This will be my last report to conclude everything that I have done, experienced and enjoyed my time while I was in Fukushima and Fukushima University! My second semester of studying in Fukushima University has been more eventful than ever, thinking that when my first semester has ended, things will go normal and no new things will happen. I was wrong.
I have made so many new connections and friends, especially with students that never reached out in 1st semester, and newer students that just started University as well got together!
Many of my friends were preparing to leave Fukushima to pursue new opportunities, whether through studying abroad or graduating and following their own dreams.
I thought it was sort of the end, but I was wrong when new arrivals came into my path and it was a new light of adventures! I don't think I've ever had friendships that bonded so quickly and kept being so close and passionate, very kind and always willing to have a great time together! It made me so emotional knowing that I have to leave Japan soon that later in the future and having to move on back to my home country. I hope I will cherish the many memories I've made in the 2nd semester as well, the same way I did in my 1st semester!
I got to travel around Aizu-Wakamatsu for the first time ever since I saw how beautiful the place looked! So, I had an opportunity with my friend to go travel there and experienced many things: We landed firstly at the main city area where we got to line up outside a ramen restaurant that was infamous for its great tasting and flavourful Kita-Kata ramen! It was always very popular on the weekends, so lines were long. Luckily, there were umbrellas outside to use provided by the restaurant when waiting outside in the sun, and we just made it in time before the line quadrupled in length! We got in to order for ourselves a typical Kita-Kata ramen bowl dish! And I must say, it was very flavourful and I liked how bouncy the noodles were, which were in my alley. I really enjoyed every single bit of the broth and how tender the pork slices were.
After our ramen, we went to see Tsuruga Castle. I saw many photos online and my friends going there, saying that it was an amazing, picture-esque landscape combined with the castle during my first semester. Of course I wanted to see how that looked, and I was not disappointed by how amazing the castle looked! The clean white color on the castle, combined with how it's on a tall cobblestone mound, it looked as if I was transported back in time. Since I'm a photographer and I love the blending of modern with traditional, there was so much potential and opportunity so I made sure to do everything in my power to honour my photography hobby and passion! It was an amazing place, nonetheless, and visiting it has ticked off on my list while staying in Fukushima!
Next on our itinerary was the Oyaku-En (御薬園). It is a medicinal herb garden, hence the name. I love seeing gardens in Japan, so seeing this one was going to be a nice surprise! I was blown away by how beautiful everything looked, it was very tidy, plenty of foliage, and plants bloomed for the summer season. I particularly enjoyed walking around and seeing the family of ducks getting together and enjoying their time together at the edge of the lake.
The scenary was delightful, at any point in the garden you can take a look and have endless opportunities of photos to take, especially when the sunlight gleams down above me.
I had a blast spending my time in the garden, taking countless pictures that I will cherish for the rest of my life in my camera folder!
On the next day, we adventured early in the morning at 9AM to Ouchi-Juku! We were the first group of independent travellers to get there, so it wasn't busy at all. It was heavily raining at that time with many foggy clouds rushing above us in between the peaks of the mountains around us, however that didn't stop us from travelling further! It felt as if I was in the past, the buildings were maintained well with the appropriate design faithful to the original, however seeing store fronts set up to sell merchandise was as expected! We got to try the Negi-Soba. It was a unique taste as I've never had something like this, with the additional green onion as a utensil combo made things spicy and very nutritional and healthy! I don't think I will have a similar kind of taste profile anywhere other than Ouchi-Juku! And that concludes my trip to Aizu as a whole!
The last few weeks at Fukushima University were the last moments I get to spend time with all my teachers and classmates. We all enjoyed activities like class competitions to see who can make the best story play translated from Japanese to English in everyone's natural speech and manner, to playing Monopoly in my business class, applying all our skills business-related on how to win and outplay other contestants. I am afraid to be going, but I have not let out a single out of worry about my choice studying here abroad.
It was one of the BEST moments of my 21 years I have lived here on Earth. I don't think I've realised how much impact this decision had an effect in my life. Pursuing my chance to study abroad in Fukushima, is more than just studying in my opinion. I thought I was going to have a lonely, plain and uneventful time in Japan, with fear that things would be too stressful and things wouldn't go the way I wanted. This was not the case, and I 100% will recommend others to come study in Fukushima without a doubt! It was one of the best decisions I've made in my life, and I don't regret it one bit. I wished I could stay for another year, but sadly it's time for me to move back to my home country soon in the future.
The most important thing I've learned coming into Fukushima, was the souls of the Fukushima residents making the prefecture the most supreme and remarkable place I've laid my eyes on and stepped into. Oh, and Aka-Peko as well!
福島大学への留学案内・年間スケジュール
