観光
かんこう · kankou · JLPT N3 · noun
sightseeing
📸🗺️ 観 view + 光 light: kankou is going to view the light of a land
The word comes from the classic I Ching line 観国之光, observe the light of a country. Here light means a place's glory or best features. A tourist goes to view a place's light, its famous sights. 観 is also in 観察 (observe), and 光 is also in 日光 (sunlight).
光 — fire 火 (top) + person 儿 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a person with fire above their head, depicting a torchbearer or the radiance from a flame. The character evolved to mean 'light' or 'brightness' in general, and by extension 'glory' and 'to shine.' The modern top component is a stylized form of 火 (fire).