Rebecca Whitcomb never really intended to go to Japan. However destiny seemed to have it all laid out for her. When she was in high school back in Brisbane, Australia 10 years ago she was studying French and was actually dreaming about going to France. So when she decided to go on an exchange and filled out the application forms she was sure that she put France on the top of her list, and that Japan wasn't even on it. However when she got the result it was still decided that she was to go to Japan. Ever since then she has been followed by a sense of predestined happenings bringing her back to Japan for her university studies in 2002 and then for work in 2004. At first she was teaching English, but wasn't satisfied so spring 2006 she quit her job and worked as a private teacher instead. This ended up being a tough choice, as she had to work hard to find students, lacked money, and was lonely. Then one day in August 2006 destiny struck her again. As she got off a train a poster caught her eye. It advertised for a dancing performance inside the train station. She went to the event and just knew when she heard the music and saw the movements that she wanted to dance yosakoi.

The first team Rebecca saw was Tokyo Metro team, which is the group that she is dancing with now. However joining her "dream team" was tougher than expected. She went to the Super Yosakoi the week after, which inspired her to dance even more, but she didn't know how to join a team. Then few weeks later she was stopped on the street and invited to an international exchange group. She wasn't really interested, but gave her e-mail address. Shortly after she got a message about starting up an international yosakoi team. She got very excited but to her big disappointment only 3 people showed up at the rehearsal. However the others, 2 Japanese girls, Chisaki and Yuka were eager, and Yuka who was a semi-pro yosakoi dancer lead the team and eventually they were 20 members. Few foreigners joined, and eventually Rebecca was the only foreigner left. The team was scheduled to perform at Dream Yosakoi, late November 2006, less than 3 months after starting dancing. Yosakoi was new to most of the members so they had to practice a lot. Just before the event the international exchange group sponsoring them dissolved, and Rebecca's team was to split up. The team's teacher, Taro felt so sorry for them and kept on training the team for free, and successfully got them through the dancing event. However the team eventually broke up at the end of the same year.

Rebecca wanted to continue dancing and told Chisaki about the Tokyo Metro team and that she wanted to join them. The two girls didn't know how to contact the group so Chisaki just called Tokyo Metro office and got the number of the team's leader. In May 2007 Yuka and Chisaki joined a rehearsal without Rebecca and warned her that it was too tough, but Rebecca had made up her mind. She went to watch them perform again and asked if she could join them. The group had no foreigners and was a bit surprised but excited about her request. She started going to rehearsals 3 times a week after work, and 5 hours practice on Sundays. It was hard but she felt lucky as the members actually had to be employed at Tokyo Metro. She gradually learned the moves and got even more into it. In 2007 she performed with the team at the Super Yosakoi for the first time, making her dream come true. It was hot and exhausting, but the atmosphere was great and she kept on dancing for 2 whole days. The crowds were overwhelming and people so cheerful that she gave so much in her dance that she fainted after finishing.

Yosakoi changed my life she said and explained how the dancing gave her more confidence, which lead to her finding a good job, a new happy lifestyle, and lots of new friends. Dancing together is such a strong experience that it deepens the relationship. Her Yosakoi team is like a family to her she explained, and said that several couples have hooked up in her team. Yosakoi is friendship, love, life, and she cannot even imagine being without it. She wants to keep on dancing as long as she can, and the fact that people start remembering their songs and sing along motivates her to keep on dancing. She says that it is fun to be part of something that embraces tradition at the same time brings it to life in a modern setting. As her team's performance is based in the Tokyo metropolis's metro system and sings about the pulse of the metro, it adds humor and life to the capital that at times seems too busy to have fun. Yosakoi has made a home for me here in Tokyo. It's simply life she concludes.