Our last day in Japan and we were up early to make it to the Imperial Palace for the Emperor’s appearance then to the airport in time to fly back to Korea.

After leaving our bags in a locker at the station we made our way to the palace. Coming out of the subway station we had no idea how to get to the palace but soon spotted masses of people heading in the same direction and figured the best option was to follow them.

Outside the place grounds the queue was huge. We walked for about five minutes just to reach the end of it. Once we joined the queue we were amazed at how quickly it moved. As we neared the entrance everyone in the queue was given a Japanese flag. We soon arrived at a security gate where our bags were searched, I was told not to remove my bottled water anywhere inside the grounds, and we were frisked before being allowed through to the second security gate. Once safely through security we made our way to a mass of highly organised queues. There were about six queuing areas marked out. As you walked towards them you were guided towards one of the areas and organised into a row of four. We were lucky enough to be at the front of one of the queues and could watch what was going on.

The gates opened and as the queues were let go, one at a time, a walking mass of people converged on the gates of the palace.

As our queue began to move and we followed the crowds through the palace grounds to the area where the Emperor was to appear we had to hang onto each other so as not to get lost in the crowds.

We eventually stopped in front of a large balcony and waited for the Emperor. After about 20 minutes there was a massive roar of appreciation from the assembled crowd and the frantic waving of Japanese flags marked the appearance of the Emperor and his family.

The family members on the balcony were their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and some other adult members of the Imperial Family. But apart from the Emperor Akihito (明仁), who is the guy in the middle, I have no idea who is who.

The Emperor waved at the crowd then spoke briefly, we had no idea what he said but I have found this English translation on the Imperial Household Agency website:

I am deeply saddened that last year as many as 150 people lost their lives in natural disasters including heavy snowfalls, torrential rains, typhoons, and tornadoes. My heart goes out to the people of Niigata Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture who are spending another winter living in temporary housing as a result of the earthquakes in those areas.

There were also regions where salty winds from typhoons caused great damage to rice crops, and my thoughts are with the people of the farming communities affected.

At the start of the new year, I pray for the happiness of the people of Japan and the world. It is my sincere hope that all of us work together to pursue a society in which people can live in mutual trust.

His speech lasted around three minutes then he stood for a further five minutes waving at the crowd before leaving the balcony less than 10 minutes after he emerged.

Once the Emperor was gone the crowd began to move towards the exit. Because of the crowds we hadn’t been able to get much of a look at the grounds so upon nearing the exit we decided to walk the long way round in the hope of seeing more of them. But we were so far out of the Palace there wasn’t a lot to be seen.

Despite the Emperor being a man of few words and not getting a good look at the Palace or the grounds it was a fantastic experience. On January 2nd 2007 I was at the Imperial Palace in Japan surrounded by Japanese eagerly waving flags watching the Emperor give his new years address.

Once we left the palace all that remained for us to do was get something to eat and head back to Korea.

* Posted by j150vsc on 16/02/2007.