Crane (Meet the World)

The Crane is the main character from the former Tokyo Disneyland attraction Meet the World. As her name suggests, the Crane is a Japanese crane (Grus japonensis) that takes two children back in time to the ancient periods of Japan.

Role in the Attraction
The Crane is an animated crane that takes the children to tell the two the whole story of Ancient Japan. The Crane then takes the two children back in time where the ancient Jōmon people with a difficult relationship they encountered with the sea and land, which then changes to other eras such as the era where Prince Shōtoku devoted his efforts to "meet the world" and created a constitution. The crane and the two children then arrive at Tanegashima where Portuguese traders met with locals, introducing Japan to new trade opportunities as well as the outside world as well as the dark days of Japan which later ended the dark eras of Japan in which the crane reassured the two children that the dark era of Japan has ended to Japan in modern day.

At the end of the attraction, the young boy asks the crane to know if she is the Spirit of Japan, but the crane says that she is not the spirit of Japan, but the crane responds that he and all the other people of Japan were the "Spirit of Japan". At the final montage of the attraction, the crane takes the two children via hot air balloon. The crane and the two children are last seen on the hot air balloon while the attraction's theme song "We Meet the World with Love" is heard in the background.