Location: Yamaguchi, Japan
Date: October 2018
Photographer: Steven Hirsch
Home Country: United States
University Affiliation: Alumni
Category: Places
Award: 1st Place
"Churieto Pagoda is a 5 story shrine in Arakurayama Sengen Park overlooking Mt. Fuji. On my birthday last year I woke in the early morning darkness and climbed the 398 steps leading to the top of the mountainside. After catching my breath from the climb, I once again was breathless as the sun rose and illuminated the Pagoda and Mt. Fuji. Immersed in the Japanese culture for 3 weeks this was surely one of my highlights from the visit there."