[Self-Introduction] Celebrating 4 years on note, I wrote a profile for the first time

[Self-Introduction]

✳︎Name

Kaori Sanno (Sanno Kaori) I would like to be called by my first name on note, so I go by "
Kaori". You are welcome to refer to me as either "Kaori" or "Kaori" (in Japanese).I have been linking to my official website and introducing my signed articles for a long time, so I have no desire to remain anonymous at all.
※I am writing this out of concern, but if you are aiming to be a professional writer and want to use note as a portfolio, I think you should properly introduce your real name (or pen name). It increases your credibility.

By the way, Kaori Sanno is also a pen name. Or rather, my husband's surname has many strokes and I don't really like it (lol), and this one is easier to remember, so I'm just using my maiden name. (※My invoice registration is under my real name, so it won't show up in searches.)

✳︎Where I live and family structure

I was born and raised in Osaka Prefecture. Even though it's Osaka, it's close to Kyoto, so I often go to Kyoto for fun.

I built a small house on a mountain and live happily with my husband.
My husband is 10 years younger than me and works as a Web director at a marketing and advertising production company. Well, he's a middle manager. When we met, he called himself a copywriter.

And now, he has launched a craft beer company and serves as its representative.

My parents are both alive and well. They still live in the same housing complex where I was born and raised, a 25-minute walk from my house. Both of them are from Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.
Also, my sister, who is good at baking, is in Shiga, and my high-spec niece is in Tokyo. My family also appears in my articles from time to time.

✳︎Biography and Occupation

I graduated from local elementary and junior high schools and a public high school in Osaka Prefecture. I attended Nara Women's University, Faculty of Letters, a national university. I was in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, and my specialty was medieval (Heian to Kamakura period) Buddhist tales.

I wanted to be a writer, so I never job-hunted while in school. After graduating, I became a freelance writer while working part-time as a cram school teacher, which I had been doing since my university days. And, thanks to personal connections and good luck, I have managed to make a living as a sole proprietor by writing.

If you are interested in the details of that, please read this article below.

I started working as a writer in 1996, so as of 2025, I have 29 years of experience as a writer.
When I started, the profession of "Web writer" didn't exist, so I still have some resistance to using this term, but to distinguish it, I would say I am an "interview writer".
I have never done work for so-called SEO articles, summary articles, or Web articles written based on my own knowledge and experience.
Basically, I conduct interviews and write articles.

▼Articles related to my work as a writer are summarized in this magazine.

※Details such as my achievements are introduced on my official website and under "Work Requests".

✳︎Hobbies and things I like

<Camping/Travel>
I have 9 years of camping experience. I used to spend 30 days a year outdoors. I don't just go nearby; I've always loved traveling, so I used to travel while camping.
I've loaded camping gear into my car and traveled to distant places by ferry, including Hokkaido, the foot of Mt. Fuji, a tour around Shikoku, Shimane, Okayama, Mie, Gifu, and Kyushu. In Hokkaido, I've gone as far as eastern Hokkaido and Wakkanai, and I've camped at the foot of Mt. Fuji alone four times.

▼Stories about camping are summarized in this magazine.

I've loved traveling since I was young, and I had many business trips for interviews, so I have been to all 47 prefectures. I especially love Tohoku! Aomori and Akita are the best.

As for overseas, when I was 20, I crossed Canada from the west coast to Prince Edward Island in the east. Besides that, I've been to Spain and crossed the Mediterranean to Morocco. I've been to the US twice, to Chicago and Houston, and to Singapore and Bintan Island in Indonesia on the way. The last time I went abroad was to Cambodia in 2019. Due to the recurrence of my cancer and the COVID-19 pandemic, I haven't been abroad since then.

Recently, I enjoy staying at luxury hot spring inns two or three times a year.

