Panda fans flocked to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on ⁠Sunday to say goodbye to its star attractions - two giant pandas, who ​will be sent back to ‍China at the end of the month.

The departure of four-year-old twins Xiao ‌Xiao and Lei Lei leaves Japan ‍panda-less for the first time since 1972, prompting thousands to apply for lottery-assigned tickets to say goodbye.

"I've been coming since the parents of Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were here," said 54-year-old finance-sector worker Machiko Seki. "It feels like one family's story is coming to an end."

While their move to China has been planned for ⁠some time, the pandas' coming absence has been viewed as a reflection of deteriorating China-Japan relations in recent months.

In November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese military response. That triggered a furious response from Beijing, which ‌claims sovereignty over the democratically-governed island.

Political tensions were not the focus of many zoo-goers on Sunday, when visitors were ​allowed one-minute windows to see the bears.

"The pandas have ‍given me so much - energy, courage, healing," Seki said. "I wanted to come today to ‍express ​my gratitude."

Even ‍people who did not win tickets ⁠made the journey.

"Today, I ‍didn't win the lottery for the panda viewing, so I can't see the pandas in person," said 49-year-old housewife Akiko Kawakami.

"I came here today because I ⁠wanted to ‌breathe the same air as the pandas."