Journalism will always be a part of who I am and in Sapporo I have kept my fingers on the keyboard contributing free lance articles to newspapers and magazines and writing a column for the largest newspaper in Hokkaido which ran over seven years. Because I was born in Minidoka Camp, when President Reagan signed the redress bill to give Japanese Americans compensation for their camp internment, this newspaper asked me to write a series of articles about my family's camp experience. My first book was "Welcome to Hokkaido: English Conversation for Homestay." It is a book of sentences for easy English conversation which families who host a guest from abroad can use to explain Hokkaido culture and customs.
I wrote "Creating the Sapporo Snow Festival Sculptures," because it always fascinated me how so much effort was put into the snow sculptures which were quickly destroyed in just a few hours the day after the festival ended. I wanted to research and tell the behind the scenes story--the planning, the building, the people, the resources. While I first envisioned the book to be a multicultural children's book, it has taken on another life--a souvenir book bought by visitors and by local residents who give them as gifts to friends and family abroad. It's rewarding to see my book travel the world introducing a major Sapporo event that is loved by its citizens.
My husband and I have raised a son and two daughters and we look forward to becoming grandparents for the first time next March."
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