Submitted by Julia Paganucci on the 2017 winter session program in Japan sponsored by the Department of Behavioral Health & Nutrition…
As I head to the airport, looking out the train window, I reflect on this past month. Before coming, when I thought of Japan I thought of big city Tokyo. I thought of another version of Times Square, sushi and crowded metro cars at rush hour. I saw all these things, but Japan is also so much more than that. There were countless times where we took the train right outside Tokyo and when you looked at the horizon all you saw were mountaintops. I will never forget when we climbed Mt. Takao, and you could see the entire city, and beyond that more mountains, making the scenery like nothing I’ve ever seen. On our bullet train to Kyoto, we rode by beautiful Mt. Fuju, where its tip was surrounded by clouds and we even rode through a snow storm which would be the only snow we would see this entire month.
I will never forget the amazing sushi, but my favorite food was Okonomiyaki, a savory pancake. I won’t forget taking that first bite and being so surprised that something that looked so foreign could taste so amazing. I will never forget our hostel which has been our home for the past thirty days. No matter how uncomfortable those mattresses were, the hostel was familiar, and it became what we referred to as “home” whenever we weren’t there.
I will never forget this experience, and I know I will miss it as soon as I land back in the United States.
