On a nature walk to Ottawa’s Mer Bleue bog on Sunday, my daughter and I had a rather unexpected sighting. Along with the painted turtles, cottongrass and Yellowthroat, we saw… armed secret service agents sporting sidearms and Timbits boxes.

It turns out that we were not the only ones interested in taking in the bog’s morning beauty. Following in our footsteps were Japan’s royal couple, the Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who toured the Ottawa region Saturday and Sunday on the first official stop of their visit to Canada. (see story.)

The Emperor apparently has a deep interest in natural history, and visited nearby Gatineau Park and Ottawa’s Experimental Farm the day before.

As my 2-year old and I strolled along the bog boardwalk, we began to see very well dressed men and women, clearly out of their element but enjoying themselves — members of the Emperor’s entourage. When we returned to our car, we wandered amongst the dozen or so tall, stoic, armed guards, who munched on Tim’s finest while they awaited the royal couple’s arrival.

We missed seeing them first-hand, but here’s a picture of the couple on the boardwalk.