EHIME, May 18 (News On Japan) –
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Ehime Prefecture for the National Tree Planting Festival, marking their first go to to the prefecture because the Emperor’s accession to the throne and their first joint go to to Ehime in 27 years.
On the primary day of the go to, the imperial couple toured an aquarium operated by a highschool aquarium membership, the one one among its form in Japan. After listening to college students clarify their analysis on clownfish, the Emperor reportedly smiled and mentioned, “I used to keep clownfish in an aquarium myself.”
On May seventeenth, forward of the tree-planting ceremony, the couple visited Tobe Zoo and met Peace, the polar bear that turned the primary in Japan to be efficiently raised by synthetic nursing.
Speaking with the devoted keeper who raised Peace after the cub was deserted by its mom, the Emperor and Empress expressed their appreciation, telling the keeper, “Peace is a happy child to have been cared for with such affection from a young age.”
The Empress was reportedly moved to tears, saying, “It was my dream to meet Peace.”
The couple additionally visited Jennifer, a feminine orangutan on the zoo. Before leaving, the Empress reportedly advised the zoo director, “When I was a child, I wanted to become a zookeeper.”
In the night, native residents welcomed the imperial couple with a conventional lantern celebration often known as “Chochin Hougei.”
As folks waved lanterns and shouted celebratory greetings towards the lodge the place the couple had been staying, two lanterns held by the Emperor and Empress appeared from a darkened room in response.
During their keep, the imperial couple additionally met with folks affected by the devastating western Japan floods eight years in the past, concluding their two-day go to on May seventeenth.
Source: FNN