He Thinks He’s Meeting Shaun in the Snow — But We’re Going in July.
Our Summer Plan: Shaun the Sheep!
This summer, we’ve decided to visit Shaun the Sheep Farm Garden at Rozan Berry Tawada in Shiga, Japan.
GENE, my son with severe autism and intellectual disability, absolutely loves Shaun.
Especially that one grumpy guy who always looks troubled — classic GENE humor.
And Then Came the Snow… (On YouTube)
We haven’t told GENE about the trip yet.
Instead, I casually showed him a few YouTube videos of the park.
As always, the algorithm did its magic — and soon GENE had discovered his favorite:
A winter-themed video of Shaun’s snowy wonderland.
GENE loves snow.
So much that he regularly tells me, “Let’s go play in the snow,” even in summer.
“Yuki!” — The Answer Must Be Snow.
In the video, GENE points at the snowy scenes and prompts me to say the word.
If I say “snow” (yuki), he smiles proudly.
If I say anything else? We’re stuck in a loop until I get it right.
At this point, it’s not even about language comprehension.
It’s about the fact that… GENE truly believes we’re going to see Shaun in the snow this summer.
GENE’s Brain: 3 Steps Ahead of Me
To make things even more interesting, he’s now memorized the layout of Rozan Berry through the videos.
He doesn’t say it, but I just know —
in his mind, he’s already decided:
We’ll go there, then there, and see that.
GENE’s internal GPS and visual memory are incredible.
He’s way ahead of me on this trip planning.
Should I Tell Him? Or Just… Wing It?
How do I break it to him?
That there won’t be snow in July?
Or maybe… I don’t.
Maybe I just go along with his expectations, and let the real-world experience speak for itself.
He’s surprised us before.
A Perfect Ending: A Night at a Hot Spring Inn
After Shaun, we’ll head to Yuzanso, a hot spring inn near Lake Biwa.
We’ll stay in a room with a private onsen bath, enjoy dinner in a private dining room,
and yes — there’s even a pool.
GENE’s going to love it. I can feel it.
🔗 See Yuzanso on Rakuten Travel
この夏、GENEと泊まるおすすめのお宿はこちら👇
Fingers Crossed
The question is —
Can we actually make it through Shaun the Sheep without a snow-related meltdown?
Stay tuned for part two:
“How GENE Reacted When Shaun Wasn’t Snowy.”
