Japanese emperor, empress arrive in Hawaii
HONOLULU -- Japan's royal couple thrilled a crowd of about 1,000 well-wishers during a visit to an Oahu park on Tuesday, the first day of their three-day trip to Hawaii.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko waved to the Japanese flag-waving crowd, which responded with cheers.
Tomiko Fukuji, of Waikiki, waited hours at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki to catch a glimpse of the couple.
"I had tears in my eyes," she said. "I want to say, 'Thank you for coming to Hawaii. I'm glad to see you in good health.'"
Despite the laid-back and tropical backdrop, the couple was dressed formally. The empress wore a fuchsia top and black skirt, accented by a white hat and a single-strand white pearl necklace. Akihito wore a tie and gray suit.
At the park, the couple spoke to dozens of students from Rainbow Gakuen, a weekend Japanese elementary school in Honolulu. They were also greeted by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and former Gov. George Ariyoshi, the first U.S. governor of Japanese-American ancestry.
The couple also paused to examine a rainbow shower tree they planted in 1960 when they were crown prince and princess.
The visit to the park was the only public event during their stay.
Upon their arrival at Hickam Air Force Base, they were greeted by Gov. Linda Lingle and Adm. Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command.
The couple will stay in the islands through Thursday. They're stopping in Hawaii on their way home from an 11-day trip to Canada.
Akihito, 75, and Michiko, 74, is here is to mark the 50th anniversary of a scholarship Hawaii residents set up to commemorate the couple's wedding in 1959.
The scholarship, which has funded the studies of than 130 people since the 1970s, sends University of Hawaii graduate students to Japan and brings Japanese students to UH to study.
Dozens of former scholarship recipients who are now college professors, historians and scientific researchers, will be on hand to celebrate with the royals at a dinner banquet on Wednesday.
The couple last visited the islands in 1994, five years after Akihito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne.