Something that surprised me about Japan was all the landscapes that existed in the country. When you see a country as big as the United States, it’s not hard to imagine that there would be mountains, urban cities, beaches, and grassy fields. Japan, which is slightly smaller than California, has all of these and more.
My first look into Japan was Tokyo. As expected, it was a bustling city, like NYC, with tall buildings, flashing lights, and lots of people. But it also had a lot green space that I wasn’t expecting. In addition to the many trees and flowers that line the streets, there was the gigantic Yoyogi Park. Travelling from city to city by train, we got to see glimpses of the smaller towns of Japan, as well.
On one of our days off, we decided to go Mount Takao. For some reason, I didn’t expect Japan to have mountains, since apparently I had forgotten that Mount Fuji was in Japan. After getting lost a couple times on the train ride there, we managed to make it to Mount Takao and I was amazed. You could see the beauty of the city and the greenery around it all at once.
When visiting Hiroshima, we went to a small island named Itsukushima, also called Miyajima. It was a lot of fun riding a ferry to get to the island. Here, we encountered lots of deer and the incredible shrine on the island, including its famous torii gate. With the sun shining and the water surrounding us, it was very peaceful and relaxing.
I didn’t even get to see all of it, but I know that Japan is a gorgeous country, with so much offer.