S. Korea / Japan Trip 2008

**************ATTENTION*********************


This trip journal runs in chronological order from bottom to top.

To begin, scroll down to find the first entry,

"View from the Hotel Ibis, Seoul"

and then scroll upwards to view the posts in order.

Click on a photo to view a larger version.

Life in Japan - Bento + Drink Vending Machines

Drink Vending Machines
Ok this I had to add because I just love it and wish it existed in the US. There are drink vending machines like this everywhere - with so many choices - even coffee drinks.

Bento
Bento are portable meals packaged into containers with compartments. They are mainly of the homemade variety for business people or kid's school lunches but you can also purchase them at convenience stores (especially in train stations). There is an art to Bento preparation (like knowing which vegetables have anti-microbial qualities to keep the lunch fresh) and an entire industry of Bento cooking tools and Bento lunch box varieties. This particular bento is one that I enjoyed on the train ride from Tokyo to Koyasan. It was all delicious except the squid tentacle which I left alone.

Life in Japan - Tokyo Subway + Student Groups

Some more notes on life in Japan...

The Subway
The subway and trains in Tokyo are awesome. Every train runs exactly on time and and the stations are clean and safe. It's just an extremely fluid and efficient public transportation system.


But it can get kind of crazy. There are a lot of people... and it can make you feel like an ant marching with the colony... or a sardine packed in a can (check out the second link below). Some videos to illustrate this:

Shinkjuku Station Rush Hour

Sardine Train
(we didn't experience anything like this - this is an old video and they apparently use flex time now to avoid this kind of rush hour packing in)


Student Groups

Large groups of middle school kids (always in matching uniforms) fill lines at sightseeing spots, large square footage of subway station floors, and trains all over Japan. We were often wondering, how can there be so many field trips going on all the time?

Life in Japan- Automated Toilets + Funny English Signs

I want to share a few observations of life in Japan which to foreigners may seem either weird or really awesome.

Automated Toilets
Every hotel we stayed in had a super high tech automated toilet with all kinds of functions. These toilets have an array of bidee features, a deodorizer and a heated seat which you can adjust to different temperatures. Some public toilets have courtesy buttons which make fake flushing noises should you feel the need to cover up any embarrassing noises. The funny thing is that you will find these toilets at every kind of establishment, even McDonald's.



Huh?
Funny English phrases can be found all over the place. Sometimes its odd grammar and sometimes there are entire paragraphs of absurdly used adjectives.
This particular phrase appeared on a billboard in Kyoto "Your good times are just beginning". Are they really?
Here's a site devoted to peculiar English in Japan:
http://www.engrish.com/

Incidentally, this doesn't just happen in Japan. I noticed the same thing in other countries I've visited. English just seems to be used on a lot of packaging and signage around the world and people like to get creative with it.

Ryokan Taiseikan and Trip's End

We had a very relaxing stay at Ryokan Taiseikan. (a Ryokan is a traditional Japanese hotel with tatami mat floors and Kaseki meals)
When we arrived, we were greeted in unison by several Japanese hostesses dressed in Yukata. They were all older women, the type you picture to be Grandmothers or Aunts. We were given a brand new pair of slippers and assigned a hostess (who was our waitress for the in-room meals). She showed us around our room and then served tea.
We put on our Yukata and then took a stroll around the grounds. The hotel was surrounded by naturally occurring hot springs. There were many open air baths built into the rocks. We returned to our room at 6pm for dinner. The meal you see in the picture is just the first course. Our waitress returned four more times with additional courses. The food was all very fresh and artfully prepared. This style of cuisine is called Kaseki in which the presentation of the food is very important. I got to eat many foods I'd never seen or tried before and learned a lot about Japanese cuisine.
After dinner we took a relaxing dip in one of the open air spas in the woods which we reserved earlier. It was sort of a rock waterfall with a lower and upper level and two spa areas. The upper level which was closer to the source of the spring was insanely hot. I couldn't even keep my foot in for more than a few seconds. The lower spa was more tolerable, but we could only withstand about 30 minutes of alternating 5 minutes in/ 5 minutes out. It was so wonderful though, especially just the experience of being out in nature like that.
We reserved a different hot spring bath the next morning, this time in a cedar spa tub (this photo). The custom is to bathe yourself, before you enter the spa, at the faucet (on the ground just out of the photo) by filling the small bucket and dumping it over yourself. There are bottles of shampoo and body wash to use. The tub is overflowing so that it is constantly being filled with fresh water.
When we returned to our room we had another multi-course meal which was very similar to the dinner the night before.



