retiring as associate vice president of student services in 2006.

Naoko Ikeda displays one of the wishes from the Tanabata wishing tree.visitors to Japanese Village Plaza have hung their wishes on a bamboo tree.

Why would they come to Little Tokyo?The wishes that were removed from the tree in Japanese Village Plaza were collected by Ikeda and delivered to Higashi Honganji.Theyre looking for a taste of Japan.Donations of $1 were collected for each wish that was tied to the tree.

I wish for a happy future and for my family [to] continue to be happy and healthy.following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster caused by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Naoko Ikeda delivers the Tanabata tree wishes to Bishop Noriaki Ito at Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple.

I wish that my family can have a good life :).and forswear any form of allegiance to the emperor of Japan.

the couple returned to work by starting Ink and Burn.a unique name and story behind it.

working on the first three versions of AOLs instant messenger sound.Having fun with Japanese and English is who I am — a mixture of both.