Akiyoshi studied jazz in at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. In 1955, she wrote a letter to Lawrence Berk asking him to give her a chance to study at his school. After a year of wrangling with the State Department and Japanese officials, Berk was given permission for Akiyoshi to enroll. He offered her a full scholarship, and he mailed her a plane ticket to Boston. In January 1956, she became the first Japanese student at Berklee. Soon after, she appeared as a contestant on the 18 March 1956 broadcast of the CBS television panel show "What's My Line?". In 1998, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.