Ayaka Kimura aka Ayaka biography

Ayaka Kimura (born October 30, 1981 in Hyogo, Japan) is a Japanese-Hawaiian singer and member of the Hello! Project. Though rather inactive in the collective, she is famous amongst foreign fans for her Surprise English Lessons, in which she attacked members of Morning Musume and forced them to learn English from her.

Kimura formed a singing group in Hawaii (where she grew up) with her friends (Mika Todd, Danielle Delaunay, April Barbaran, and Chelsea Ching) in 1998. They were discovered by Makoto, a bandmate of Tsunku's while performing in Waikiki.

In 1999, the group was signed to the Hello! Project collective as Coconuts Musume, "Coconuts" referring to their Hawaiian origins, and "Musume" denoting them as a close sister group to Morning Musume. However, due to difficulty adjusting to Japan, April and Chelsea left a little less than a year after their debut, with Danielle following soon after. Lehua Sandbo replaced them, but she too left.

In 2004, Mika Todd left the group as well, leaving Kimura as the only member. She is still referred to as "Coconuts Musume Ayaka." Kimura now works mostly in musicals and dramas, normally with her close friend Mai Satoda.

Kimura finally gave up on the Project in 2008 and abruptly left the company. A mere two days later, it was revealed that she had signed on as an actress under the name of Ayaka Nagate.