(The following is the English translation of the e-mail sent to our Japanese customers.)

Happy New Year!

This is Kanako Yoshida from YOUYOUANG.

Some of you may have spent the holidays relaxing at home, others busy with work, and still others traveling or going out—I imagine there were many different ways you welcomed the New Year.

We sincerely appreciate your continued support this year as well. We wish you good health and happiness throughout the year ahead.

Our final task at the end of last year was creating a display for a New Year fair.

At the Japanese Culture section of Ginza Six 6F Tsutaya Books, we are currently holding a YOUYOUANG incense fair under the theme:
“Bringing the Aesthetic Sense of Japan into Everyday Life.”

In addition to our regular items such as “Cherry Blossom Incense / Paulownia Box” and “Snow, Moon and Flowers Incense”, this event features several items to enjoy the New Year through fragrance:
The new product “Spirit of Scent”, which blends fragrant woods with floral scents;
“Indulgence in Reading”, made exclusively from the finest natural fragrant woods;
and “Drawstring Bag Natural Sachet”, a scented sachet that gently blends traditional medicinal herbs with fragrant woods.

On the 30^th December, I boarded a ship at Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo bound for Chichijima,　part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Ogasawara Islands, located about 1,000 km south of Tokyo. A vendor introduced to us by Ginza Tsutaya used to work as a teacher on Chichijima and hearing that sparked my curiosity—thus began this small adventure.

It takes a full 24 hours to reach Chichijima by ship. If it were a flight, you could reach Brazil! (laughs) The earliest return trip is six days later—meaning if a typhoon causes a cancellation, the return could be delayed to thirteen days later. Summer trips can be a bit nerve-racking.

On the day of arrival, I explored the island on foot, leisurely walking while soaking in the island’s unique atmosphere. The next morning, I joined a guided trek through a lush subtropical forest that cannot be entered without a guide.

Soft moss like a carpet spread underfoot, and banyan trees—whose roots looked like octopus legs or branches (hard to tell, really!)—lined the paths like street trees. After about two and a half hours of climbing, a breathtaking panoramic view opened up before us. Minamijima lay right in front of my eyes!

I learned that in the past, this red soil was used for dyeing and pottery, forming a unique local culture. Sadly, those traditions have since disappeared—another precious cultural heritage lost.

The following day, despite strong winds and rain, I joined a full-day ocean tour. Braving rough waves that rose higher than the boat and felt genuinely dangerous, we reached a beautiful uninhabited island.

After that, the weather worsened. Even in a wetsuit, I nearly succumbed to hypothermia and felt faint—when suddenly, a pod of dolphins appeared!
We even saw their twisting jumps, something I’d only ever seen in aquariums, and my spirits revived a little.

After another 30 minutes by boat, we were lucky enough to encounter a mother and calf humpback whale. Apparently, such sightings are rare—the guides were the most excited among us! (laughs)

We ended the day snorkeling in a calm cove. Surrounded by colorful coral and tropical fish, I completely lost track of time.

On the final day, I ran along a mountain ridge toward the Weather Station Observatory at the summit. After sprinting through pristine forest, the winds from the Pacific at the top nearly blew me off our feet.

The return journey was a long one—26 hours of rolling seas before arriving back in Tokyo. Once again, it was an incredibly rich and memorable experience.

We are also making preparations for the February Gift Show. This time, in addition to our catalog, we plan to offer fragrance samples of our popular products.

We truly appreciate your continued support this year as well!