Tokyo Hearts: A Japanese Love Story

by Renae Lucas-Hall

  ‘Yes, of course, Mother,’ Haruka said with a laugh and gave her mother a fun salute as she skipped out of the room to start her own packing.

  Haruka was in her room, half packed, trying to decide which of her silk scarves to take with her when it dawned on her that she should contact Takashi because she wouldn’t be able to meet him in Tokyo the following evening. Haruka tried to call him several times, but she couldn’t get through. Panicking, she called Yuriko’s home, hoping that her friend could offer her some advice on what to do, but Yuriko’s phone went to voicemail as well. Haruka decided that the best thing to do would be to go and see her next door. She’d have plenty of time to finish her packing later.

  When Haruka rang the doorbell at Yuriko’s house, her mother, Mrs Makimoto, opened their front door.

  ‘Hello Haruka,’ she said. ‘Are you coming along with your parents to Kyoto?’

  Haruka wasn’t sure if Mrs Makimoto was willing to discuss with her their plans to meet up with Jun and his family to talk about the wedding, so she didn’t mention anything to her about this.

  ‘I certainly am,’ Haruka replied. ‘I’m sorry it’s late, but I really need to see Yuriko. Is she in her room?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Mrs Makimoto said. ‘Go up and take a look.’ She walked away with no intention of continuing the conversation. Haruka was used to her frosty demeanour, so it didn’t bother her in the slightest.

  At the top of the stairs, Haruka crossed the landing and knocked on Yuriko’s door. She opened it and gave her a generous smile as she beckoned Haruka into her room. Haruka was so pleased to see that Yuriko’s bedroom had been totally transformed. She looked around in astonishment. The pink walls and fluffy toys had been replaced by a tasteful, sophisticated and glamorous boudoir, and the exercise bike was nowhere to be seen.

  A padded satin cream headboard offset a luxurious off-white bed cover with organza pleats and a pearl trim. Haruka was also pleased to see a novel by Yukio Mishima instead of Yuriko’s diet magazines on top of one of her new ivory bedside tables that had lovely butterfly drop handles. The candy-striped sofa seat had also disappeared and in its place was an 18th century style lady’s chair. On the floor was freshly laid thick pile carpet in a soft mocha colour. In the corner was a cream dressing table with a Bordeaux mirror, accompanied by a matching upholstered stool with stylish tapered feet. The walls had been covered in beige wallpaper that was embossed with an elegant, pearly wisteria pattern.

  ‘What do you think?’ said Yuriko as she extended her right arm outwards to display the room.

  ‘Unbelievable!’ Haruka replied. She was so pleased to see that Yuriko had also taken heed of her makeup advice and kept it light and natural looking. Her skin had greatly improved, and she looked very pretty. Her high cheekbones were now emphasized and her eyes sparkled without heavy eye shadow.

  ‘The room is completely transformed – it looks so beautiful. It’s so elegant and grown up,’ said Haruka as she felt the organza bedding and admired her new dressing table.

  ‘I know,’ replied Yuriko. ‘I spoke to my father a couple of weeks ago and he had the decorators in on Monday. I’m so happy, I don’t want to leave the room!’

  ‘I wouldn’t either, if I had a bedroom like this,’ Haruka said wriggling her toes in the thick pile of the carpet.

  ‘And I have some exciting news to share with you,’ said Yuriko, sinking into the lovely new lady’s chair.

  ‘Tell me,’ Haruka said.

  ‘I went for an interview yesterday and I start a new part-time job next week.’

  ‘How exciting,’ said Haruka, really pleased that Yuriko’s life was going so well for her lately and she had more to think about than just dieting and shopping.

  ‘You know I did a three-month interior design course at the end of last year,’ Yuriko said to Haruka.

  ‘Yes,’ Haruka replied. ‘You thought that course was really interesting, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I did,’ said Yuriko. ‘Well, I saw a job advertised a couple of weeks ago. They needed someone to work with an interior designer in Shinagawa two days a week, and I went to the interview last Friday. It went really well, and I found out today that I’ll be starting in two weeks.’

  ‘That’s great news, I’m really happy for you,’ Haruka said to her, delighted she’d finally found a job she wanted to do.

