is a Japanese curler, born November 25, 1978, as . She skipped her own team in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, until 2015, which represented Japan at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

before retiring from competitive sports. Currently she is working as a curling

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Career

At the age of 12, Ogasawara began curling in her hometown Tokoro, joining Akiko Katoh's junior team together with Yumie Hayashi. Then Ogasawara became the second for the team. The team represented Japan at four

World Junior Curling Championships The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 19 ...

(1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999), winning a silver medal in 1998 and another silver in 1999. The team later represented Japan at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

, finishing in 8th place with a 2-7 record. After the 2001-2002 season, Ogasawara and her longtime teammate Hayashi moved to

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

and formed a new team there. The team, called '

Team Aomori Team_Aomori_2006

The Aomori Curling Club is a curling club in Aomori, ...

', represented Japan at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

. At the Games, Ogasawara threw last stones as skip and led her team to a 7th-place finish with a 4-5 record, including a surprise win over one of the usual curling powerhouses, Canada. After the 2005-2006 season, Ogasawara and Hayashi announced their temporary retirement. Ogasawara got married and had a child before returning to the sport in the 2011-12 season. In 2011, Ogasawara and Hayashi, whose name had changed to

Yumie Funayama is a Japanese curler, born April 5, 1978, in Tokoro, Hokkaido as . She is currently the coach of Sayaka Yoshimura's team from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Career At age 12, Funayama began curling in her hometown Tokoro, Hokkaido, joining Akiko Katoh ...

after marriage, formed a new team in

. The team qualified for the

through the Olympic Qualification Event held in December 2013. At the Olympics, Ogasawara, a mother of one, was chosen to be Japan's flag bearer, as it is unusual for women in Japan to compete in sports after having children. At the Games, she threw last stones as skip, and the team finished in 5th place with a 4-5 record, winning against two former World Championship teams, Switzerland's

Mirjam Ott Mirjam Ott (born 27 January 1972 in Bern, Switzerland) is a retired Swiss curler who lives in Laax, Switzerland. She is the 2012 World Curling Champion skip. She is the skip (captain) of the Swiss Olympic Curling Team. She has participated in s ...

and China's

Wang Bingyu Wang Bingyu (; ; born October 7, 1984, in Harbin, Heilongjiang; usually referred to in the media as Bingyu "Betty" Wang) is a People's Republic of China, Chinese curling, curler. In 2009, she became the first non Northern American or European ...

Teammates

2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games * Akiko Katoh, ''Skip'' * Yumie Hayashi, ''Third'' * Mika Konaka, ''Lead'' *

Kotomi Ishizaki is a Japanese curler from Sapporo. Career She made her World Championship debut at the 2003 Winnipeg World Championships playing lead for Shinobu Aota's team from Japan. She would return to the world championships in 2004 with the same team. ...

, ''Alternate'' 2006 Turin Olympic Games * Yumie Hayashi, ''Third'' *

Mari Motohashi is a Japanese curler. She currently plays third on Team Honoka Sasaki. Career Motohashi was a member of Team Aomori which represented Japan at two Winter Olympics (2006 and 2010). She threw second stones for Ayumi Onodera at the 2006 Winter O ...

, ''Second'' *

Moe Meguro is a Japanese curler. She was born November 20, 1984, in Kushiro, Hokkaido, but grew up in Minamifurano, Hokkaido. Career Moe Meguro won her first medal at the international level at the 2004 Pacific Curling Championships winning the gold m ...

, ''Lead'' *

Sakurako Terada is a Japanese curler, born May 17, 1984, in Sorachi District, Hokkaidō. History Terada is a member of Team Aomori which was selected to represent Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic ...

, ''Alternate'' 2014 Sochi Olympic Games *

, ''Third'' *

Kaho Onodera is a Japanese curler from Sapporo, Hokkaido. She is the third on the FORTIUS curling team, which won the Japan Curling Championships in 2015, 2021 and 2025. At the international level, she has represented Japan at four World Women's Curling Ch ...

, ''Second'' *

Michiko Tomabechi Michiko Tomabechi (born 29 January 1980) is a Japanese curler. Career Tomabechi competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, with the Japanese team. In 2013, she was part of the bronze-winning team at the Pacific-Asia Championship in Shangha ...

, ''Lead'' *

Chinami Yoshida is a Japanese curler. She currently plays third for Team Loco Solare, which is skipped by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Career Yoshida began cur ...

, ''Alternate''

Record as a coach of national teams

References

External links

* Living people 1978 births Sportspeople from Kitami Curlers from Hokkaido Japanese female curlers Olympic curlers for Japan Curlers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Pacific-Asian curling champions Japanese curling coaches 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese sportswomen {{Japan-curling-bio-stub