Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress visit Aomori and respond with smiles to children's "bye-bye"

Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress are visiting Aomori Prefecture for the National Sports Festival. On the 11th, they interacted with prefectural residents by watching a table tennis match and experiencing the Aomori Nebuta Festival. A large number of people gathered around the place they visited to catch a glimpse of Their Majesties.

In the morning, we watched a national sports table tennis match at the Kakuhiro Group Super Arena. Mitsuru Kono, chairman of the Prefectural Table Tennis Federation, who responded to the incident, told reporters, ``The Empress asked me about when I started playing table tennis, how to hold a racket, and how to spin the ball.''

In the afternoon, we visited ``Nebuta no Ie Wa Rasse''. Watch the large Nebuta festival at the Aomori Nebuta Festival guided by Hiroo Takenami, the 7th Nebuta master. After Hayashi's live performance of flutes and drums, Their Majesties rented a hand gong and tried making sounds, and there were also scenes where they asked Haneto questions about his costumes.

Afterwards, at the intergenerational exchange facility "Vanpure Minami Aomori," they watched nursery school children and elderly people enjoy a game using balls together. After meeting with users and childcare workers, the two smiled and waved when the child said "Bye."

This is his first visit to the prefecture since ascending the throne. It was the first time in 23 years that Their Majesties visited the prefecture together, since 2003.