<Making snacks for drinks>
I like cooking, or rather, making snacks to go with drinks. I pride myself on being quite good at making snacks for drinks.
I have an unusual love for looking at cookbooks, and I can look at them endlessly. I once looked at them for seven hours straight. My head is packed with recipes.

<Sake>
The only qualification I have is Kikisakeshi (Sake Sommelier), but I sometimes call myself a "Sake writer". I have been in charge of interviews and writing for the industry magazine "Sakagura Manryu" for 10 years since its inaugural issue in 2014. Including private visits, I have visited about 120 sake breweries. (Over 100 of those were for interviews.)

At home, I have a refrigerator dedicated to sake, and I think I have about 50 sake vessels such as guinomi and ochoko.

Sake is my favorite, but I basically drink everything, including beer, wine, and whiskey. I'm not very good with shochu or cocktails.

▼ My stories about alcohol are compiled in this magazine.

<Reading Novels>
The number of books I read fluctuates, but I suppose it averages about five a month. When I'm in the mood, I read more than ten.
My favorite author is Lucy Maud Montgomery, who holds the undisputed number one spot.
That is why I went all the way to Prince Edward Island in Canada during my student days.

Authors I loved and read often when I was young include Haruki Murakami, Yasunari Kawabata, Teru Miyamoto, Kotaro Sawaki, Moe Sagisawa, Takako Sato, Sawako Ariyoshi, and Kotaro Isaka. (I still love them all, though.)

Since I majored in literature, I read most of the representative works listed in so-called "literary history" during my university years. For example, authors like Osamu Dazai, Natsume Soseki, Junichiro Tanizaki, Naoya Shiga, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and Tatsuo Hori. Internationally, authors like Dickens, Pearl Buck, Maupassant, Rilke, Tolstoy, Sagan, and Hemingway. Looking back now, I think I was just a literature snob.
Now that I'm older, I'd like to read them all over again.

Currently, I like Shuichi Yoshida and Michiko Aoyama. I also often read works by Maha Harada and Keigo Higashino, and I generally read popular novels, such as those nominated for the Japan Booksellers' Award.

▼ I have compiled my thoughts on books I've read recently in this magazine.

I'm not a fan of essays or practical guidebooks. I almost never read them. As for books on how to improve your writing, I don't so much avoid them as I dislike them.
Among them, this book by Fumitake Koga below is my bible.

<I Love Manga>
I read a lot of manga for my age, too. I probably have about 1,000 volumes at home.
Since I have the heart of a boy, I like Shonen Jump-style manga. Even if it's not that, I read more manga aimed at men (boys) than those aimed at women.

The series I am currently buying volumes for include
ONE PIECE, Hunter×Hunter, Kingdom, Space Brothers, Blue Giant, Giant Killing, Ao Ashi, Detective Conan, Skip and Loafer, Do Not Say Mystery, and Sake to Koi ni wa Yotte Shikarubeki, among others.
I've also watched all the popular ones like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Revengers, Attack on Titan, and My Hero Academia through anime or manga.
I love Takehiko Inoue, and I own all volumes of Slam Dunk, Vagabond, and Real. (Please, I beg you, write the sequels!)
I stopped buying Hajime no Ippo halfway through, but I think I have about 100 volumes.
If we're talking about shojo manga, I've liked Glass Mask since the old days. I also own all volumes of March Comes in Like a Lion and Chihayafuru.

And, a more niche favorite of mine is Kazuo Umezu sensei. I might have almost all of his works, except for "Makoto-chan."
By the way, my favorite manga is Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix (Karma Chapter)".

<Other things I like>
Gardening. I love flowers and plants, and I grow various things in my home garden. I never let flowers run out in my house. It's probably the influence of my mother.

I haven't done it lately, but I also like handicrafts like knitting and embroidery. Also baking.

I used to often host home parties, go bar hopping, and visit shrines and temples when I had the energy.

Tableware is something I love so much that almost all the pieces in my house are by specific artists. When it comes to tableware, I only own high-quality items.

Basically, I have an otaku temperament, collector's spirit, and I'm a perfectionist. I'm a bundle of material desires, but I have no interest in luxury brands or precious metals.

As for music, I've had quite biased tastes since I was young, listening only to Black music or music with roots in it.
What resonates with my soul is the blues.

<Things I've started recently and things I want to start>
Things I've started in the last few years include tarot reading (I'm the one doing the reading. It's surprisingly accurate!), afternoon tea hopping, and gel nails.
Because I'm a perfectionist, my technique has improved so much that I think I could open a shop (is that an exaggeration?).

What I want to start next is kintsugi. For now, I bought a kintsugi set for beginners. I have some pieces that are irreplaceable and slightly chipped, so I plan to fix them myself.
Another thing is indoor vegetable gardening. I plan to grow herbs, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli sprouts indoors using hydroponics.

✳︎ What kind of notes do I write?

My motto is to write what I want to write, when I want to write it.
I intentionally don't do "daily updates." Because, unlike work, I started note because I wanted to write freely about what I wanted to write, and if I started feeling like "I have to write today!" or "I have to find a topic!," it would defeat the whole purpose.

I don't care about likes or follower counts. I think I don't care because my self-esteem is abnormally low and I don't expect anything from myself. Besides, I am satisfied just by "writing," so whether it is read after I write it or not is not very important.

Of course, I am happy if it gets read as a result and I receive nice comments or feedback, and I am truly filled with gratitude, but I don't make that my "goal."

I keep it completely separate from my work, and the town of note is an important place where I can write freely without worrying about quality or anyone's eyes.
That's why it's completely free! I'm just writing what I want to write, so it's fine if people who want to read it read it. I'm just grateful that people read it.

*Contents of note (Magazine introduction)

▼ Thoughts as a writer and things I've felt through my work, etc.

▼ Mainly book reviews under [Books I've read recently]

▼ Stories related to alcohol, focusing on my favorite Japanese sake

▼ Stories about camping, although I haven't been able to go much lately

▼ A magazine where I'm trying to decide on my "100 books of a lifetime," but I'm struggling because I can't seem to update it

There are also things that don't fit into any of the magazines above.
Those are essays unrelated to books, alcohol, or travel, or diary-like entries about miscellaneous daily things.

I have also compiled articles that were selected for note's "Featured Articles of the Day."
There are 9 of them, and some have received over 500 likes, so if you'd like, please take a look at these articles.

*I am a cancer survivor

In 2016, I developed endometrial cancer (1a), underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and went into remission.
I have compiled the events of that time in this magazine. (I stopped updating it halfway through.)

In 2019, it recurred.
Currently (in 2025), I am a stage 4 cancer survivor who is still undergoing treatment.

Pelvic lymph node and peritoneal dissemination recurrence cancer, and it has further metastasized to the lungs, left supraclavicular lymph nodes, and liver.
It's scary when you write the name of the disease, isn't it? Actually, I'm a seriously ill patient, and it's a wonder I'm still alive.
But, even while panting, I am somehow living positively.

There aren't many treatment options, but I have been receiving combination therapy with Keytruda and Lenvima since March 2024. For details, I have compiled them in this magazine. It is currently being updated.

There are many creators who know my situation on note and support me, which makes me very happy, and I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart.

★Because of this situation, I have significantly reduced my work as a writer, but I am still accepting new projects depending on my physical condition and the content!
Working within a reasonable range also leads to the "will to live," so if you have anything, please feel free to contact me.

*note contest award history

In 2021, I applied to the "#ThatConversationTriggeredIt" submission contest held by NeWork and note, and #ThatConversationTriggeredIt, and was selected for the Grand Prix out of 3,649 entries!

▼ Click here for the winning work

Although this is the only piece that has won a note contest, I plan to keep challenging myself whenever there is a contest with a theme I want to write about.

That is all for my profile. Sorry for the long read.
I look forward to connecting with you all!