  ‘So I thought I’d better go shopping and buy myself a whole lot of stylish winter clothes for my new job.’ Yuriko walked over to her built-in wardrobes and slid back the door. She pulled out the most luxurious pair of black tailored trousers, a short, fitted silver grey cashmere jacket and several silk blouses. Haruka’s eyes opened wide with admiration. The price tags were still on each garment, but she could not see one brand name slashed across the front. They were really beautiful subtle pieces of the finest quality.

  ‘You’re a lucky girl, Yuriko,’ she said. ‘They’re all really beautiful– but what’s that big bag at the bottom of your wardrobe?’

  ‘That’s my surprise for you,’ Yuriko replied. ‘In that bag are the clothes I’ve never worn because they’re a size too big. I thought you might like them – they’re all brand new.’

  Haruka sensed an opportunity. She’d cut back her shopping budget to zero and now, thanks to Yuriko, she’d have a new set of clothes and she wouldn’t have to dent her credit card. Haruka opened up the bag and rummaged through the garments that were all folded neatly ready for her inspection. She was delighted – six out of the eight pieces would be perfect. She’d just gained two Ralph Lauren striped tops, a long cream belted coat from Junko Shimada, two pairs of trousers from Comme des Garçons and a skirt from Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please collection.

  Haruka shook her head in amazement. ‘Are you sure you don’t want these, Yuriko?’

  Yuriko was so happy to see that Haruka was so grateful. ‘No, definitely not. You’re my best friend. I want you to have them.’

  ‘Thanks, Yuriko, you’re the best,’ said Haruka. ‘By the way, are you coming to Kyoto? Are you packed?’ she asked, suddenly remembering to ask Yuriko about the trip the next day. She was so astonished by the bedroom transformation, the news about the interior design job and the lovely new clothes she’d acquired that she’d almost forgotten the purpose of her visit.

  ‘No, I’m not going. I have to look after my younger brother. He’s only twelve, you know.’

  ‘Oh, that’s a pity, but….’ Haruka started to say.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Yuriko asked her.

  ‘Well, I have a problem and now that you’re not going to Kyoto, maybe you could help me with a solution.’

  ‘What’s up?’ she asked Haruka.

  ‘I wanted to meet Takashi tomorrow in Omotesando, but I can’t now. I called him to cancel our plans, but his phone is switched off and I can’t get through to him. I think it would be rude to just leave another message, because I’ve had to cancel our dates quite a bit lately.’

  ‘Where were you planning to meet?’ asked Yuriko.

  ‘At the usual place. Do you know the Café hors et dans in Omotesando, near the subway station?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve been there several times before. It’s above Morgan de toi, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, very good, Yuriko.’

  ‘What time were you planning to meet?’

  ‘Six thirty p.m.,’ Haruka replied.

  ‘No problem – I’ve been meaning to go to the Prada shop just near there for some time. I’ll meet up with him and let him know that you’re in Kyoto.’

  ‘What about your little brother? You can’t leave him,’ said Haruka.

  ‘I’ll take him to cram school. He can study there for a few hours.’

  ‘Thanks. You’re an angel, Yuriko.’

  ‘My pleasure,’ she replied.

  ‘Yuriko….’

  ‘Yes?’ she said.

  ‘Just one thing – don’t mention to Takashi that I’m meeting Jun in Kyoto,’ Haruka said to her.

  ‘He
’ll probably be able to work that one out, Haruka.’

  ‘Oh yes …well, try not to bring him up in the conversation,’ Haruka said.

  ‘I’ll do my best. Have a good time in Kyoto.’

  ‘Yuriko?’

  ‘Yes, Haruka?’

  ‘We’re going to discuss wedding plans with Jun’s family.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ Yuriko replied, smiling fondly at her best friend.

  They said their goodbyes and Haruka went back to her house next door to finish her packing, proudly holding her bag of new clothes. She was full of excitement about her trip to Kyoto.

