First Rescheduled Visitors Finally Tour Window 1 — 'Knowing Even the King Didn't See It Helped'
Among the 32 visitors previously reported on the 21st as having their lottery tour of Window 1, 'the Lit City,' rescheduled due to King Kaie III of Rukai's visit, the first group of eight toured the window on the morning of the 24th. An approximately 18-minute opening occurred, and everyone saw the procession of lights. The group included the 61-year-old homemaker from the city's north previously quoted on the 21st, who said, 'Knowing that even the King didn't get to see it made me feel lucky to have seen it today.'
The Dimensional Survey Division announced on the 24th that, among the 32 visitors previously reported on the 18th and 21st as having their tours of Window 1 rescheduled because of King Kaie III's state visit, the first batch of eight was guided through an observation session on the morning of the 24th — the first of what will be several rescheduled slots stretching, as previously reported, through mid-November.
Window 1 opened at 9:55 a.m. for about 18 minutes. Window-room staff said what looked like a procession carrying lights was seen moving slowly along the stone street, much the same sight that 80 members of the public witnessed during the previously reported tour on the 21st. All eight rescheduled visitors were present for this opening.
Among the eight was the 61-year-old homemaker from the city's north quoted in the previously reported article on the 21st. "I said being postponed for the King's schedule left me a little deflated, but hearing that even he hadn't gotten to see it somehow put my mind at ease," she recalled. "Seeing the lights actually move today — I won't say I'm glad it was postponed, but I did think maybe I turned out luckier than the King, who never got to see it at all," she laughed.
Another rescheduled visitor in the same group, a 16-year-old high-school student from Fukagawa, said, "I'd heard about Window 1 on a school field trip, but this was my first time seeing it myself. The lights moved faster than I expected — it was over before I knew it."
A window-room staffer said, "As previously reported, rescheduled slots are kept separate from the regular lottery pool, but the view itself is no different. If anything, today's roughly 18-minute opening being a bit longer than the 12 minutes seen on the 21st was pure happenstance." The control-impossibility principle remains unchanged, the staffer added: "It's not that being rescheduled gets you something better. I think that, too, is part of this section's honesty."
The remaining 24 rescheduled visitors will be guided through in several more sessions, with the division saying all rescheduling is expected to be complete by around mid-November. As previously reported, these slots are managed separately from the regular lottery to preserve its fairness. A division official said, "Once all the rescheduling is finished, we'd like to give a fuller accounting of this temporary suspension tied to the state visit."
The postcards and hand towels sold by the previously reported Toumado Tea House were popular with today's rescheduled visitors too, the shop owner said. "It's not quite the rush we saw during the King's visit, but the rescheduled visitors seem to shop with real enthusiasm — maybe because the feeling of 'finally got to see it' runs stronger for them."
