Akiko was born and raised in Tokyo. Upon graduation from Waseda University in '91, she founded a Tokyo based corporation and initially provided communication training to foreign capital corporations such as Sumitomo 3M and GE Yokokawa Medical Systems. Her company later expanded into Japan market entry consultation and helped mainly North American companies. Akiko lived in a suburb of Boston, upstate (mid-Hudson valley area) NY, Wilmington, NC, and of course,Tokyo before moving to Columbus due to her husband's relocation.Upon arrival to Columbus in 2010, Akiko started a real estate investment company and a liaison service company connecting international students with American host families. She became a real estate agent in 2011. Akiko loves traveling the world and took her first son, Calder, to 13 different countries including Cambodia, Turkey, Austria etc… by the time he turned one!!. She happily lives in Clintonville with her husband, two sons, international exchange students, and a cat.