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Identifier: wwu:37665
Title: Fuji-san - Japan
Date: 2014
Description: Here we have Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, as seen from a small village called Oshino. One thing that my study abroad advisor told me that really stuck with me was, "Studying is important, but also try to take classes that you can only take in Japan." Japanese Folklore was one of those classes. One weekend, we went on a field trip all the way to Mount Fuji. We had to take a two-hour train ride by ourselves, but after we arrived, our professor had readied three rental cars for us, and he was paying for the rest of the trip. We got to go many places including a local Shinto shrine, the village of Oshino, the Narusawa Ice Caves, Aokigahara, and also Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji was still closed at this point, so we only got to go up halfway, but it was still quite the experience. I've studied a lot about Japanese culture, and I've met many Japanese people prior to my year abroad in Japan, so nothing really surprised me. But it wasn't until the very moment that I took this photo that I finally got a clear look at Mount Fuji with my own eyes; that I finally thought, "Wow, I'm really in Japan."
Digital Collection: Education Abroad
Type of resource: still image
Object custodian: Education Abroad
Virtual collection: Photo Contests
Virtual collection link: 587

Identifier: wwu:37642
Title: Cherry Blossoms and Peace Signs - Japan
Date: 2014
Description: Here is a photo of my friends from Asia University (top row) and me after a day of sitting under the cherry blossoms and sipping on some sake. We asked a stranger to take our photo, and it turned out he was a local high schooler. When he and his friends (bottom row) learned that I was an American student abroad, they really wanted to get a photo together, so we took one big photo together. Here, I'm sporting a WWU T-shirt which doubled as my band uniform when I performed with my AUAP friends at WWU. And of course, no photo taken in Japan is complete without the customary peace signs.
Digital Collection: Education Abroad
Type of resource: still image
Object custodian: Education Abroad
Virtual collection: Photo Contests
Virtual collection link: 587

Identifier: wwu:37619
Title: KAMAKURA DAYS - Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan
Date: 2014
Description: Our WWU friend Daniel Lizarraga (left) was visiting from Akita located in northern Japan, so we planned a weekend trip to Kamakura, Kanagawa, better known as the home of the samurai (12th and 13th centuries). The town was filled with lots of historical monuments, mainly Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Pictured behind us is the Kamakura Daibutsu, or Great Buddha of Kamakura, and we found out that it's actually hollow inside. Kamakura is a historical city with lots to see, and the locals are very friendly, too. One elderly woman that we talked to while we were in her shop told us that our host university, J.F. Oberlin University used to be an all-girls school, something that not a lot of people know.
Digital Collection: Education Abroad
Type of resource: still image
Object custodian: Education Abroad
Virtual collection: Photo Contests
Virtual collection link: 587

Identifier: wwu:37649
Title: Class 5-3 - Japan
Date: 2014
Description: For our Japanese Folklore class we took many field trips, including an optional volunteer opportunity at a local elementary school. Unfortunately, I'm unable to post a photo with the children, as I was unable to contact the school for their permission. It was a great experience. The children weren't interested in us because we spoke English, or because we were foreigners. They simply saw us as new friends and as new playmates. Here, I'm pictured with my friend, Keitaro Hanzawa (right), with a warm welcome message full of drawings and comments from the fifth graders that we volunteered with. My favorite part is probably the blue text right under the "W" in "Welcome," since it's just a list of random English words that they knew written in Japanese like "jump" and "magazine."
Digital Collection: Education Abroad
Type of resource: still image
Object custodian: Education Abroad
Virtual collection: Photo Contests
Virtual collection link: 587