich, Takeshi Motai, Yasuo Kazuki, Niko Pirosmani, and Chikako Yamashiro.
I love women wrestlers from early 1990s Japan, Joshi-pro, particularly those from Zenjo....ah...well, actually only Akira Hokuto whom I love. I love her so very much so my alarm clock is her entrance theme by Luis Miguel!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Not really done.

....oh wait, a quite few people shared their stories of sleeping with couch surfers or with hosts, and asked me if I ever had sex with my guests or with my hosts. The truth is that I had never been asked for sex, and I never had sex with them. I do not think it is particularly sad, but I find it helpful that way because I do not want to take advantage of other people who need a place to rest. This is because 1) I rarely spend time with couch surfers simply because I am a full-time student and juggle jobs, 2) we become comrades in life than those ideally mysterious sexual interests of each other, 3) I just don't find the CS setting sexy. If you find me attractive (I had not thought about the possibility, to be hones), let me know so I will find you another couch to surf, and then we'll discuss about what to do mutually. I really dislike landsliding into sexual intimacy because of alcohol or because we share housing. Am I clear?

Teach, Learn, Share

TEACH
- Japanese because I studied to beome a Japanese language teacher (I have been working as an interpreter/translator for 10 years, but increasingly I desire to equip others with the language skill so we all can fight against racism in Japan, why not?). I mastered 4 different dialects in Japan: The normal (Tokyo? Highly doubtful), the redneck (Ibaraki, my mother's from there), the awkward(somehow they use past tenses to be respectful in Hokkaido), and the nasty (Yokohama-Kawasaki, the bitchy talk back culture to wet your diapers!)
- Bon dancing (Japanese version of Halloween requires dancing. I can do some famous moves in Tokyo-Kanto area, Gifu, Hachijo-jima, and Hokkaido.)
- Post-1945 political shifts for women (Just don't ask me about Samurais or to do origami, okay?)
- Disabled people's independent living movement in Hokkaido
- Post 1919 queer narratives in Japan (I am passing on stories of my grandma's and my parents' along with mine)
- Nuclear culture in Japan, Western US, and North India

LEARN
- waste and garbage (I am interested in how individuals and communities make decisions about their waste).
- cooking (I moved 31 times in my life and have always been amazed by how people cook and eat, if you like cooking, we can cook together)
- drawing (I assign myself to draw a lot more, and if you like to be my model or love to draw together, that's good)
- dance (unfortunately Sapporo is only huge on house music...but still I need to dance everywhere)

SHARE
- kitchen, the common room (unless I work there...), garden

What I Can Share with Hosts

- I clean after myself and do extra errands.
- I can teach you bon dancing.
- I can teach you Japanese. Wanna prep for N1-N5? Get your textbooks to me! Want me to proofread your resume? Sure, why not?
- I can sing the background so you can use my throat as karaoke.
- If you have mediocre chores (like returning books to the library or documenting something at city hall and you know that would be boring if you were alone), I am a professional attendant, so I would accompany you with a joy. Or just let me do it when it is not too risky.
- If you were a shy person and somehow you were waiting for your debut to do somethings that requires social skills (e.g. dancing or passing flyers, things that might be shameful or embarrassing), I can totally be the first piggy to be burnt in the hell. I am shameless but very sympathetic!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, China, Cuba, France, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States