Documenting Summer Holidays

JUNE EDITION

Starting 19 June, my daughter is on long summer holidays from school. Planning summer Holidays in Japan without traveling somewhere cooler is quite the challenge. The days are hot and humid, often rainy, so trips to the neighbourhood outdoor parks on daily basis are most of the time impossible.  I try to take her out in the morning or later in the afternoon to the swings , but she would often refuse to stay outside when it’s hot and sticky.
The only outdoor trips I can plan during summer holidays are trips to the pool, or any other air conditioned closed area.

Other than those, we stay home. The days at home are sometimes packed with activities, and sometimes are total lazy days with absolutely nothing on the list. Those second ones are usually my most favourite to photograph. The moments where she is bored out of her mind, or where she is just doing cartwheels 200 times a day, or when she scatters books, legos and dolls everywhere throughout the house. 
There is something about those moments, I am not sure what it is but I feel like at those times she is the most her true self. I read somewhere recently where when the boys tell their mom “we are bored” she replies to them “oh great and now it’s where the magic happens” - and I kinda adopted that way too. I feel that when kids are bored this is when their creativity comes to shine and they literally get to use their brain to entertain themselves. So I make sure I plan many of ‘those’ days quite often now. 

Sanïa Spiri is a Documentary Photographer based in Hyogo, Japan.
For any inquiries please fill up the contact form here.