She first studied piano with Aiko Iguchi at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo.
She continued her studies in Germany with Hans-Erich Riebensahm in Berlin and Aloys Kontarsky in Cologne.
[1] As a soloist, she has played with Pierre Boulez, Péter Eötvös, Michael Gielen, Hans Zender, Sylvain Cambreling and Lothar Zagrosek.
Sugawara is a chamber musician who has played with the Ensemble Recherche as well as in duet with violinist Asako Urushihara.
She also plays in the rest of the world, notably in Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Kyoto and also in the Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park.