Happy Reiwa! People celebrate the first day of a new era around Japan 【Pics & Videos】
From jumping off bridges to waiting in ten-hour long queues, there are plenty of ways to welcome in a new era.
The past two days have seen a historic turn of events in Japan, as Emperor Emeritus Akihito stepped down from the throne and handed the role over to his eldest son, Emperor Naruhito.
This brought an end to the 30-year long Heisei era on April 30, heralding in a new era called Reiwa on May 1, and to mark the occasion, people across the country gathered to celebrate. Given that the country received a one-off national holiday on May 1 to mark the imperial ascension, the atmosphere in Japan was like New Year’s Day, only instead of seeing one year out and ushering in another, people were bidding farewell to a whole era of change.
This added an extra special sense of nostalgia to the stroke of midnight, and for some that meant gathering around screens in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, to mark the occasion whilst thinking about the changes made to technology and anime since Heisei began in 1989.
令和元年を迎えた秋葉原。 駅前のセガではスタッフがカウントダウンを行い、集まった多くの人と新しい時代を迎えた——。 https://t.co/OfApTXmrjf
—
フォト秋葉原 (@PhotoAkiba) April 30, 2019
At Tokyo Skytree, the tower was lit up to resemble the Japanese flag, with a projection mapping display that included the message “First Year of Reiwa”.
旅行帰りに通りかかったら、 スカイツリーが日の丸カラーになってた。 #東京スカイツリー https://t.co/UPRyWZtTjc
—
ninho (@shiratoninho) April 30, 2019
2019/5/1、東京スカイツリー、「日の丸」ライティングと、「令和元年」レーザーマッピングは本日24時までです。 https://t.co/LuIpKeKy3G
—
てつ (@tetsu_skytree) May 01, 2019
At Shibuya’s famous Scramble Crossing, people gathered to watch the countdown on the big screens.
令和の瞬間の渋谷。警察の「ソフトな雑踏警備能力」が誇示されてた 23時58分に信号を青にし、カウントダウン勢の交差点占拠を敢えて許し、激情をいったん放出させる その後「斜め横断規制中でーす」とさっきまでなかった鉄柵をズルズルと… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
介抱系 (@kaihouke) April 30, 2019
平成最後の写り混みおじさん 令和になった瞬間の渋谷 1分遅れで終わったドミノ 道頓堀川は飛び込んでるし令和も平和ですね! https://t.co/z0v1vNUcAj
—
けしごむ (@keshi7034) April 30, 2019
渋谷マジ凄かったニダ.. #月曜から夜ふかし の3分過ぎたウルトラマンさんとも会えたニダ!! めちゃくちゃ取材して頂いたから マジオンエアーしてくれもるげっそよー🚀 将軍TVも撮影したので 楽しみにしててニダ📹 令和マン… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
🔥ぷりん将軍🔥(渋谷の金正恩) (@mirukupurin15) April 30, 2019
At Yutoku Inari Shrine in Kashima, Saga Prefecture, the grounds were lit up as calligrapher Hosui Yamaguchi wrote the new era name during a live performance.
祐徳稲荷神社で令和のカウントダウンイベントが行われました。雨の中でしたが、非常に多くの方が来ていました。琵琶と和太鼓の演奏の後に来場者で令和のカウントダウンを行いました。書道パフォーマンスでは、祐徳稲荷神社の映像が流れるプロジェク… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
佐賀県鹿島市地域おこし協力隊 (@kashima_okoshi) April 30, 2019
And in Osaka, people jumped into the canal at Dotonbori, with and without their clothes on.
令和の道頓堀川への飛び込み #令和 #令和元年 #道頓堀飛び込み #道頓堀 #道頓堀川 https://t.co/FegU8PGsQ9
—
えでぃー (@n77295) April 30, 2019
Once the sun had risen on the first day of Reiwa in Japan, many people chose to visit shrines and temples to pray for the new era. And for many of those people, the best memento of the first day of the first year of Reiwa would be to have the date preserved in a goshuincho book, written in beautiful calligraphy by a monk or priest.
However, for those heading to Meiji Jingu in Harajuku, a temple closely associated with the Imperial Family, the wait to have your goshuincho stamped was looooooong.
4時間待ったわし「これ間違えてね???」 https://t.co/cLnJnK6leK
—
こもりん(メガネ) (@meganedene) May 01, 2019
The wait was said to be a whopping ten hours long.
By the afternoon, they had to end the day’s goshuincho queue, to prevent people lining up into the wee hours of the night.
【拡散希望】 明治神宮の御朱印の拝受の受付はもう終了しています。並ぶこともできません。 公式でネットで情報あげてないんだから拝受しろと宮司の方々に詰め寄る人もいたので、受付は終わってること、また明治神宮側にはリアルタイムで情報を上… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
ちーな@ゆるダイエッター (@tsubachy) May 01, 2019
At other places around Japan, mascots came out to greet visitors with Reiwa signs by their side at special local events.
グーもーにん♬ あたらしい スタート・:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+ みんなにとって よいじだいと なりますよーに☆ #令和初日 https://t.co/We83S7GRey
—
さのまる こーしきついったー (@sanomaru225) April 30, 2019
ありがとう平成 よろしく令和\(^^)/ 令和最初に食べたものはアジの干物だにゃ♪ 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟 #令和初日 https://t.co/BP9LfDhcha
—
【公式】マリにゃん (@ito_marinetown) May 01, 2019
The rainy weather on May 1 gave some people the perfect excuse to stay indoors and indulge in Reiwa sweets.
こんにちは🎏 お菓子の家SWANです🍰 「#令和」の時代がやって来ました。 SWANでは、元号にちなんだ商品をご用意しております。 令和サブレ、令和煉瓦焼き、令和元年スワンロール。本日販売開始です! ご要望の際は数に限りがあります… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
お菓子の家SWAN(スワン) (@kasukabe_SWAN) May 01, 2019
There was no rest for the country’s professional sumo wrestlers, though, who came together to make a very special Reiwa kanji display for the public.
【動画】「令和」の人文字 作ったのは・・・? www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/2019… #nhk_news #nhk_video https://t.co/ZZUGSa6RjL
—
NHKニュース (@nhk_news) May 01, 2019
A number of couples chose to celebrate the first day of Reiwa with another celebration: their wedding day.
結婚式無事に終わりました! 緊張したよ〜💦 令和元年5月1日 #令和 #令和結婚 https://t.co/JdLUonrExD
—
ゆき猫@はよGW終われ (@kokotama_yuki) May 01, 2019
Seeing as the year is now officially Reiwa 1, it’ll be easy for anyone who gets married this year to remember how many years they’ve been married, as each year will align perfectly, without any math or counting necessary.
鶴岡八幡宮で結婚式してた! おめでとうございます! 末永くお幸せに😁 #鶴岡八幡宮結婚式 #令和結婚 https://t.co/MiumwfL63m
—
しろくま॑⸜(* ॑꒳ ॑* )⸝⋆* (@shirokuma9080) May 01, 2019
Whether it was staying up all night jumping into canals or simply eating sweets indoors, people around Japan certainly celebrated the first day of Reiwa. And the good news is, thanks to Golden Week, we’ve still got another string of holidays to help ease us into the new period in relaxed style. Happy Reiwa everyone!
Source: Twitter/ #令和元年
Featured image: Pakutaso
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Credit:
0 comments: