Kacchan and I are back from our trip!
Thank you all for the warm welcome! Although we enjoyed our time together, we’re both glad to be back home, and we’re ready to jump back into the thick of our jobs once again.
We really missed talking to you all, too! Or, ah, I did. Admittedly, while Kacchan’s grown a little more frustrated with the whole process as of late, and I think that he’s missed interacting with you all, as well.
Now that we’re home, we can finally reveal where we’ve spent these past couple of days, too, without worry of catching the eye of any reporters— we’ve been staying in Hokkaido.
Since it’s winter, most of the roads in the area that we were exploring were closed; normally, visitors aren’t allowed into the passes, but we were fortunate enough to be accompanied by a knowledgable and hospitable guide for most of our stay. If you’re reading this, Ayane-san, we’re really grateful for your help!
It was a joy to travel with you and we look forward to returning in the future! Hiking and exploring even more of the passes in the summer promises to be fun! Next time, maybe we can even travel together with more of our friends.
Oh! And as for the hikes themselves— During our time there, we hiked around each of the five Shiretoko Goko lakes; sometimes, we even walked on the lakes to make our way to another lake! They were frozen, you see. We explored the mountain range in our time there, too... which is were the, ah, bear incident came into play.
The trails are famous for their flora and fauna, you see, and we’d already seen some of that for ourselves. During an earlier part of the hike, we’d been lucky enough to spot a few foxes in the snow.
There was a part of our tour where I hadn’t been as meticulous as I should have been when tending to our campsite, and once we’d returned to our tent from a brief hike, we’d discovered that the site had been ransacked by one of the many brown bears native to this area.
Well! You guys know that Kacchan and I are going to be married soon— there’s only three more months until our wedding date! And you all know that Kacchan’s already given me a ring, too.
Before we’d gone on this trip, Kacchan had been pulling away a little, and keeping to himself— he’s almost always quiet like this when he’s really thinking, you know, and I just... I wanted to show him that I was still here, you know? Supporting him in every endeavor that we tackle together... and it was about time that Kacchan had a ring of his own, too.
I, uh. Hah! It’s a little weird to talk about it now, because I wouldn’t say that Kacchan and I are the most romantic of any couple— hah, that just seems weird, but I wanted to make it a little special, and, ah. I’d planned to give him his ring once we’d reached the summit of the mountain range. To make a proposal— a commitment, and a reminder, I suppose —of my own.
I hid it in one of the snack bags I’d brought along because Kacchan, uh. Doesn’t really like sweet treats, and out of the things we’d packed, that was the last thing I’d thought that he’d touched.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t, er. The last thing the poor bear had touched.
You’re dragging this out too long.
The bear’s fine. Wound up... following it around for a few days.
We didn’t fight it. Idiots.
And if any of you laugh, you’re dead.