‘I wanted at least one thing in 2020 that she could look back on fondly’
Takaya Miki and Francine Chloe Ramirez met while Chloe was an exchange student in Japan at Takaya’s university and the two were part of the same barkada. “Being in the same barkada really did help strengthen our relationship. I was on exchange for a year and by my second semester, we started dating,” Chloe says. “To this day, we don’t know the exact date of when we became a couple. We just went with the flow.”
Takaya says he knew it was the right time to propose because of where they were at in their lives. “We’re both growing up. We’re becoming adults and we’re continuously helping each other grow and better ourselves over the time we’ve been together.” He adds, “Topping it off with a crazy year and Chloe not being able to see her parents, family, and friends back in Manila, I wanted at least one thing in 2020 that she could look back on fondly.”
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The proposal was originally planned to happen during a ski trip in Finland where Takaya has many fond memories. “I thought it was the perfect spot to get on one knee because of the northern lights,” Takaya says. Since his initial idea would not work out, Takaya planned a ski trip to Hakuba Valley which he calls “a winter paradise in the alps of Nagano”. Takaya and Chloe are currently residing in countryside Japan “where life is still pretty normal”.
Chloe recalls that when the two stopped to rest by the side of the mountain to take in the beautiful view, that was when Takaya setup a camera to record the moment. “Nobody was around and it was so serene seeing nature at its finest,” she says.
“I wanted to record it in secret so I laid the camera and my ski gear all messy so she wouldn’t notice. We talked and took some nice pictures of the scenery and then I thought it was the perfect time to just pretend to take photos together, but really I was going to surprise her,” Takaya says. “The location, the weather, the atmosphere, pretty much everything was the best way possible. I really had nature on my side, and most importantly, she said yes!”
