Several weeks ago Hannah Lee, Adam, and I were on a walk in the upper park behind our home. We were approached by an old Japanese man that handed Hannah Lee two pink roses and then just walked away. We were very surprised by the random gesture. Last week Hannah Lee and I were introduced to a new park by our friends Luna and Liliana. We were thrilled to finally find swings in our area. There was a man there passing out paper airplanes with rubber bands. He showed us how to attach the bands to the plane to send it flying into the air. It was fun! Then at Kamakura on Friday when I got to the last temple I had a very interesting conversation in English with a Japanese man. The last picture is Yojiro Kakiyama. He says he has been studying English and it is his dream to receive an English letter. He handed me a letter that he had written on Oct 25th, 2010 and I assume he was just going to leave it somewhere in hopes that an English speaking person would find it. He saw me, and took the opportunity to introduce himself. He says he would like to correspond as a good friend. Him and his wife Teruyo Kakiyama are 67 years old pensioners, and enjoy tennis and gardening. They have two sons, and three grandchildren. If you are interested in corresponding, or just sending a postcard from America, here is his address:
Yojiro and Teruyo Kakiyama
2-16-5 Ichinomiya Samukawa
Kanagawa 253-0111 Japan
I just found your blog searching for Yojiro....I met him in Kamakura on Friday, November 12 while vacationing with my husband. Yojiro gave me a similar letter and I am sending him a letter now that I am back home in the states. He seemed like a very nice man and I look forward to corresponding with him.
ReplyDeleteHow neat! I wrote his address down and will hopefully write them a letter soon. As to your later blog about Elf on the Shelf, this is our 2nd year and we love it. When the girls are arguing they don't come to me anymore they go to Fisbee and tell on each other!
ReplyDeleteI, too, met Mr. Kakiyama in the park at the shrine in Kamakura this past Sunday, March 25, 2012. I just returned to the States yesterday and decided to just type his name to see if I could find him online. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm from Spain and I met Yojiro last September (2013). We are writing each other since then and he even sent me baby socks for my future baby!!! He's very nice!!!
ReplyDeleteHi. I am from Canada. I met Yojiro in July 2015. We had a nice chat. I sent him 1 letter and am now sending a Christmas card.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteWe also met him in kamakura in 2014. We have found a letter that he gave us 3 years ago. We hope he is fine and we will send him a letter because he seems to be a great man.
My husband and I just met him this month (April 2017). I am from Idaho. He is still asking for letters and shares the same address and handwritten letter attached to cardboard with folks. He must really love to get mail!
ReplyDeleteOOPS! I meant to say April 2018.
ReplyDelete