Freelance Announcer Aika Kanda “Night of Defeat

I went glamping twice this fall. Glamping is a camping experience in the great outdoors with the same level of luxury and comfort as a hotel. I experienced glamping for the first time with a group of good friends from junior high and high school in the COVID-19 crisis, and we were all captivated by it. It has now become an annual autumn event.

For the first camp, I booked a tent with a sauna, which my husband loves, at Tokoku Touge (Tokoku Pass) to show him the appeal of glamping, which he had never experienced before. A private sauna?　That’s amazing! He was so excited that he went straight to the sauna as soon as we checked in. As I am not fond of hot and humid weather, I had turned down many invitations from my husband to go to the sauna, and I expected him to do so again this time. Sure enough, “Let’s go in too, Aika! and he invited me three times in total (yes, just as I expected). I’ll be ready to make a bonfire when I get out!” I repeated the answer I had prepared, and we got away with it.

The tent, located on a mountain ridge, was very shaky due to strong winds during our stay. It felt like the shaking was always about 2 on the Japanese intensity scale even while we were sleeping, and my husband thought I was awake in the middle of the night and moving on the bed. He said, “Aika?　Are you awake?” I kept waking up and asking him. How would my husband feel about this environment, as he would be driving home as well? I woke up an hour earlier than he did and prepared the sauna and water bath again, just in case he said, “I don’t want to go glamping anymore. I expected that he would surely fall in love with glamping if he could take a sauna while gazing at Mount Fuji and Suruga Bay appearing through the morning mist. Sure enough, my husband enjoyed it with a twinkle in his eye. It was so much fun!　Let’s go again! (OK! Just as I predicted!). (OK, as expected!) I finished glamping with my husband without incident. I finished glamping with my husband without incident.

We went to Kawaguchiko with the same group of girls. Here, too, there was a sauna. When my friends invited us to join them I was surprised at how much fun it sounded. We enjoyed chatting in the sauna, and then took a dip in the huge common pool, which was empty and used as a water bath, and said, “Gahhh! It’s cold!” It was fun to get in the pool with a lot of noise, and we made three sets.

At night, while we were having drinks in the common area of the fire and sofas, a group of four young boys started chatting and laughing on the sofas some distance away. We asked, “Who are they?” and decided to make a guess. First, we guessed that they were working people, since they all had black hair and their ears were showing. They looked young, so I guessed they were in their first year. They are probably highly educated, as they must have a good salary if they are going to stay at this facility. Their behavior had an atmosphere of trying to take a step back and look around, which is characteristic of Keio University, as I expected from my past data.

Obaasan will ask you the zuva!

And at that moment, a conversation that gave me a big clue. If I were to send my child to Keio Kindergarten, it would cost about 8 million yen, right? (Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (Oh!　The word Keio!) ) “I’m not sure,” he said. In my past experience data, I have never seen anyone who attended a kindergarten who was concerned about tuition fees. So, I guessed “a group of four first-year working adults who entered Keio through the university entrance examination.

I have confidence in this kind of prediction. I have guessed correctly at numerous blind dates. I am sure that my sense of smell has not diminished. （I’m going to check the answer!) I’ve become a respectable old lady.

Now that I’m an old lady, I’m not embarrassed by most things. I approached them and suddenly said, “Hey, you guys!　Let me answer your questions! I said to them. Of course they were surprised, but I continued, “We guessed who you are! I continued, “What? They showed a little interest. You’re first-year workers who entered and graduated from Keio University at ……, right? I proudly showed my prediction. The answer was, “No, we are not. I’m in my fourth year of work after graduating from Meiji University. (What? !　(What? ! That’s a lie!). (What?! A lie!). I was so amused by the fact that my expectation was not met that I said to myself, “Oh, it’s Meiji University! I said. Then, “Don’t be disappointed!　How many years have you ladies been working? He asked back. They had no intention of talking about themselves. They have no use for you as long as you can answer their questions. We are in our forties! And with that, we returned to our tent with their dry “hahahaha” laughter in the background.

My sense of smell was waning. （I realized that my days of buoyancy were over. I can’t believe that I was so predictable with my husband, but I can’t believe that I am no longer so predictable with other men, even this simple ……. I felt that my husband was adorable, and I thought I would go home to my husband’s waiting house like an adult.

Aika Kanda / Born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University with a degree in mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003, and left in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows, and currently makes regular appearances as the main MC of the daytime TV program “Poka Poka” (Fuji Television Network).

From the December 8-15, 2023 issue of FRIDAY