Shizuka Arakawa Shizuka Arakawa Arakawa retired from competitive skating following her Olympic win and began skating professionally in ice shows and exhibitions. She also works as a skating sportscaster for Japanese television. Arakawa was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, and grew up in Sendai and its suburbs. She is the only child of Koichi and Sachi Arakawa and was named Shizuka after Shizuka Gozen. In March 2000, Arakawa enrolled at Waseda University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in social sciences in 2004, while still competing as a skater. She won the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships days after completing her graduation
Aomori (city) Aomori (city) Aomori is located in central Aomori Prefecture, on a plain between the southern end of Aomori Bay, which it faces to the north and the Hakkōda Mountains to the south. Among other smaller rivers, the city has two large rivers flowing through it, the Komagome River and its tributary, the Arakawa River. Like most of Tōhoku, Aomori has a humid temperate climate with hot summers, and cold, though not extreme, winters. The city has a humid continental climate (Köppen "Dfa") using 0 degree isotherm, with monthly averages ranging from in January to in August. Aomori and its surrounding