Japanese Prince Akishino and his Princess arrived today in Konavle as part of their official visit to Croatia. The royal couple have been invited by Croatian President Ivo Josipovic.
After spending a short time in Zagreb and Zagorje, where they had lovely time with locals, slightly ignoring the official protocol while walking the streets and squares of Zagreb, the royal family went to Konavle.
Highly interested in olive trees
Prince Akishino visited the olive grove and farm house of the Glavinja family in Cilipi, accompanied by his delegation and leaders of local and regional government. Although the Prince was not in the mood for statements, Luko Glavinja, owner of the household farm, retold his impressions about Konavle.
”We talked about olive growing in Konavle and the Prince compared some aspects to those in Japan where they also grow olives, but different varieties. He was thrilled with olives of Konavle.” said Mr. Glavinja.
The royal family sampled good olive oil and fresh home-made cheese from Konavle during their visit.
Biography of Prince
Full name Prince Akishino no Miya Fumihito Shino. Born in 1965, he studied law and biology at the Gakushuin University School of Law, where he graduated in 1988. After that, Prince decided to study zoology at Oxford University. He got his Ph.D. in 1996. In the 1990’s he married his wife Kiko Kawashima (with whom he visited Croatia). Their eldest daughter is named Kawashime Tatsuhiko.
