On 11th December a handing-over ceremony took place at Marble Arch, London to celebrate the loan of a "Routemaster" London bus by Transport for London to the city of Shimonoseki in western Japan. The Mayoress and other officials of Shimonoseki were in attendance at the ceremony.
The loan of the "Routemaster" to Shimonoseki was arranged as part of a project in which Transport for London hopes to engage the overseas public, now that most of these world-famous buses have been replaced by more modern models. The project involves a total of six vehicles. In September The Hague in Holland became the first foreign city to receive a Routemaster, followed by Shimonoseki. The remaining four Routemasters are destined for Paris, Moscow, Barbados and Jamaica.
The arrangement with Shimonoseki was organised as part of the centenary celebrations commemorating the construction in that city of the former British Consulate, which is the oldest surviving consulate in Japan and has been designated a National Important Cultural Property. The precise way in which the Routemaster will be used, such as to promote tourism, is now under consideration.
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