Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted Queen Suthida of Thailand for tea, a rare guest who personally piloted a royal aircraft to Hokkaido to attend an ice hockey competition.
The imperial couple welcomed the queen with smiles and exchanged greetings in English at the entrance to their residence in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo around 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 20.
Suthida, a former flight attendant and experienced pilot, became queen in 2019.
According to the Thai government’s public relations office, she arrived at New Chitose Airport on Oct. 14 and drove herself to a hotel in Sapporo.
Suthida serves as the women’s global ambassador for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
According to Thailand’s Bureau of Royal Household, the queen visited Hokkaido to watch games and present medals to teams at the 2027 IIHF Women’s Asia Championship, held in Sapporo from Oct. 15 to 18.
She is scheduled to return to Thailand on Oct. 22.
Suthida worked as a flight attendant for a carrier affiliated with Japan Airlines Co. and for Thai Airways International.
She then embarked on a career in the military, where she was responsible for royal security.