The Beginning of the Journey

When Yamazaki stepped off the small plane, she was stunned.

She could not see a single house, let alone a townscape. There was only a runway built in the wilderness.

What worried her even more was that the female owner who was supposed to pick her up did not appear, no matter how long she waited.

She had traveled alone from Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture, via Sydney, to Lightning Ridge, an opal-mining town in eastern Australia, in September of the previous year.

She dreamed of selling rainbow-colored opals throughout Kyushu and Yamaguchi and, one day, establishing a business base in Fukuoka. It was with this dream in mind that she made the buying trip.

No one approached the runway. Carrying her luggage on her back, Yamazaki began walking in the direction the pilot’s car had gone.

Life is strange: that decision ultimately opened the way forward.

No One Came to Meet Me

After walking for hours across the vast wilderness, she finally reached a house.

It belonged to the town’s security officer, who kindly called a taxi so that she could finally reach her hotel.

Lightning Ridge is known worldwide as a source of exceptional black opals.

Later that day, she visited the office of the female owner she had planned to meet. However, the asking prices were far beyond her budget, and no deal was made.

As she walked through town before returning home, she unexpectedly met the same security officer again.

After hearing what had happened, he said,

“I have two friends who mine and cut opals. Let me introduce you.”

She visited them right away, and they quickly hit it off. That evening, she was invited to dinner with one of their families.

A Chance Encounter Opens the Door

“They seemed intrigued that a Japanese woman had traveled all the way there alone in search of opals and was determined to succeed. They wanted to support her and help her begin working with opals by supplying them at an affordable price. That shared understanding brought them together,” she says.

As luck would have it, one of their relatives was already dealing in opals in Tokyo. This fortunate connection established a unique purchasing route:

Lightning Ridge → Tokyo → Miyuki Yamasaki

Understanding and Trust Born from Empathy

Born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Yamazaki graduated from a local high school and worked for three years at a department store in Kitakyushu.

After the store extended its business hours and returning home became increasingly difficult, she resigned and continued working part-time jobs in Shimonoseki.

Later, she joined a camera company, where she also helped sell cosmetics handled by the company president’s wife.

Discovering Opals

Her fascination with opals began when her older brother, who was working as a tour guide in Australia, sent two beautiful stones to their mother and to her.

“They were magnificent opals shimmering in deep navy blue. My friends admired them too. Listening to my brother’s stories about Australia made me want to visit the place myself.”

Chasing My Dream

She then attended English conversation school while working at a camera shop, selling cosmetics, and studying late into the night.

In September of the following year, she traveled to Australia to see the mines with her own eyes.

After saving more money, she returned again to purchase opals.

Through her brother, who lived in New Zealand, she developed another supply route.

Eventually, she began selling opals on consignment through well-known department stores across Kyushu and Yamaguchi.

Opals changed her life because they gave her a purpose: to help as many people as possible wear this remarkable stone, and perhaps to share rainbow-colored dreams together. With that hope in her heart, Ms. Yamazaki continues walking forward today.