Kanako (third from right) breaking fast with friends at Gua Matsoorat, Ipoh. It was her first experience of fasting during Ramadan. — Bernama
The kindness of the people she encountered during her visit to Malaysia five years ago opened the heart of a Japanese woman to learn more about Islam, and she eventually embraced the religion last year.
Kanako Wakabayashi, 28, lost her phone in a restaurant in Kuala Perlis town during her visit to Perlis as a university student in 2019.
According to her, there was nobody around who could converse in English, making it difficult for her to ask for help.
She had to use hand gestures but soon got assistance from a husband and wife.
“I encountered a wonderful family, found my phone in the restaurant and everyone there clapped their hands.
“I was touched by their reaction because even though I was not a Muslim and they didn’t know me, they still greeted me warmly with kindness.
“After the incident, I wanted to go back to Kuala Lumpur but there was no bus or train because all were fully booked.
“That’s when the nice family asked me to stay with them,” she told Bernama when met in Ipoh, Perak.
Kanako, who hails from Hitachi, a coastal city in the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan, said the family allowed her to stay at their home for four days until she could travel back to Kuala Lumpur and catch her flight home.
When she got home, Kanako said she could not get what she had encountered in Malaysia out of her mind.
This memory was part of what helped her to embrace Islam, she said.
Last year, a Malaysian friend visited Japan and stayed for a night at Kanako’s house.
“I followed her to the mosque that night, and then suddenly, I felt it was time for me to embrace the religion.
“That’s what my heart told me to do,” said Kanako, who works at an extreme sports company.
Recently, she was back in Malaysia and stayed with a Muslim family in Meru, Klang in Selangor.
“They taught me more about Islam,” she said.
On her first experience of fasting during Ramadan this year, Kanako said it was tough because she had a fever on the first day and could not help but to break fast early.
“Although I failed on the first day, I still wanted to do it just like other Muslims.
“My friend told me it was okay to break fast early on the first day because I was not well, but I just drank water and took my medicine,” said Kanako.
