Freelance Announcer Aika Kanda, “My Thousand Yen

A handful of worries

The other day, I went to Kegon-ji Temple in Kyoto.

Also known as “Suzumushi-dera,” the temple is a guest hall filled with thousands of chirping bell bugs, where I listened to a monk give a half-hour talk on Buddhism. Then, they pray to the Jizo with a good-luck charm. The Jizo of Suzumo-ji Temple wears straw sandals, which is unusual. Therefore, if you give your address, the Jizo will come to your house and make your wish come true.

Our wishes have been granted successfully so far, and we have repeatedly visited …… to thank him and make new requests, and this is the fifth or sixth time we have done so.

Actually, I have been having the same problem since last September. I don’t know if this is the reason, but at the end of last year I lost 3 kg of weight, which I had not gained or lost for almost 15 years. I was surprised that it was so much that it appeared on my body, and I decided that I could no longer solve the problem by myself. （I decided to visit the temple this time (as a last resort, I would like to borrow the power of Suzumo-ji Temple).

While I was listening to the Dharma talk, my husband, who came with me, made eye contact with me. He said, “This is a perfect story for Aika right now. The monk told us, “Everything is what your feelings are inviting you to do.

When something happens, it is you who thought it was a “bad thing. When something happens to you, it is you who think that it is a “bad thing,” and because you perceive other things with that negative thinking, you feel that “bad things happen to you all the time. He told us that everything changes depending on how we perceive it.

He is so right. For the past seven months, I have been thinking that “bad things happen to me,” focusing on the event that is the source of my problems and everything that derives from it that makes me feel even a little uncomfortable. But I am the one making that judgment.

In just 30 minutes I felt reborn. I don’t have to worry anymore. If I can decide for myself whether it is good or bad, from this moment on, I will take everything as a positive thing!

After the Dharma talk, we were given a talisman. The person giving it to me was the priest of this temple, whom I had heard several times before. He said, “Oh, hello,” and we said, “Hello! I would like a good luck charm, please,” and he told us how much we had to pay.

Since we didn’t have exactly what we needed on hand, we gave him the amount of 1,000 yen change. The priest handed the amulet to my husband and said, “The cherry blossoms have finally bloomed in Kyoto. My husband responded, “This is a good time for you to visit. The priest then said, “Take care,” and handed the spot to the person behind him.

I was (hmmm?). I was like, “What? （I said, “Hey, do you have change?) I was like, “Hey, where’s the change? As my husband headed for the exit, I repeatedly wondered, “Where’s my 1,000 yen? (Where’s my 1,000 yen?) I thought over and over. But I couldn’t say it out loud. Because just a few minutes ago, I had decided to interpret “everything is at my beck and call.

Converting a negative into a positive!

Instead of seeing the thousand yen in change as ″not returned″, I should see it as ″a thousand yen that I’m glad I didn’t get back″ ……!?　I told myself.

Then, how much money would I have to pay for it to be “a thousand yen I’m glad I didn’t get back! I thought about it a lot. Was it the cost of information on the blooming of Kyoto? Or was it the cost of talking to the priest? (I know it sounds like a cabaret club, but I can only think of it as paying 1,000 yen for the chance to talk to the priest in person).

But when my husband took out his shoes from the shoe box, I whispered to him, “Hey, I thought I had 1,000 yen in change earlier, but I didn’t get it. What? My husband was surprised. I quickly replied, “But it’s okay to think of it as payment for the opportunity to speak directly with the priest, isn’t it?” I told him that I had been reborn.

Then my husband laughed uproariously and said, “Everything is up to you, isn’t it? I laughed out loud. Then he said, “Shall I turn around and go get them?” But the newborn Aika refused.

As I put on my shoes and turned my back to the guest hall to cut off my unfulfilled love for the 1,000 yen, the priest from earlier came running out. You didn’t give me the change, did you? In his hand was a 1,000 yen bill. （My thousand yen!) My eyes were glued to the bill. I told him, “I’m going to think of it as payment for talking with the priest (……),” to which he replied, “Oh, no! Tell me! He said, “Tell me! The 1,000 yen bill was safely placed in my wallet.

It was a short time, but I was able to accept the event in a positive way, something that I would have considered unpleasant in the past. If I can do this for a longer time, I am sure that my current worries will disappear.

However, it seems that I need more training to be able to do so. For now, I will wait for Jizo-sama to come to me. With this thought, I left Suzumo-ji Temple.

Aika Kanda was 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 appears regularly as the main MC of the daytime TV program “Poka Poka” (Fuji Television Network).

Her first book, ” Where are you going on the road called Royal Road? is now on sale by popular demand!

From “FRIDAY” April 17/24, 2026 issue