THE EASTERN JOURNEY
The purpose of the eastern trip was to attend the opening ceremony of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in Vladivostok. The Tsarevich was accompanied by his cousin Prince George of Greece and Denmark. They arrived on the Russian Pacific Fleet and visited the towns of Nagasaki, Kobe and Kyoto on their way. They took a rickshaw from Kyoto to a small town of Otsu. After having a nice meal at the governor’s house, they were ready to get going.
The whole trip had gone smoothly – Nicholas was interested in Buddhism, he bought some souvenirs and had himself made a dragon tattoo. His visit was particularly important to Japan because Japan needed good relations with the powerful Russian empire that was aggressively moving eastward by means of railway and sea. The Crown Prince was greeted with politeness but also with deep suspicion.
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