At the “Lake Shikaribetsu Kotan” event currently being held at Lake Shikaribetsu in the town of Shikaoi in the Eastern Hokkaido Tokachi region, a wedding ceremony was conducted atop the ice on February 11. The wedded couple professed their eternal love in an ice chapel made of ice and snow.

The couple was Mie Prefecture civil servant Kakiuchi Tsubasa (36) and Yuiko (34). They went to the same elementary school in Mie, in different grades. Yuiko started living in Shikaoi when her eldest daughter started participating in an outdoor learning program at Urimaku Elementary School in the town in April of last year. Tsubasa visited during breaks, and their love grew.

At the ceremony, school friends, Kotan staff, and tourists gathered around with daughter Misora in the center and Tsubasa and Yuiko entering hand-in-hand, in traditional male and female Japanese wedding attire. They signed a wedding certificate that awaited them on an ice stand. It was a richly poignant moment for both of them. “This will be the happiest memory in our lives. We want to build a warm household together.” This was the thirtieth wedding ceremony to be held in the ice chapel. The Kotan event will last until March 13.