Charasteristics {It seems that the Japanese attitude towards hard work in a high-tech society has not been adopted in the snowboarding sub-culture. The stressful society has lead into a situation in which snowboarding has provided an escape route out of the rat race. However, Japanese riders also know how to rip, they are light, smart and have dashing technical skills. Akiko is no exception. In any terrain she pulls off the most technical tricks, higher than others, and always calmly.};