  CHAPTER 16

  Evil gotten goods never prove well

  They boarded the ten fifty-three Hikari Super Express Bullet Train from platform four at Shin-Yokohama station the following morning. Haruka and her parents, as well as Mrs Makimoto, Yuriko’s mother, all settled into the comfortable brown velour seats for the two and a half hour trip to Kyoto. Haruka’s father was restless for most of the journey. He ordered several snacks from the trolley lady and he made four or five trips to the smoking carriage, where he could sit and enjoy a cigarette. Haruka tried to call Takashi four times on the way, but his mobile was still turned off. The train travelled at about 270 kilometres per hour. They stopped at Odawara, Nagoya, Gifu-Hashima and Maibara before they finally pulled into Kyoto station.

  Once they’d exited the station at Kyoto, a taxi escorted them to the Okura Hotel. They checked in at the grand reception and made their way to their rooms on the seventh floor. Haruka’s parents had kindly paid for her to have a room of her own.

  Opening the door to a spacious suite, Haruka was so happy to be in Kyoto. Her room was beautifully decorated and the bed looked so comfortable and enticing with its fluffy pillows cradling two elegant paper cranes, sitting above smooth and fresh-looking sateen sheets. She was almost tempted to take a quick nap, but Haruka thought she’d better call the English conversation school and ask about the accommodation which they were organising for her.

  Haruka dialled their number and asked to be put through to Mrs Aoki. After about thirty seconds she came to the phone and seemed very keen to speak to her.

  ‘Hello Haruka,’ she said. ‘I’m really glad you called. I’ve just spoken to your manager in Harajuku and she told me you’re in Kyoto. I have some news for you. Ordinarily, I’d ask you to come in and see me, but today I’m particularly busy, so I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to tell you this over the phone.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Haruka said to her. ‘Is there a problem?’

  ‘I’m afraid there is,’ she said. ‘The woman whose job you were replacing is no longer joining her boyfriend in the US and has decided to retain her management position here in Kyoto.’

  ‘I see,’ Haruka said. ‘So the position is no longer available?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Mrs Aoki. ‘You were very well-qualified, and I’m sure you’ll have no problem acquiring another management position elsewhere.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Haruka, lost for words.

  ‘I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you, Haruka,’ were Mrs Aoki’s final words.

  Haruka put down the phone, sat on the end of the bed and hugged her knees into her chest. She’d really been looking forward to starting this new management position, and in just a few minutes, it had all been taken away from her. She’d done quite a bit of preparation for her new role, and she’d never expected this disappointment. Haruka had also been thinking about how she could get to know Jun’s family a bit better before the wedding if she lived near them in Kyoto, but now she realised she wouldn’t have that opportunity.

  The telephone in the room rang and pulled Haruka out of her reverie. She picked up the receiver only to be told by her mother to join her and her father in their room down the hall. She changed into a skirt and went to join her parents.

  If Haruka thought her room was lovely, theirs was a sight to behold. Two huge floor-to-ceiling windows afforded a marvellous view over the town of Kyoto, and in the distance one could see a postcard-like image of the Higashiyama mountain range.

  Haruka’s father had already helped himself to the mini-bar and was sitting on a love seat that was expensively draped in a soft floral mint fabric. He was enjoying a glass of 10-year-old Suntory Pure Malt Whisky.

  ‘It’s a little early for a drink, isn’t it, Father?’ Haruka teased him light-heartedly.

  ‘Don’t you start, Haruka,’ he replied gruffly.

  ‘I have some news to tell you,’ she said to her parents. ‘I’ve just spoken to the manager at the English conversation school here in Kyoto and I won’t be working there because the position is no longer available.’

  ‘Not to worry,’ said her mother, who looked perfectly fine with that arrangement. ‘Once you marry Jun, you won’t be working anyway – you’ll be too busy at home.’

  ‘Maybe you’re right,’ Haruka replied.

  ‘You can’t sit around drinking all day,’ her mother pointed out to her father as she padded around the room in the hotel slippers, trying to unpack a few clothes. ‘We have to meet Mrs Makimoto in the lobby in fifteen minutes. Now, I can’t find a handkerchief anywhere. I’m sure that I packed two or three. Don’t tell me I left them on the bedside table before we left.’

  ‘I have a spare one in my suitcase,’ Haruka offered.

