<figure id="attachment_466167" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466167" style="width: 3895px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1e2fa987"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/09a2aa9e0b62afbb523259a31149b785.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466167" class="wp-caption-text">The &#8220;Riku-ryu&#8221; pair of Rirai Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who appeared in the parade with a silly expression on their faces, checking their smartphones.</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> We will never change.</span></h2>
<p> Rirai Miura, 24, holds a gold medal and a silver medal around her neck and makes a funny expression on her face. Next to her, Ryuichi Kihara (33) stared at the screen of his smartphone with a serious expression. These are the &#8220;Rikuryu&#8221; who won Japan&#8217;s first gold medal in the figure pairs at the Winter Olympics.</p>
<p> On April 25, the Japanese athletes of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics held a &#8220;Cheering and Appreciation Parade&#8221; in Nihonbashi (Chuo Ward, Tokyo), and about 50,000 fans came to the 700-meter round trip event course on Nihonbashi Chuo-dori Avenue.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> According to the organizers, the parade was the first ever held in the Winter Olympic Games. According to the organizers, &#8220;Thank you! were handed out free of charge, but they were gone in no time. About 1,400 volunteers were mobilized. The parade started after 9:00 a.m., but many fans started securing their places before 6:00 a.m., and most of them seemed to be Riku-ryu fans. There were many fans who came all the way from the provinces to Tokyo the day before for this event, and many who brought hand-written boards and fans,&#8221; said a reporter from a sports newspaper.</span></p>
<p> A total of 115 athletes, both Olympians and Paralympians, participated in the parade. When the two athletes finally appeared on stage toward the end of the parade, they were cheered by fans along the route, most of whom shouted &#8220;Riku-chan! The majority of the cheers were &#8220;Rikuchan! In response to the cheers, Miura made a funny gesture while showing his medal, as shown at the beginning of this article, while Kihara waved his hand and pointed his phone at Miura and others around him to take pictures, seeming to support them even at this glorious moment. The climax of the parade was also the Rikuryu pair.</p>
<p> Kihara lifted Miura up and struck a spectacular pose. Fans along the street cheered loudly.</p>
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<p> On April 17, the two announced their retirement on their respective SNSs, and at a press conference held on April 22, Miura said, &#8220;In the future, I hope to be a member of a pair that can make Japan a great pair,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> At a press conference held on April 22, Miura said, &#8220;In the future, I will do my best so that we can produce Olympic athletes so that Japan can become a pair powerhouse.</span></p>
<p> Kihara added, &#8220;In the future, I hope to be an instructor and to be a member of the Olympics,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Kihara said, &#8220;I will do my best to return to the Olympics as a coach in the future.</span></p>
<p> Kihara said, &#8220;I will do my best to return to the Olympics as a mentor in the future. Kihara, who was asked by Shuzo Matsuoka (58), the MC for the event, to speak on a special stage at the event, said, &#8220;I will continue to work as a professional athlete,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I will continue to work as a professional, so please support me!</span></p>
<p> Please support me! The audience applauded and cheered loudly. Matsuoka asked, &#8220;Has your life changed a little? Miura replied, &#8220;Our lives have not changed a bit,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We haven&#8217;t changed at all.</span></p>
<p> and smiled. Kihara, too,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Kihara smiled and said, &#8220;We will continue to walk as we have always done, as Rikuryu.</span></p>
<p> The two will hold another retirement press conference on April 28, but there is no doubt that we will continue to see Rikuryu performances in the future.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Medalists in the parade"></div>
<figure id="attachment_466168" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466168" style="width: 3827px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a5b605fb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/402c810926fc426c8ce6eafaeda35aa9.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466168" class="wp-caption-text">The &#8220;Rikuryu&#8221; pair performs a lift at the climax of the parade</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_466169" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466169" style="width: 5719px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e1d76ab9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/a0bb828642dc7b75fdd42ee7afaad3a5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466169" class="wp-caption-text"> The &#8220;Rikuryu&#8221; pair on the special stage</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_466170" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466170" style="width: 4927px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b455732d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/f5ca8174f271569962ee69a2debc23f7.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466170" class="wp-caption-text"> The &#8220;Rikuryu&#8221; pair responds to the 50,000 fans who gathered for the event.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_466171" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466171" style="width: 3827px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1febe9bc"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/ae793b72c742e728a4ecf53064648f77.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466171" class="wp-caption-text"> Women&#8217;s figure skater Ami Nakai (17) and men&#8217;s figure skater Yuma Kagiyama (22) with their bronze medals around their necks.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Winter Olympics medalists with smiles"></div>
<figure id="attachment_466172" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466172" style="width: 5464px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="859803b7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/ec2231e0f155d80e0965707be6ecaf5a.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466172" class="wp-caption-text">Ami Nakai responds to cheers from the crowd on a special stage.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_466173" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466173" style="width: 4062px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="82d5bca1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/ff998c5d954154d91a93698144535d82.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466173" class="wp-caption-text"> Women&#8217;s figure skater Kaori Sakamoto (26), who announced her retirement, waving to the crowd along the roadside.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_466174" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466174" style="width: 5464px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0e28f6fb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/14d6d4e8f9bb1e85c33f7b948092d508.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466174" class="wp-caption-text"> Shinwa Murase, 21, won a gold medal and a bronze medal in the snowboarding event.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_466175" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466175" style="width: 5464px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="854d75fa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/98c54ec81aef1eaa878df5ddf5f778ac.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466175" class="wp-caption-text"> Miho Takagi, 31, and Ayano Sato, 29, won a bronze medal in the women&#8217;s team pursuit in speed skating.</figcaption></figure>


 Kumataro Arai

 On April 25, about 50,000 people filled the streets of Nihonbashi for the Winter Olympic Parade. The star of the parade was the "Riku-Ryu" pair. The climax of the parade was the lift, which was cheered by the crowd. As for the future of the pair, who have announced their retirement...

Smiling with gold and silver medals!　The star of the show is Riku-ryu, who showed her overwhelming presence at the Winter Olympics parade.

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Smiling with gold and silver medals! The star of the show is Riku-ryu, who showed her overwhelming presence at the Winter Olympics parade.

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Smiling with gold and silver medals!　The star of the show is Riku-ryu, who showed her overwhelming presence at the Winter Olympics parade.