American Chris Holland and Lisa Kakinoki from Yokohama, both 26, first met in 2006 when they were studying at J.F. Oberlin University in Tokyo.
Chris was a philosophy major at the University of Hawaii who was visiting on a one-year program to study Japanese and learning wadaiko (Japanese drumming).
Lisa, born in Ibaraki Prefecture and raised in Kanagawa, was majoring in cross-cultural communications. As part of her studies, she was looking for foreign students who would answer a questionnaire on culture shock when the two were introduced by a mutual friend.