OTTAWA - JAPAN'S Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Canada on Friday for a 11-day goodwill visit, the first since the emperor ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989.

The royal couple was welcomed by Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and Cooperation Minister Bev Oda on their arrival in Ottawa.

They will then travel to Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver to celebrate 80 years since the establishment of Canada's first diplomatic mission in Japan, before flying to the US island state of Hawaii.

In a departure speech in Tokyo, the 75-year-old emperor recalled his previous visit to Canada in 1953 as a 19-year-old prince on his first overseas trip.

He crossed Canada by train on his way to Britain for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II as a representative of his father, the late emperor Hirohito.

'Fifty-six years have passed since then, and I am much delighted that I will be visiting there once again, this time with the empress,' the emperor said.

On Saturday they will visit the popular MacKenzie King estate in the Gatineau park, which was once the home to Canada's longest serving prime minister. King served from 1921-1926, and then again from 1926-1930 and 1935-1948.

The grounds, on the outskirts of the captial, are a favorite spot for visitors.

And on Sunday they will attend a Canadian-Japanese reception, before meeting on Monday with the Governor General Michaelle Jean, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In Hawaii, the couple will attend ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of a scholarship foundation established to commemorate the couple's wedding.

'I am looking forward to being reunited with people whom I once met when they were scholarship students,' Akihito said.

Both Canada and Hawaii have a big Japanese community. There are 100,000 Japanese residents or people of Japanese ancestry in Canada and 297,000 Japanese-Americans in Hawaii. -- AFP