A love for anime can drive fans to commit unusual acts, but when it involves a minor in a foreign country, the anxiety is immense. A 12-year-old British girl triggered an intense police mobilization in Japan after disappearing for nearly three days from her family’s accommodation in Tokyo. The reason behind her escape? To independently embark on an otaku pilgrimage to visit the real locations that inspired her favorite series, Bungo Stray Dogs.

Carmelita Lakdesha Paul had arrived in Japan at the end of July with her parents and brother for a family vacation. However, on the morning of August 13, her family awoke in their rented apartment in the Ota district, Tokyo, only to find that the girl was gone. Without her passport and with just a few thousand yen in her bag, the teenager boarded a train using an IC transport card from Keikyu Kamata station, heading directly to the city of Yokohama, a destination she had pleaded with her parents to visit the day before as it is the main setting of the franchise.

For nearly 59 hours, the minor explored on her own various iconic spots in the city associated with the work and spent the night in a traditional Japanese internet café. The Kanagawa Prefectural Police launched a massive search using security cameras to track her movements until, on the night of August 15, Carmelita herself walked to a police box (koban) in Yokohama, admitting she was starting to miss her parents. Authorities confirmed the girl was completely unharmed, ruled out any criminal activity, and immediately reunited her with her family before their return trip.

This unusual seichi junrei adventure ended happily, relieving the global community, but it highlighted the fascination that real anime settings in Japan inspire. Seeing how far this young fan was willing to go to explore the locations of her favorite series, do you think parents should more closely monitor their children’s obsession with anime tourism when traveling to Japan?