Good evening from Japan, the country with cars with names like “Sprinter” Soarer “Silvia” and “Super Saloon.”
The Princess of Japan, Masako-sama, is “showing signs of being pregnant” with her first child, which has caused a frenzy of news reports and speculation, as well as documentaries on the life of Michiko, the current Empress, and how happy the nation greeted news of her children. It is funny to note that there is no confirmation that Masako-sama (who was educated at Harvard and spent years in the U.S. and U.K. — although it’s interesting to note that she only speaks Queen’s English in public) is pregnant at all — she is scheduled to see a doctor next week — but this hasn’t stopped the media from their reporting frenzy.
Chuyan and Manaka are doing well in their attempts to get around the world in 80 days. Hitchhiking to Brussels to meet a Japanese man who ran a restaurant (“Samurai”) there, who offered to help them. He let Manaka work for a week to earn money. Meanwhile, they met up with Japanese man, a man who trades in jewelry, who made them a great offer: if Chuyan (who is quite a talented artist) would design some jewelry for him, he’d pay for them to accompany him to the next stop on his business trip, India. Now they’re in India, much closer to their goal than they were before.