Japan- through the eyes of an 11 year old girl from Mumbai

Iishana Yachamaneni, an 11-year-old, recently traveled to Japan with her parents this summer. She enthusiastically shares her first-hand experiences of their trip to Japan.

The summer of 2024 will be one I will never forget and that’s because I went to Japan and had enough fun for a lifetime, I made so many memories. I love that Japan has so much to offer, and is so diverse. The experience was so different for me from seeing the bustling city of Tokyo, to the scenic and tranquil mountains of Hakone, then to drinking matcha in Kyoto. Yet there is so much more out there to explore in Japan and I am sure everyone will find at least something that interests them.

Out of all the places I visited, a few of my favourites are:

Disney Sea

When my parents and I planned to go to Disney Sea, I was super excited but I didn’t know what to expect. When I walked in though, it looked like a whole new magical world and just like something out of a Disney movie. The main park was divided into different areas, some of them were of imaginary places and some were of real regions which had all the different characteristics of that place which made them look very real. What I was most excited for, were the rides. From carousels to exciting 360 degree roller coasters, I loved all of them. We made sure to go on at least one ride from each park to get a gist of the Disney Sea experience. There are also many shops where you can get cute disney themed items like headbands, plushies and many more goodies. That day was probably one of the best days of my life and I can’t imagine visiting Japan without going to Disney Sea!

Pet Café

I have loved animals ever since I was a little kid so I was really looking forward to going to a pet café. I went to one in the Harajuku walking street and there were animals I’d never even heard of before. They had meerkats, ferrets, a fennec fox, a baby monkey and even a hedgehog! I was most excited to pet the fennec fox. It was in a little enclosure that was very well decorated. It was so furry and was in deep sleep probably dreaming about all the visitors who would like to play with it and pet it. The baby monkey kept trying to show off his tricks by summersaulting in his cage! Next, I decided to play with the ferrets.

Fun fact: They sleep for more than half a day! The ferret I played with was so funny, he kept jumping headfirst into play tunnels and holes and even had to be rescued once or twice. I even fed him treats. Then I went to pet the meerkats, whenever anyone walked past their enclosure, they would always stand up on their hind legs trying to see what everyone was up to. Lastly I got myself some cold chocolate and bid all the animals goodbye.

Nara

My parents and I weren’t really planning to visit Nara and it was really a last minute decision for us. But I am so glad we went there because we all enjoyed the experience thoroughly. The main reason I love Nara is for the deer and just the fact that there is a whole village almost dedicated to them. The deer were so docile and you can pet and feed them. I was shocked by how the deer bow when they want food, even the deer in Japan are polite. I was even more surprised by how many they were- in every nook and corner. We stayed in the main park where all the deer could be pet and fed. I really like the concept of having them in the open instead of being kept in a cage. There were plenty of temples too, most of which were UNESCO world heritage sites and were built hundreds of years back. While going back to the train station we took a slight detour through the banks of a river and the place was so serene and it was almost magical with the deer grazing amidst a slight drizzle. I loved the experience and would definitely go again.

TeamLab Planets

The thing I like most about Team Planet Labs is that is allows you to experience the different elements of nature in such innovative ways. It was very unique and unlike anything I have done before- not only in Japan but also including all the other places I have visited. There were two main areas, one was water and the other one was a garden. My favourite experiences were both from the water area. For the first one you had to sit or lie down on the floor and the ceiling was shaped like a dome and from the ceiling to the floor there were full size projections of moving flowers, with a melodious music playing in the background. Once I lied down, I felt like flying through a meadow of flowers above, defying gravity. I could sit there and watch the flowers dancing in the wind for a whole day! Another one of my favourites was a room filled with water till knee-length with projections that fell on the water making it look iridescent with multicolour fishes swimming in it, again with music in the background. It felt like I was in a magical pond playing with the fish. I love the way how all the experiences have incorporated nature,innovation and technology. It was definitely a memorable day.

That brings us to the end of this article. I think it goes without saying that Japan is an amazing place with amazing people and culture and I would love to visit again.

Sayonara!

Iishana Yachamaneni