Questions about Victoria's bus routes?
Ask Her Imperial Highness Princess Ayako of Takamado, of Japan.
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Her host, Geoff Wilmshurst, took her to the wrong bus stop on one of her first days, not being a regular transit user himself. They waited and waited, until a passing driver set them right.
“The good news about the story is Ayako became an extremely good bus user. And today, if you ever need directions on how to use the bus system in Victoria, Princess Ayako is the person to talk to,” said Wilmshurst, who is also Camosun’s vice-president of partnerships.
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Ayako claims she isn’t “popular” enough to get recognized in Tokyo, although her English-as-a-second-language teachers said fellow Japanese students knew who she was and began adjusting their grammar to acknowledge her stature.
There were subtle security measures while she studied in Victoria, but otherwise, she was like any other student, volunteering as a stagehand for the talent show and sometimes skipping homework.
At the college Monday morning, about 20 Camosun staff and members of Ayako’s entourage arrived to watch her receive the Camosun President’s Award for International Partnership.
She moved down the line of familiar faces, shaking hands with some, bowing to others and giving still others warm hugs. Looking across the room, she chirped with glee to see her former ESL teacher Diana Kohl and began tearing up.
“I love her, because she always gave me confidence, like, ‘you are great,’ ” Ayako said.
Ayako is a woman of few words and still shy using English. But she’s happy to express fondness for Victoria — a place she says is “No. 1” in her books.
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On Monday, she exchanged big hugs with Geoff’s wife, Branka Wilmshurst, who she said was like a sister, when she lived with the couple.
“We learned a lot from each other,” Branka said.
“Ayako is a very modest lady. … It was not what people would expect when you host a royal member,” she said.
Geoff and Branka said they’re waiting for Ayako to get married, so they can attend her wedding in Japan and then see her again, when she inevitably honeymoons in Victoria.
Ayako seems keen on the idea.
“I want to live here forever,” she said.
It’s an option, she said, “if I can have a husband who can come or who can buy a house here.”
Camosun was one of her last stops before flying out this week.
Her final stop, she said, would be Tim Hortons for a hot chocolate.
