Japanese Emperor Akihito, and Empress Michiko toured Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, B.C., on Sunday July 12, 2009. The Emperor and Empress  spent the morning at the facility, where they were given a briefing on the Canadian-led Neptune project, the world's largest undersea observatory.

The royal couple then crossed to Vancouver to visit the city's historic Japanese Language School, symbol both of a dark chapter in the Japanese-Canadian community's history and one of renewal. They also visited Richmond Olympic Oval in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.