Guiding the Couple around Kawasaki (second day)
[Date & Time] Wednesday, September 21, at 10:00–16:20
[Spots] Nihon Minkaen (The Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum) and The Fujiko・F・Fujio Museum
[Visitors] 1 Spanish couple [Attendants] 2 KSGG members
[Language] English
This guiding for two days became an unforgettable experience for me. During this tour, I joined them at the most important moment in life when he proposed to her and she said OK. A new couple was born and after this moment their tour in Japan became not a mere tour but a honeymoon with a real meaning. As they seemed to be very friendly with each other, I thought they were a married couple.
I had asked a KSGG partner to prepare a set of washi-ningyo (doll-shaped paper bookmark) for the visitors as a commemoration of the guided tour. When I met them, the woman said that they were not married. I thought I should have prepared two sets of washi-ningyo. However, they decided to get married. The washi-ningyo may have become their matchmaker.
When I handed it to them, explaining washi-ningyo, they said “Thank you” in Japanese. She was born in Niece, France and now teaches French, which she is good at. When we were relaxing around irori (sunken hearths) in the room with a raised floor, he whispered into my ear that he would propose to her in The Fujiko・F・Fujio Museum, which features such anime as Doraemon. He showed me the engagement ring, asking me not to tell her about his proposal, as she didn’t know about it. Though it was Wednesday, the museum was so crowded that it was difficult to find a place for them to be alone. In the garden, when there were a few people around them, he set his camera in the selfie mode and recorded everything from his proposal to her acceptance. The picture shows their smiling faces after her acceptance of his proposal. I’ll finish my report, praying for their long happy married life.