Visiting Japan has been a breath of fresh air. To be honest, one of the biggest motivations for my travels is getting to experience this feeling; the feeling when you are able to take a step back from familiarity and routine and fully immerse yourself in a new culture and lifestyle. When this happens, everything around you becomes exciting and inspiring.
Today marks one week into Dr. Droubie’s Tour and Tradition Japan study abroad class. Our studies focus on heritage tourism, identity, and religion within the Japanese culture. From traveling to Shinto shrines hidden among the cedar trees in Nikko to touring Buddhist sites alongside Japanese college students, I can confidently say I have already taken away so many life lessons as I reflect on my time here.
Every single day, I experience little moments that have changed my perspective on life and taught me lessons that I know I can incorporate into my lifestyle back home for the rest of my life. I’d love to share these life lessons and favorite moments of this trip with you!
Our first day in Japan was probably one of my favorites so far. We spent the day in Tokyo touring Asakusa Shrine and Meiji Jingu in with Japanese college students. They talked a lot about their culture and how community and respect for others is so important in their culture. Everyone is responsible for playing their part and doing their best to create a better world to live in. As I continued to walk around, I noticed that many sacred places here are not limited to one religion. People with different beliefs, hopes, and wishes come to these sites to pray as a community. I think it is lovely that religion brings their community together rather than divides them. We ended the day with a huge group dinner with new friends, laughter, and great food until we could no longer fight the jet lag and surrendered to sleep.
The next destination was a day trip to Nikko, which turned out to be one of my favorite religious sights to see. Walking through meditative temples near the water and shrines nestled in the Toshogu forest was beautiful to take in–although we probably collectively climbed hundreds of stairs that day.
Our next stop was Kyoto!
We spent time at Daitokuji, a Zen Buddhist temple that was home to dozens of gardens to reflect and meditate. Slowing down, self-reflection, and meditation are all beneficial to life. Visiting these sites has made me want to incorporate these practices into my lifestyle back home. I noticed that many of these temples also do not push beliefs onto their visitors; rather, they allow visitors to take away the messages that they need to benefit their own lives to push through their personal obstacles. I appreciated this during my visits.
The following day, we spent time at the Tōdai-ji temple located in Nara–a city that is known for its scared deer sharing the streets with humans. The Tōdai-ji temple in Nara was so special. The history, energy, and sacred traditions are moving. We caught a celebration within the temple, too, which was incredible to watch.
At the end of the day, we reached a open field surrounded by the tallest of mountains. There were hundreds of deer surrounding us–and we just wandered around (and completely lost it when they began to chase a few friends).
This leads me to my favorite night in Hiroshima that I never want to forget. We took a ferry out to the Itsukushima Shrine located beside Miyajima island. As the sun was going down, we sat by the edge of the sea to take in the most amazing sunset that might have ever set on this small island in Japan. The golden rays peaked through the shrine right over the water.
We sat with each other and just talked. And laughed. We talked about how we’ve said “Today was my favorite day of the trip” almost every day for the past three days. We talked about how quickly a sunset fades.
We wished it could last a little bit longer.
It reminded me of how our favorite moments quickly become fleeting memories. You know that bittersweet moment when you realize how much you’re going to miss something while you are still experiencing it? That’s what it felt like. The sun passed the horizon even though I wished it could’ve lasted forever–just like this trip.
I know all good things must come to an end. But in that moment, I really meant it.
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