Visiting Nikko

By:

Kobby Tran

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Kobby Tran

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> ใ“ใ‚“ใซใกใฏ(Konnichiwa) <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> California State University Channel Islands <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2024 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Tokyo, Japan <i>Program provider:</i> California State University International Program <i>Major/minor:</i> Liberal Studies in Education <i>Demographics:</i> Asian/Asian American, First-Generation American, First-Generation College Student, LGBTQ+ <i>Future career aspirations:</i> I aspire to become a foreign language teacher to impact student's lives in a positive manner. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> My top three goals would be to expand my world view through exposure of different cultures, increase my comprehension of the Japanese language, and to learn more about Japanese culture through sight seeing.

Along with Kamakura, travelling to Nikko is also a field trip that I got to experience with my program’s other students. The day started nice and early at a 7 AM meet up time in Takadanobaba and we headed for the road on a bus at 7:30 AM. One of the main reasons why we went on this trip to this specific city is because the autumn foliage is completely unmatched to so many other cities. Especially on the day we went on, albeit it rained a little bit, the leaves were at its most vibrant. With the itinerary, we were to head to Nikko Tosho-Gu temple as our first stop. Our program advisor taught us a lot of information concerning this temple’s origins as we also just spent an hour exploring the area. Again, the sight of the temple in its autumn foliage was absolutely breathtaking.

After the shrine visit, the bus drove along the Irohazaka Winding Roads on our way to Ryuzu Waterfall. The Irohazaka Winding Roads has 48 curves along its path to represent each character of the Japanese alphabet and the entire road is covered in maple trees. Since the season we went to it was at its peak, the trees were in full bloom with its deep red maple leaves. After finally reaching the waterfalls, we were taking to an underground elevator which led us to photograph the waterfall and the streams the waterfall was making. Everything on this trip alone was truly a spectacle to behold.