GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Well, we wouldn't have any pictures, like the one below, if not for the thousands of words exchanged between a Grand Rapids woman and her Japanese pen pal.
They wrote to each other for 63 years, but never officially met, until this past October.
“This is really meant to be," Lisa Dorato, who lives in Grand Rapids, told FOX 17.
That serendipity sparked for Dorato in 1960. At the time, she was a 13-year-old living in Muskegon.
“I picked up a Teen magazine," she explained. "I was looking through the Teen magazine and it said, 'Would you like a pen pal?' I looked down, and there was Junko’s name. So I thought, 'Yeah, I think I'll write to her.' That was 63 years ago, and we're still writing.”
Junko Ota, who's the same age as Dorato, lives in Mejiro, a residential district of Tokyo, Japan.
She and Dorato have been sending letters more than 6,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean, four-to-six times a year, talking about work, family and anything important happening in their lives.
“She just recently told me she had many people, many girls, starting to write her at that time, but they all dropped away," Dorato said. "She and I just kept writing. There was some connection there.”
The more ink that etched the paper, the stronger their friendship grew. They always talked about meeting each, but decades went by and the distance stayed the same.
"I had a double lung transplant two years ago," Dorato said. "It was December 21 of 2001. It just kind of made me realize that things — it was very successful, and I'm doing very well — but it made me realize life can be very short, and you better do what you've always wanted to do because you might not get another chance.”
Finally, in October 2023, Dorato and her husband, Dick, flew 14 hours for the miracle meeting in Mejiro.
"We came out the door and headed toward this huge group of people, and they held up a sign that said, 'Lisa,'" Dorato said with a smile on her face.
"We just picked up, you know, where the last letter left off," Dorato said. "We just talked and talked and, you know, a few tears. It was so exciting. We really enjoyed it.”
Dorato said Junko made them feel like family for two weeks, with a giant welcome party, a tea ceremony, hikes, museums and more.
Now, Junko is like family too, landing on the Dorato's Christmas card this year.
The Doratos are back in Grand Rapids now, with memories that'll last a lifetime, and Junko, still right by their side, thanks to all the photos they collected, and a custom pillow with a picture of Lisa and Junko that says "Beautiful Memories, Forever Friends."
To no surprise, Dorato said the letters are not going to stop. Although, they do like to call each other now as well.
In fact, they spoke on the phone Thursday night to see if Junko wanted to say anything for the interview with FOX 17.
According to Dorato, Junko said they had a wonderful time and they enjoyed Lisa and Dick being there.
FOX 17 asked if the Doratos will return the favor and host Junko and her husband in Grand Rapids at some point. They apparently invited them several times during their visit, and the answer they kept getting was, "We'll see."