Vol.12 NEW
Daisuke Kiyomiya

Daisuse became a sculptor after he got settled in New York. His apartment in Brooklyn looks like a museum; full of his art work and treasures that he found at flea markets.

In 1998, he came to the U.S. He enrolled at the Art Students League of New York in 1999 and studied sculpture. He has received several awards and grants: Nessa Cohen Memorial Grant,   A.T.Kearney Award,  Izumi Nishi Memorial Award,　Jane Gates Memorial Award,  Ise Award,  National Sculpture Society Scolarship、Alex J. Ettl Grant. He works as a restorer at the New York Public Library. www.daisukekiyomiya.com

Vol.11
Michika Mochizuki

Michika likes to welcome friends with her cooking. On this day many people gathered and shared her food and a happy time.

She is a photographer from Nagoya, Aichi prefecture. She came to the USA and lives in Brooklyn since December, 2002. She works for Japanese magazines: ELLE japon、Fujingaho, Kateigaho, 25ans, Sweet、Spring、Smart、Monomax、Glamorous、Precious、Domani、Oggi and many more.  She enjoys cooking and traveling. She visits places she has never been once a year. http://www.laura.jp/mi、http://www.michika.us

Vol.10
Ako Kumagai

Ms. Kumagai goes to her office in midtown with her special lunch, consisting mainly of brown rice and vegetables. This lunch fits her body condition. She recently began “kirie(paper cutouts)”as a meditation.

She is from Yokohama.
* Doctor of Naturopathy
* Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition
* Study in Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition
* International Association for Colon Hydro Therapy Certified Colon Therapist
* Global Institute of Alternative Medicine Certified Nutritional Consultant
* Member of National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP)
* Certified Iridology practitioner
info@bclink.net, www.bclink.net

Vol.9
Masami Sato

I Am a Beader and a Kitchen Table Artist!
A beader: devoted to beads work except for sleeping and eating, even while housekeeping. She does not feel exhaustion or sore shoulder while working on beads.
She began her married life in London. Four years later, in 1970 she moved to New York with her husband who is an artist. When she finished raising her children, she resumed her art career as a relief construction artist. She exhibited her artworks mainly at galleries in Soho. When she discovered bead art, she became a bead artist. Now she teaches bead craft in New York and in Japan. She is a board member of The Bead Society of Greater New York.

Vol.8
Yusuke Katsuki

All alone in his salon in Chelsea, he beats African drums and enjoys meditation time.
In 1988 he came to New York. After working at a Japanese hair salon and obtaining a green card, he started working for shows, magazines and advertisers as a freelancer. In 1995 he was married. In 1996 he went to France to work for 7 months and then returned to New York. He did hair styling for fashion magazines, for photo shoots for musicians’ portraits and for advertisements. In 2005, he opened his own hair salon in Chelsea. He gives workshops in Japan. http://hairppy.com

Vol.7
Yoichiro Yoda

I was born in 1972 in Takamatsu City where my mother grew up. I came back to New York when I was 3 months old. Since then, I have been living in New York. Thanks to the efforts of my mother and father, who forced me to go to Japanese weekend school I am now able to speak Japanese very well. During Junior High School, I became serious about becoming an artist. I went to Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art. Then I went to Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. After graduating with a BFA, I went to Queens College for my MFA degree. Currently, I am painting while I work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a security guard. In addition to that, I play music with my friends in my progressive metal band.

Vol.6
Sayoko Lale

Sayoko Lale is a Japanese belly dance artist based in New York and dances globally. She was a member of the Mishaal belly dance group from 2000 through 2005 in Japan, and then moved to the U.S.　She is an acknowledged belly dancer for her oriental style or fusion improv, and performs with various kinds of musicians in concert tours. She gives dance lessons in Japanese at Union Square. She is from Shiga prefecture and grew up in Tokyo. Her website is www.lalesayoko.com
Lale’s husband, Kenji Williams, is a multimedia artist, film maker, composer , violinist, and the director of the Bella Gaia project. See www.bellagaia.com

Vol.5
Hisoshi Kubo

Hiroshi Kubo was born in Tokyo, and grew up in Fukuoka. His hometown is now Saitama prefecture, where his parents live. Mr. Kubo participated in the recording of the debut album for a legendary rock band: Ankokutairiku Jagatara as a drummer in 1982. After the debut tour, he flew to the U.S. to study music. Mr. Kubo went to a language school, did music sessions, studied music at jazz mobile, and also worked at restaurants. He was married twice to American women who already had children. After his marriage, he quit all music activities and started working at a large Japanese company. Soon his own son was born. Mr. Kubo ended his 14-year marriage and resumed doing piano trio sessions. He also had a passion for ramen and studied at a ramen school in Sakaide, Kagawa prefecture. He started exploring ramen in pursuit of creating the best ramen that he could. Now, after he leaves work, he works at a bar as a ramen professional.

Vol.4
Ayano Ganaha

Ayano Ganaha was born in Okinawa. She was fascinated by the U.S. college education system and came to the U.S. to study after graduating from high school in 1997. She studied music therapy at University of Missouri. In the fourth year, she started to study fashion design, which she had been interested in since childhood, at the city college. She met a teacher, Ms. Lucus, who encouraged her to start her own design work. She started producing fashion shows with local artists from time to time. At the recommendation of Ms. Lucus, a graduate of FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), Ms. Ganaha flew to New York to take a night course about fashion event PR at FIT. Inspired by Mr. Berman and his passion for fashion event production, she moved to New York immediately after graduating from the college in Missouri. She studied about the basics of fashion show production and started her career in New York fashion week and other activities as a freelancer. Ms. Ganaha wants to produce spectacular shows as a fashion show producer and to work globally.

Vol.3
Yukie Fujimura

Yukie Fujimura came to New York in 1989 and worked at a Japanese company until 1998. She returned to Japan, but she was not able to find what she wanted to do there. She came back to New York in 2000 and started to run a flower shop: Cottage Garden. In 2007 she started teaching flower arrangement. Also she now does flower decoration at events as a freelancer. Out of her love for handcrafts and growing plants, she began making soap and hair care products. She started volunteer work at a community garden in Manhattan in 2009.

Vol.2
Minako Ishiyama

Minako Ishiyama graduated from Fukuoka University and came to the U.S. in 1984 to study ballet and modern dance. She met a man who ran a Japanese restaurant and married him. Through working dressed in kimono at the restaurant, she became fascinated by kimono and started a kimono life, not only wearing kimono but sewing her own juban (inner kimono) and casual kimono, making obi from her favorite fabrics. She started a business of doing kitsuke (putting onkimono) through word of mouth and now goes to kimono shows. Gradually, requests for kimono rental or kimono consultation have increased. Currently she is looking forward to going to Japan next year for Adults’Day, when she will help with

Vol.1
Yutaka Otsuka

Yutaka Otsuka is from Saitama City, Saitama prefecture. He came to the US to establish Noguchi Medical Institute in 1990, then establised LANE Exporting in 1992 to export Nike shoes to Japan. In 2000 he closed the business and started working for Anzen Driving School as a driving instructor. He establisjed Fuji Driving School in 2008.