2 weeks Ago
A Japanese university student has gone viral for being the sole member out of 35 primary school pupils to remember the “time capsule” they buried eight years ago, igniting a wave of sympathetic comments and nostalgic reflections from netizens. The young man, who goes by the handle @tungsten___W on a social media platform, is currently a second-year student at the esteemed Tokyo University. On March 22, he returned to his primary school to fulfil the promise he made with his 34 classmates and the supervising teacher eight years prior.
At that time, they buried “time capsules” containing letters to their future selves beside the school’s playground, and they agreed to reunite at the school on March 22, 2025, at 5.30pm. He arrived punctually at the school’s gate and waited for a while, but regrettably, he was the only one who kept the commitment.
He shared the experience on social media, where his post garnered an astonishing 32 million views, 270,000 likes, and 13,000 shares. Many were touched by his unwavering loyalty, affectionately dubbing him “the last promise keeper in the world.” “It’s even sadder that your solitude was reposted 13,000 times,” one user noted.
The young man expressed his disappointment that no one else remembered their promise, not even the teacher. “Some claimed it’s common for people to forget what happened during primary school once they move on to secondary school and university. I find that way of living rather sad,” he remarked.
In response to his concern about the teacher, one commenter noted: “What you experience once might have been repeated many times for the teacher, so it is natural they forgot.” He added that he did not seek to become an online celebrity but hoped for his message to reach his 34 former classmates. To many’s astonishment, just two days later, he said that he had connected with two former classmates.
The promise note he shared from eight years ago, detailing the contents of their time capsule and the meeting time and location, triggered memories for those two, prompting them to reach out to @tungsten___W on the platform. While he did not disclose whether they planned to meet, it was clear he was excited about the Internet’s ability to reunite people. A commenter from Japan mentioned that it is a tradition among Japanese primary school graduates to write letters to their future selves, bury them together at school, and wait years before returning to unearth the time capsules.
“His post reminded me that I also did something similar upon graduation, but I’ve nearly forgotten where our time capsules were buried,” shared one user. “He may feel lonely and sad, but his dedication to promises is truly beautiful,” remarked another. – South China Morning Post.
