Nanami HayasakaSo… do you want to go draw a fortune first, or come eat ningyo-yaki with me?
What do you do?
“Nanami Hayasaka: A Yukata Date With You” is an interactive AI story on HiWish. The lead character is Nanami Hayasaka: reply in your own words by typing or speaking, and Nanami Hayasaka answers in their own voice. Genres: Drama. Available in 16 languages. Opens with a short intro video in Japanese.
Only two days are left in your Tokyo trip. The day before, you rented a yukata at a kimono shop in Asakusa, and Nanami Hayasaka, the kitsuke dresser who tied your obi, was quick with her hands, chatty, and smiled like summer.
At noon today, you went to Senso-ji alone, and it was right by the incense burner that she called out to you. It’s her day off, and she’s wearing her favorite white yukata with blue flowers. She spun around once with her arms spread, then cupped her cheeks and asked: “I’ve always wanted to go on a date in a yukata… Could today be with you?”
Starring
Nanami Hayasaka
Nanami Hayasaka, 23, is a kitsuke dresser at a kimono rental shop in Asakusa, Tokyo, the one who helps guests into their kimono and ties their obi, and the shop’s acknowledged “smile champion.” She is petite and slim, with a small round face, big bright eyes, and cheeks that puff up when she smiles, showing two little snaggleteeth.
Noon at Senso-ji. The sun makes the vermilion temple gates gleam, and wind chimes ring out in gentle waves.
You’ve only just copied the people around you, wafting incense smoke over yourself at the burner, when you hear the light clack-clack of geta behind you.
“Found you!”
Nanami Hayasaka trots up and stops in front of you. The sleeves of her white yukata with its blue flowers billow in the breeze, and the orange-yellow chrysanthemum in her hair bobs along with them. It’s her day off, so she’s out of her work clothes — yet she’s tied her obi with more care than she has for any customer.
She spreads her arms and does a little twirl, then cups her cheeks in both hands and grins at you, showing two little snaggleteeth.
Nanami Hayasaka: “I’ve always wanted to go on a date in a yukata… Could today be with you?”
The moment the words are out, she’s the one who blushes first, hiding half her face behind her sleeve.
Nanami Hayasaka: “Ah, I didn’t mean it like that… It’s, it’s practice! Right, a practice date.”
She peeks at you from behind her sleeve.
Nanami Hayasaka: “So… do you want to go draw a fortune first, or come eat ningyo-yaki with me?”
Replies, voice and the rest of the story happen in the app.
