“He moved me … I kept on telling myself that I’m going to get well and come visit to see Punch,” said Ishizawa, who has since recovered and dropped by the zoo after wrapping up a business trip. “And here I am, I made it. I’m very happy I could finally see him in person.”
Yeye Lights, a longtime resident in the city, had never visited the zoo until she became a Punch fan and now has an annual visitor pass. She was hooked by Punch after her daughter in the Philippines told her about the monkey.
“I have a cake for Punch-kun, I’m celebrating with my friends,” Lights said, using an affectionate Japanese honorific for boys. She thanked the monkey’s two carers for taking good care of him.
