Anticipated pandemonium over the debut of giant panda twins at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo was averted with a decision to initially put the animals on limited public display as a precaution against the spread of the surging Omicron variant of novel coronavirus.

Still, there was a heightened air of excitement among the lucky few chosen by lottery to witness the first public appearance of the panda cubs.

Naoko Kawazoe, a 55-year-old resident of Nerima Ward, was first to arrive at the zoo’s entrance on Jan. 12. Taking no chances, and determined to be the first in line, she arrived at 5 a.m. on Jan. 12.

Lei Lei and her twin brother Xiao Xiao, along with their mother Shin Shin, can be viewed for only three days under the restrictions in place to keep visitors and animals safe. Still, 1,000 or so panda fans were on hand to enjoy the occasion.

Lei Lei spent much of the time splashing around in a pool, while Xiao Xiao found a tree more to his liking.

Kawazoe said she had feared the public unveiling would be postponed because of the COVID-19 resurgence.

“I am so grateful that I can see them,” she said. “I was very impressed. The (twins) looked commanding even though so many people were present.”

The cubs were born June 23.

The zoo in the capital’s Taito Ward had planned for a Jan. 12 debut but the facility was closed the day before due to surging COVID-19 cases in the metropolis.

The twins will be on show until Jan. 14 for ticket holders. The rest of the zoo remains closed off.

The winning ratio of the ticket lottery was 348. It exceeded the ratio of winning a ticket to see Xiang Xiang’s debut, the twins’ older female sibling who was born in 2017. The ratio was 144 back then.

“I didn’t expect it (the ratio) to exceed 300, but now I know there are that hordes of people who want to see the (twins),” said a zoo representative.

A 48-year-old company employee who came to see the cubs with his wife and a party of others, said he opted to miss a day of work for the special occasion.

“It was like I hit a lottery,” he said. “They were so cute.”

The twins are in good health, according to the zoo.

They weighed between 100 grams and 199 grams at birth but now tip the scales at between 14 kilograms and 14.9 kg.

They started walking on all four limbs when they were 4 months old and were climbing trees two months later.

Tsubomi Mori, a 10-year-old elementary school pupil who lives in Chiyoda Ward, was happy to see the twins “almost falling from the tree.”

Tsubomi, who shares the same birthday as the twins and adores pandas, agreed they “were very cute.”

A zoo representative noted that panda cubs grow up fast and said now is the best time for visitors to see the twins as “babies.”

But even now, they are already showing unique character traits. Lei Lei tends to do everything at her own pace while Xiao Xiao is the naughty one, the representative said.

Naoya Ohashi, who is in charge of the education and information section of the zoo, said the twins had “practiced” for the day of the public unveiling since the end of 2021.

Zoo staff played the role of visitors and waved their hands while they oohed and aahed at the cubs in front of their enclosure.

Ohashi was satisfied that the panda cubs took their first day before the public in their stride, citing the tree climbing as a worthy feat.

“They showed great spirit of service,” Ohashi said.

The zoo will remain closed until further notice.

Ohashi said the staff will use social media to inform the public about how the twins are getting on.

“Once the pandemic slows down, I hope many more people to come see them,” he said.

According to one estimate, the birth of the panda cubs will generate 30.8 billion yen ($267 million) annually for the capital.

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus in theoretical economics at Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, estimated the economic impact will exceed that of when Shin Shin and her partner Ri Ri arrived at Ueno zoo in 2011.

Miyamoto speculated that the temporary closure of the facility and the shortened period of public unveiling will not make much of a dent in the overall economic impact the births are expected to bring to the capital.

However, he cautioned that as much as 30 percent of the amount will be lost if the virus continues to spread and the zoo remains closed or the number of visitors remains limited until the Golden Week holidays in spring.

(This article was written by Honomi Homma and Yuka Honda.)