"Is this it?!"

“Are you joking?!”

She asked, her eyes welling with tears as I knelt down, heart pounding, and held out the ring.

“Yeah, this is it!”, I said with a smile. “But… this is not the real ring, it’s a temporary one.”

We laughed.

“Will you marry me? Will you be my missus forever?”

For a moment, time stood still. Then, through laughter and teary eyes, she nodded and said yes.

By Lake Kawaguchiko, behind tall pampas grass, and with the snow-capped Mt. Fuji in the background, we got engaged. Mt. Fuji wasn’t just a witness to our proposal—it became part of our story.

Ken and I have been together since 2016, almost 9 years now. This was a long time coming for us. In a way, the proposal was not a complete surprise. She knew it was coming, we talked about our ideal rings and proposals. But of course, she had no clue when or where it would happen.

Our Japan trip was booked in July 2024, and shortly after that, I became obsessed with the idea of proposing there. Traveling has always been our thing since we started dating. There are so many memories and stories we’ve made from places we’ve been and we want to return again. And this trip, our first time in Japan together, we’ll definitely remember forever.

So many ideas came to mind about how I would propose. One of them—and obviously the winner—was popping the question at Lake Kawaguchiko, where Mt. Fuji could make a special appearance. It was nerve-racking, stressful, and exciting all at the same time.

Mt. Fuji is a shy giant, only showing itself when the skies are kind. Winter is the best time to come and see it, but even then, I had to monitor the weather forecast and watch the live webcam before going and booking anything.

So, it ended up being a pretty spontaneous day trip and proposal. We booked our bus tickets from Tokyo just a day before and were lucky to still find seats at the last minute.

While that’s sorted, there was still a big hole in the plan—where exactly to propose?! Our number one agreement was that the proposal had to be private. And, as a WLW couple traveling a very conservative country, finding a quiet, secluded spot was especially important.

There are three bus lines that goes around Lake Kawaguchiko and the rest of Fuji Five Lakes. We briefly considered heading to the Gotemba Premium Outlets instead, but good thing we didn’t! We rode the red bus to see sights while I secretly waited for a perfect spot.

At some point between hopping on and off buses and exploring, we decided to alight at a random stop and walk around. Walking has always been our way to slow down and see a place. It is always, always worth it. We followed the path around the lake and turned at an alley leading to a dock with really nice view of Mt. Fuji. I almost proposed there. The vibe was not so romantic though—and very rocky, not good for kneeling!

So we kept going. There was a moment when I started thinking of a plan b, feeling a little doubt with how the plan was unfolding.

Until, I found the perfect spot. Away from people, hidden by tall pampa grass, and with a perfect view of Mt. Fuji.

You’re probably still thinking... where’s the real ring? I had it custom made in the Philippines and didn’t quite arrive on time. I knew this would happen though and bought a temporary ring before flying to Japan. She got the ring a week later.

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There are many reasons why it took us this long to get here and to eventually tie the knot. The short answer — we want to get married in our own time, when we’re ready emotionally and financially, when we’ve worked enough on our individual traumas and issues (it’s a constant ongoing process!), and when we’ve discussed what the future looks like.

We don’t usually care for Valentine’s Day but it seems like a good excuse to share this story. We’ve kept it our little secret for almost 2 months and now cat’s out of the bag!

Here are some more photos from walking around Lake Kawaguchiko: