Totton woman meets Japanese pen pal after 35 years

Back in 1988, Mo Penrose – now 58 and an academic administrator – answered an advert in the Daily Echo letters column from an English teacher living in Japan, asking for pen friends for her students.

Nearly four decades later and Mo is still exchanging written letters with 72-year-old Keiko Mochizuki, who lives in Tokyo with her husband Miku.

Last month, Keiko and Miku travelled more than 9,500km to London, in a five-day visit that saw them also visit Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, and Windsor.

The pair’s stop in London gave Mo the chance to finally meet her long-time pen pal.

Mo told the Echo: “I suppose I was a little nervous at first but then when we first saw each other we were both very relaxed.

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“It felt like I was with an old friend and was meeting them having not seen Keiko for a long period of time.

“It was quite exciting, even with a language barrier.”

Over the years, the pair have exchanged gifts for each other’s families – including mementoes from their various holiday destinations.

When they met up, the pair had a chat, managing to speak to each other in simple sentences – before visiting Buckingham Palace and Covent Garden.

“Her English is better than my Japanese, it’s still a little rusty”, said Mo.

“Keiko’s husband, Miku doesn’t speak any English, but we all managed to get on really well.

“It was pouring down with rain and freezing cold – so not the best weather to go sightseeing in London. But we still had a really good time.”

Following the long overdue get together, Mo is planning on visiting Keiko with her husband Martin in 2025 – as well as visiting another friend who is an English teacher in the country.

Mo added: “It would be brilliant to see them again and that’s something we plan on doing in a couple of years.

“We’ll continue to write to each other and stay in touch, the whole experience has been brilliant.”