Picture book author Tupera Tupera's take on unplanned family travel

I get a sense of cultural differences around the world from the picture books I always buy when I travel

JAL: Is there anything you always buy when you travel?

Kameyama: I buy local straps as souvenirs for my children (laughs). I also collect and stock paper for the paper cuttings I use in my work, not just when I'm traveling. I buy things that catch my eye in flyers and wrapping paper around town, as well as stationery and paper stores.

And of course there are books. If I find something with a sophisticated binding overseas, I always buy it. The way books are made is completely different from Japan, and the way people think about and accept books is completely different. I am sometimes influenced by that attitude.

Kameyama: The picture books we make are sometimes described as experimental because they have a lot of gimmicks, but there are a lot of picture books like this when you go abroad. I especially like picture books by an author called Kveta Pacovska. Nakagawa once gave me one of her works as a gift when I was a student.

She is now a 90-year-old grandmother, but she creates picture books that would be unthinkable in Japan. They are full of seemingly meaningless devices, and you wonder how much effort and money went into making them.

Nakagawa: Her works are so pleasant to look at that it makes you think that she really packed everything she wanted into them. Picture books from overseas are completely different from Japanese sensibilities, no matter where you are in the world. Children's pleasures are also different, so it's interesting to see their reactions when reading picture books when you visit overseas.

Travel abroad when your children are small. Tips for enjoying the unexpected on a trip

JAL: You have both traveled to many places both domestically and internationally. What do you think is the appeal of traveling?

Nakagawa: Even though we are all living in the same time, we are able to feel the reality that we are all living our own lives in completely different places. I am a relatively lazy person, and when it comes to creative season I go out even less, so when I go on a trip, my physical senses are stimulated and I feel like my mind is expanding outside.

Kameyama: I like the experience of "learning new things." For example, if you know the history of a place you visit while traveling, your perspective changes. It's fun to research the history of a place you're visiting for the first time and realize that there was a lot you didn't know!

Including those little learnings, the experiences of traveling far and wide, meeting people, and eating local food are what make me who I am. When I think about it that way, the more I travel, the more experience I gain, and the more interesting I become.

JAL: I feel like these kinds of "experiences that make you interesting" are also beneficial for your children.

Nakagawa: That's right. It's a good experience for children, and there are many experiences that adults and children can have together. When I visited Bologna in Italy some time ago, mothers would call out to me as I was walking around town pushing a stroller, and the people in the town were very kind to me. I think it's an experience that I couldn't have had as an adult alone.

Kameyama: The first place we took our kids on a trip was Bologna. Our oldest child was 2 years old. It was hard, but once we got to Bologna, we were fearless (laughs). After enduring that long flight, we felt like we could go anywhere. So, it's better to go somewhere really far away at first. How about Buenos Aires?

Nakagawa: Even if Kameyama's opinion is extreme (laughs), when I walk alone, I only see things that interest me, but when I have children, my horizons are broadened. When I went to Vietnam, it seemed that the custom of cherishing children was deeply rooted, and for some reason people I met for the first time would bow to me when they saw my child. Those little happenings are fun when you're traveling, aren't they?

So I think if you can accept the unexpected happenings and not worry too much about what you shouldn't do or what you shouldn't do, your trip will be more enjoyable.