The traditional procession of horse-drawn carriages carrying newly appointed foreign ambassadors to ceremonies at the Imperial Palace has been revived for the first time in three years since it was canceled due to the new coronavirus.
The first train of carriages sent by the Imperial Household Agency departed for the Imperial Palace at 10:00 a.m. at the VIP Entrance of Tokyo Station with the new Fiji ambassador on board.
When foreign ambassadors arrive in Japan, they are expected to attend a "credential presentation ceremony" at the Imperial Palace, where they hand over their credentials from their home country to the Emperor.
As the horse-drawn carriage with the chrysanthemum crest echoed through the tree-lined streets of the business district, commuters and foreign tourists pointed their smartphones at it and took pictures and videos.
The carriage train entered the Imperial Palace from the main gate through the Imperial Palace and Gaien, ran about 1.5 kilometers and took about 10 minutes to arrive at the palace.
Since the spread of the new coronavirus infection, transportation by horse-drawn carriage was last canceled in March 2020 in order to prevent people from gathering along the road, and it will be resumed for the first time in three years.
According to the Imperial Household Agency, the Fiji ambassador said that the carriage was comfortable.
Those who saw the carriage train
A 72-year-old woman from Suginami Ward, Tokyo said, "I saw a carriage train four years ago because it was close to my workplace, but when I heard that it would resume on the news, I came to see it for the first time in a while. I want this kind of traditional event to continue forever."
A 50-year-old man from Yokohama said, "I was able to see a valuable ceremony that I can't usually see. I was happy to feel that my daily life had returned, and other events that had been canceled due to the corona virus were steadily reviving. I want you," he said.
A third-year high school boy from Chiba Prefecture, who visited on his high school graduation trip, said, "I'm happy to be able to witness the reopening for the first time in three years, but it's also the first time I've seen a line of horse-drawn carriages, and it's a beautiful scenery. I was talking.
Another female student said, ``I was really happy to see the carriage train on the first day of the graduation trip, which was finally possible because there was no school trip due to Corona. I was talking.