We checked out and returned to Tokyo that morning for the last day and night of our trip in Japan. By that point we were tired of carrying the camera around so I do not have any more photos to share. We spent the afternoon in Shibuya (yay Tokyu Hands!) and the night in Roponggi at a Beatles cover band club. We ended our trip listening to "Blackbird" with a heavy Japanese accent "Brackbird fry..." At 1am, the entire table of older Japanese business men next to us was fast asleep. Most of the bar, however, was cheering and still calling out requests. It was a good time.

Hakone (Mt. Fuji) Ropeway

The next day, we left Kyoto on a Shinkansen bound for Odawara Station which connects by local train to Hakone, the popular resort and hot springs town with views of Mnt. Fuji.
When we arrived at the resort I'd booked it was too early to check in so we left our bags and headed back to the train to see some of the sights around Mt. Fuji.
We took a steep cable car up to the starting point of the Ropeway where we boarded one of the gondolas you see in these photos. The picture on the left is of a valley of sulfer mines which we crossed. It was the highest and the longest ropeway ride I've ever been on. It stops at 3 stations, ending at Lake Ashi. Unfortunately, we were never able to see Mt. Fuji because it was very cloudy and misty at the higher altitude. However, the clouds themselves were an interesting site, the cable seemed to disappear before us and at one point it was a complete white out.

Gion

As dusk approached, we walked toward Gion, the Geisha Quarter, and Pontocho Alley. Pontocho alley is a vary narrow street (the first photo) that runs behind the riverside restaurants (in the second photo). See the geisha walking by me in the alley? We only saw a few geisha while we were in Kyoto - and every time one appeared tourists would jump for their cameras. It was sort of a funny scene. I noticed that when a geisha walked down the street, all eyes were on her, you could tell that she knew but she'd look straight ahead, walk quickly, and then disappear suddenly under a curtain through a doorway.

We wanted to eat on an outdoor deck of one of the restaurants along the river. Their entrances are accessed from Pontocho alley. However, we faced several obstacles in finding one. Every restaurant had a menu entirely in Kanji (japanese characters) without pictures and of the few restaurants with english menus many did not have outdoor seating (they were in the basement). The food was also very expensive.
So we gave up on eating outside, and turned our attention to the other side of the alley. I found a place with one English phrase, "We want you!" and a price list "Fried items on skewers", "6 for $12, 8 for $16, 12 for $24". I peaked through the curtain to see about a dozen jovial locals seated around a bar where a handful of chefs were cooking. It smelled good, so we went in. We were greeted with the customary welcome and given seats at the bar. It turned out to be a fabulous choice for dinner - a series of tasty things battered and fried on a stick such as mushroom, shrimp, pork, etc. We watched the chefs prepare everything and then advise us as to which sauce we should pair the item with "soy sauce, peanut sauce, just lemon, or no sauce". It was really fun! We were instructed that when we were full and had a large enough collection of left over skewer sticks we should tell the chefs "stop!" otherwise the food would keep coming. Apparently "stop" wasn't just for us, all of the customers said "stop" in English and made an x-shaped hand gesture when they were done and wanted the check.

Kiyomizudera Temple

We ended our tour through Higashiyama at Kiyomizu-dera Temple. The streets leading to the temple were very steep and packed with tourists (mainly large groups of Japanese elementary and middle school kids who appeared to be on a field trip). Once we reached the summit and the veranda off of the main hall we were awarded with a spectacular view of Kyoto. For over 1,000 years, pilgrims have hiked up to Kiyomizu-dera Temple to pray and drink from its sacred spring (Kiyomizu means "pure water").

Higashiyama Area

Walking through the maze of narrow stone paved roads in the Higashiyama area was a little bit like going back in time. We occasionally passed a woman in a kimono, as you can in the picture on the left.

Philosopher's Walk

We woke up the next morning with one full day and night to spend in Kyoto. We began by taking the bus to the older part of the city, to tour several temples along the "Philosopher's Walk" (a cobblestoned tree-lined path along the old canal). It was a beautiful morning for this walk. The photo of the two of us was taken beside the pond and garden at the Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavillion). The walk took about an hour and ended at Nanzenji Temple.

Kyoto - First tastes

Of course the first thing on my to do list in Kyoto was food. I had researched ahead of time. Amazingly, we found this place very easily. A 500 year old Soba noodle shop that used to serve the Emperor! We had lunch - soba noodles in a light broth with tempura on the side and soba noodle sushi. It was so good! This is the first place I will go back to when I visit Kyoto again. The staff was very friendly, they had a well written English menu, good prices, and it wasn't at all touristy or crowded.

The second place wasn't as much of a hit. I liked it but Brian didn't. The dessert is shaved ice with a sweet green tea flavor (that's why its green), ice cream underneath the shaved ice and fruit on top, and chewy balls made from soybean (or taro?). It was sooo filling.

