Japan's Olympians, who collected the nation's best ever Winter Games haul of 13 medals in Pyeongchang, appeared in front of fans on Tuesday to share their experiences competing in South Korea.

Nearly 5,000 fans gathered in Tokyo to catch a glimpse of the athletes, including delegation captain and speed skater Nao Kodaira and figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu.

"I was the captain of the delegation but everyone thought they had the leading role in the games. That's why everything worked out," said Kodaira, who won gold in the women's 500 meters and silver in 1,000.

At the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games in South Korea, Japan won four gold, five silver and four bronze medals, breaking its previous record medal haul of 10 at the 1998 Nagano Games.

The crowd especially cheered for Hanyu, who became the first men's figure skater in 66 years to repeat as Olympic champion.

"Winning gold was a result of dedicating my whole life to skating," Hanyu said. "I'm happy that everyone is excited about it."

A disbandment ceremony for the Japanese delegation was held earlier in the day, where ski jumper and flagbearer Noriaki Kasai returned the Japanese delegation flag to Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the Japanese Olympic Committee.

Delegation head Yasuo Saito said, "The record was a result of people working hard to improve the competitiveness of athletes in summer and winter sports."

Takeda also hailed the athletes' efforts, and said they have passed the torch to those who will compete at the 2020 Tokyo Games, the first time Japan will have hosted the Olympics since 1998.

"The children who watched the 1998 Nagano Games and hoped to compete at the Olympics fulfilled their dreams and set this new record," Takeda said. "I am sure that it will lead to the Japanese athletes delivering good results at the 2020 Tokyo Games."