happy birthday akihito!

did you know that christmas is not a holiday in japan

but the emperor's birthday is?

december 23rd is emperor akihito's birthday.

tradition has it that the emperor has an open house at his palace

to greet his well wishers and deliver his birthday message

3 times in the morning of his birthday.

so, like the 83 zillion people in japan, i decided to pay a visit to

his highness before hitting the shopping malls.

in the midst of all the crowd, screaming supporters and media,

i managed to have a glimpse of the emperor and the royal family

standing and waving behind the 2 metres thick bulletproof glass.

moments later he spoke and the people cheered and clapped.

someone in the crowded even rallied on and on and on.

the older ones were really screaming praises and

the younger ones weren't too far behind either.

but with all that was going on, all i noticed was how sharply dressed

the 2 women standing by his side were.

very proper. very poised. very miss world.

i wonder who were they wearing?