Freelance announcer Aika Kanda: “What are your memories of Christmas? is my weak point.

At this time of year, I am often asked at work, “What are your memories of Christmas?” I am asked. I wish I had a standard Christmas episode, such as a memory of a sparkling date, being rejected just before Christmas, or a memory of bombing out on gifts for myself, but no matter how much I try to recall …… every year, I can only come up with the following memories.

Episode 1 Impatience with My Brother

On Christmas morning when I was 8 years old, a doll arrived at my bedside, which a girl from a neighboring house had asked Santa for. (Santa had the wrong house. Mooo!!!) ) I was angry, but I thought that if I showed my dissatisfied face, he might not come in the future, so I desperately welcomed the doll I didn’t want with a smile. Meanwhile, a large box of presents arrived at my 1-year-old brother’s bedside. If my little brother, who can only speak “maa maa” and “dakkoo,” could get such a big present as requested, (no fair!) I thought. Then my mother said, “Aika open it,” so I opened the box so as not to wake my sleeping brother. (Huh?). I opened the box. What was inside was a cuckoo clock. It was wooden, in the shape of a birdhouse, and every hour or so a pigeon would come out of the door and coo “Cuckoo! It was the one with the dove coming out of the door every hour. My mother was beside me and said, “Wow, it’s beautiful! (My brother had one of these!).

（My brother did this!) (My brother did this?!) I was speechless. I was speechless because it was so unexpected, but I looked for similarities between the cuckoo clock and my brother. The color of the towel he always clutched and the roof of the cuckoo clock were the same light blue color. (I see, you specified the color. But why did he ask for such a thing when he hasn’t even been to kindergarten yet and it doesn’t run on a fixed time?) I felt impatient at the time because my one-year-old brother wanted something so “adult”.

Episode 2 The Meaning of ″Wow

When I was 15 years old, I was the student body president at my junior high school, and I would occasionally have ″information exchange meetings″ at fast food restaurants with student councils from other schools. In hindsight, it was a blind date. One of the boys invited me to meet with him on December 24 or 25, just the two of us. It was the first time in my life that I had a date alone with a boy. I was happy, but I didn’t really like the boy. The opposite sex with whom one spends Christmas must be special. I was still a little girl and pure, and I believed that, and to be honest, he was not the right person for me. Christmas is only three weeks away. (Maybe someone I really like will show up from now on!) ), so I decided to meet him on the 23rd.

The girl was very sincere. She chose Yokohama Landmark Tower as our date location so that I, who lived in Yokohama at the time, would not have to travel far. For me, it was my hometown where I had been many times. I thought (boring) at the time, but apparently there is an event where snow falls inside the building, and he wanted to watch it together and have a white Christmas kind of time. (If it snowed in there …… the clothes in the store, the elevator, the floor, everything would be soaked!!!!　What the heck, I want to see that!!!) I was curious.

I checked out the girl in her casual clothes for the first time with a sideways glance. (Cleanliness, yes!). We arrived at the point to see the “snow” as we were led. As soon as the announcement was made, white fluffy stuff started to fall from the top of the atrium. It was beautiful. It fell in fluttering down, passed in front of me, and fell down to the floor below. (Hmm?　(Something’s not right). I put out my hand and touched it. (…… Eh!?　It’s not cold!) It wasn’t real snow. It was not real snow. So I didn’t get soaked anywhere.

A few minutes of fake snow fall was over. I said to him, “It’s not real snow, is it? He replied, “That’s right. If it were real snow, everything would be soaked. I was so disappointed that I felt like a pussy. （What about the real thing?　(What? It’s amazing to make the real thing fall even if it’s soaking wet!) ). ) I realized that the girl and I had different points of “wow” and decided that it would not be fun to talk any more. It had been less than two hours since we met, but I said, “I have a curfew, so I’m going home,” and left.

This is my Christmas episode. I am open to any talk theme and aim to appear on various programs, but I am sure I will not be able to play an active role in a place where Christmas memories are the theme.

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 NHK 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 29, 2023 issue of FRIDAY