The yen has depreciated, which increases the value you get when visiting Japan. Japan is known for her love for children and excellent educational system, so it’s also a great place to highlight various scientific concepts to your kids. If you have primary school children, you may consider doing the following so as to save money on tuition fees!
- Recap science concepts with bath balls. Your hotel stay should enable you to soak in a bathtub. Why not use this opportunity to bond with your child by buying bath balls and revising the characteristics of of animals? You are spoilt for choice because a visit to any children’s store will reveal a wide array of options, ranging from insects to marine creatures.
Your child ought to be able to tell you that insects have six legs and fish have gills without missing a beat after your Japan escapade! I even found a store that sells bath balls that were in the shape of human organs.
- Buy sticker books. They are a dime a dozen at ¥100 shops like Can ⭐️ Do and Daiso. Great for explaining animal features, they are a lifesaver for you to engage your children during those long shinkansen rides.
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Explain what the white mist is during an onsen visit. You are likely to visit Japan during the December holidays, in which temperatures plunge in Japan. What better way to deal with the cold than visiting an onsen? As you soak in the rejuvenating hot waters, don’t forget to explain how the water vapour has lost heat to the surroundings and condensed to form water droplets - which is the mist that we see rising from the onsen waters. If you are lucky, you will get to experience snowfall during your visit. Yes, as you exhale during winter, the while mist that you see coming out of your mouth is water droplets.
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Go on farm visits. One highlight of exploring Japan is the chance to eat as many fruits as you can within a designated period. I once visited a strawberry farm in Aso, Kumamoto. If I had read up on pollination and fertilisation, I could have enriched my children’s experience!
You can then buy such plastic toys with ¥100 to complement the learning experience!