  ‘Thank you, Haruka. Could you fetch it for me and meet us down in the lobby?’ her mother asked her. She twirled around and looked at her husband. ‘Please don’t have another drink. We don’t have time,’ she said to him.

  Haruka could hear her father pouring himself a second glass as she left the room.

  Haruka was waiting with Mrs Makimoto for about ten minutes before her mother and father joined them in the lobby. She discreetly passed her mother a Céline handkerchief that she slipped into her handbag.

  ‘Will you meet up with us at six p.m. for dinner?’ her mother asked Mrs Makimoto, who was about to go and see her sick friend.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘Are you going to the Temple of the Golden Pavilion this afternoon?’

  ‘Yes. And will Mrs Kurokawa and her son Jun be joining us tomorrow when we visit the Ryan-ji Temple?’ asked Haruka’s mother sharing a smile with her daughter.

  Haruka knew that she was clearly using this trip to bring Jun and her closer together as well as their two families.

  ‘Oh yes,’ Mrs Makimoto replied with confidence. ‘They’ll meet us after breakfast tomorrow at ten thirty a.m.’

  Haruka’s mother looked at her daughter again with a hugely satisfied smirk pasted across her face.

  On the way to the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Haruka and her parents were in a fine mood. They chatted all the way in high spirits, looking forward to the temple and really enjoying each other’s company. Haruka had visited the Golden Temple with her junior high school, but its sheer brilliance still stunned her again that afternoon. The gold leaf that encompassed the temple and its reflection in the surrounding Kyôko-chi pond provided a serenity and splendour that created a real Zen sense of peacefulness.

  Haruka’s father took a photo of his wife and daughter with the Golden Temple in the background.

  ‘The temple’s exquisite, isn’t it, Mother?’ Haruka said.

  ‘Yes, but it’s the gardens that I like the most. Each branch and each rock are so beautifully sculptured. This is art for me, Haruka – the epitome of Japanese art,’ her mother replied.

  On the way back to the hotel, Haruka thought about her relationship with her mother. When she was growing up, they’d always been close, but she somehow felt that their trip to Kyoto and the visit to The Golden Temple had brought them even closer. Haruka was so grateful that her parents had decided to take this trip to Kyoto, even though they had money problems. It would all be worth it when they met up with Jun and his family and the wedding plans were arranged. Haruka thought that her mother obviously had her best interests at heart and if every
thing worked out with Jun, then she was looking forward to the harmony between their two families.

  That night, Mrs Makimoto, Haruka and her family enjoyed a delicious dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Haruka returned to her room about ten p.m. and slept well, looking forward to the following day.

  On Friday morning, she dressed with a little more care than usual, as she had the double pleasure of looking forward to seeing Jun again and more sightseeing and she wanted to look her best. Haruka remembered to wear the Tiffany & Co. heart pendant and the Hermés scarf that Jun had so generously given to her in August. She even took her Louis Vuitton bag with her that she only brought out for special occasions. When she’d finished dressing, Haruka went to her parents’ room to find her father enjoying a delicious Japanese breakfast. It had obviously been brought to the room moments earlier. Her father looked up and suggested that Haruka order something herself while there was still time.

  Haruka looked at the room service menu and also at the array of food in front of her father. He was holding his chopsticks over an appetiser, grilled fish, miso soup, and dried seaweed, vegetables simmering in sweet soy sauce, as well as egg, pickles, rice and fruit. Haruka didn’t think she could stomach that much so early because she usually didn’t eat breakfast. She ordered a grapefruit juice and a croissant, as well as a Danish pastry for her mother, and the food arrived shortly after.

  Just after ten thirty a.m., they walked out of the elevator and into the spacious lobby to find Jun Kurokawa sitting with his mother. Mrs Kurokawa always made Haruka a bit nervous. A single band of grey hair running from the part at her hairline over her blackened perm made her look striking but quite intimidating.

  Haruka was surprised to see Jun looking completely stupefied when he saw her and her parents. He stood up and offered them a crooked smile, visibly shaken by their appearance in the lobby.

  ‘I didn’t know that you were coming with my auntie to Kyoto,’ were his first words.

  ‘Didn’t I mention it to you, Jun?’ said his mother, waving to Mrs Makimoto as she walked across the lobby to join them.