Travel Influencer Couple Drowns in Tragic River Death
They'd only been married for a few months.
For many who can't afford to travel, living vicariously through travel influencers is a great way to see the world. But for one beloved wayfarer couple, their work ended up costing them their lives.
Tsubasa Ito and his wife Teitei, better known by her online alias Agu, died on June 29 while climbing a mountain in central Japan's Gifu prefecture. According to a July 15 report from the South China Morning Post, they were exploring with a friend when Ito and Teitei fell into a raging river below. The river, which is about 80 meters wide and up to 20 meters deep in some places, had an elevated water level and flow after heavy rains the day before.
Authorities said Teitei threw a 100-meter-long rope into the water to save her husband as he tried to swim to the bank on the ride and attach the rope to something, but he was quickly swallowed by the river. Teitei dove in to save him but was also swept away. Their friend immediately reported what happened and officials found the couple's bodies downstream several hours later. The tragic deaths come just a few months after they got married in February.
In a post on Ito's Instagram, Ito's sister Minami confirmed their deaths wrote a long dedication to her deceased brother. "I hesitated about posting this on Instagram, but I have received many messages from people asking about their safety and offering my condolences, so I decided to write," she wrote.
She recounted some touching childhood memories they shared, including the inspirational words he instilled in her mind. "'Don't think you're like the others. Don't do anything you can't take responsibility for. Be able to do everything on your own,'" he told her, and she's treasured that advice ever since.
"These words mean everything to me," she continued. "He was a very strict person, but he took me to many places. He was very loving. My brother was like a father to me."