At the book fair, the Japanese prince Akishino and his wife Kiko honoured publisher Clavis' booth with a visit. Princess Kiko was genuinely interested in the works by Guido Van Genechten, in particular 'Rikki', about the endearing little rabbit with the flabby ear. The princely visit caused quite a stir and caught the attention of the full press. As a result, so many people flocked to the signing sessions that Van Genechten could not possibly attend to all of them. Many had waited in line for hours only to go home without that much-coveted autograph from the Flemish illustrator favoured by the princes.
Van Genechten cannot speak highly enough about his trip to Japan. Another personal highlight was at the introduction of his reading session when a Japanese boy choir sang a song from 'Rikki', in Dutch. One of the boys then thanked Van Genechten, again in flawless Dutch. ‘I got emotional', says Van Genechten, ‘and I hadn't even begun to read.'