Kyoto

After breakfast and the walk through Okunoin, we packed up our bags and took the bus, cable car, train, subway, and shinkansen to Kyoto.
We checked into our hotel,the Monterey Kyoto, that afternoon, took showers and then went out to explore the city.

Here's a photo of our very cute room and one in the elevator.

Morning Prayers

We got up at 5:30am for the 6am morning prayer service. The ceremony took place in a large and extremely elaborately decorated room with intricately carved rich dark woods and red and gold accents. There was incense burning and a an arrangement of fresh flowers. I noticed that this was in stark contrast to the rest of the temple which was austere, very plainly decorated and all in gray, white and natural wood tones with no color. The ceremony went on for about 40 minutes and consisted of one long continuous chant by two monks. One of the monks was a young man; the other an older woman. They read from a book on a small table which they knelt in front of. It was amazing how long they were able to chant for, barely pausing to take a breath. The male monk would occasionally drum a small gong which filled the room with a soft reverberating tone. When the ceremony ended I felt very calm and peaceful.
The picture on the left is of the side entrance where we exchanged our slippers for our shoes when we wanted to go out. The other picture is of an interior courtyard garden close to the hall where the morning prayer ceremony took place.

Shojin-ryori

After washing up, we were called to dinner at 6pm. We put on our Yukata robes (laid out in our room, for wearing around the temple). The Yukata is a long robe that you wrap around yourself and tie with a sash (obi). We actually had two, a cotton robe and a thicker robe to wear over for cooler weather.

We joined the other guests in the dining room where a small table on the floor was set up for each of us. After a few minutes a young monk came in from an adjoining room with a tray of food, knelt down, and arranged the dishes on our little table. The monks on Koyasan serve a special type of traditional cuisine called shojin-ryori which is entirely vegetarian. It is cooked without meat, fish, onions or garlic. This cooking method has been secretly passed on from monk to monk for over a millennium.
It was delicious!
Dishes included tempura (excellent), aghe, Koya-tofu, Goma-tofu (made with sesame paste rather than soy bean), Miso soup, sweet and sour seaweeds in vinegar, pickled vegetables, wild potatoes, sweet red beans, and several types of soup including a ginger soup that was amazing, and of course white rice and green tea.
The breakfast was very similar to dinner (this is the case in Korea and Japan - fish, soup, and rice are traditional breakfast foods).

Shojoshin-in (on Koyasan)

It was a special experience to spend the night at a Buddhist temple. From the architecture to the landscaping it was beautiful, clean, quiet and peaceful. The photo of the garden was taken from the balcony off of our room, the other photo is of the courtyard at the front of the temple.
Upon checking in, we were asked to leave our shoes at the entrance and put on slippers which they provided. Our room was on the third floor at the end of a hall. Before entering your room you must take off your slippers. The floor of the room was covered in tatami mats and divided into three parts. The main part was for sleeping, where futons were laid out on the floor for us. The second partition (divided by sliding screen doors) had a low table for eating and doors out to the balcony. The third section was a small bathroom with just a sink. We shared toilets located down the hall but they had to be the cleanest toilet stalls I've ever seen with the fancy toilets you find all over Japan (heated seats, deoderizers and all sorts of automated bidee functions). There was a communal hot bath to use downstairs if you wanted to take a full bath. We were also provided with a small gas space heater in our room which produced a lot of heat, like sitting in front of a fire, and a water boiler in case we wanted to have tea. Our stay included breakfast and dinner in the dining hall downstairs.

Koyasan

In Japan, the fantastically futuristic co-exists with the incredibly ancient. After a few days in Tokyo we'd had plenty of neon and plastic. Mt. Koya provided the perfect retreat to nature.

Koyasan was founded by the famous monk Kobodaishi, as a religious retreat for Shingon Buddhism in the year 816. Today, there are over 100 temples on Koyasan. About fifty of these temples provide lodging for travelers, so I booked a stay at Shojoshinin, the temple at the entrance to Okunoin, or the Inner Sanctuary, a vast cemetery in a dense forest of towering cedars. It is home to the mausoleums of many famous Japanese, including that of the samurai ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At the end of the 2km cemetery path, stand two giant structures, the Mausoleum of Kobodaishi and the Lantern Hall where some lanterns are said to have been continuously burning for over 900 years.

The forest of Okunoin had an absolutely magical and serene atmosphere. We walked through it at 8am during a light rain shower. The cedar trees are massive and impossibly tall. When we reached Kobodaishi's Mausoleum and the Latern Hall I was surprised by the enormity of the buildings. The interior of the Latern Hall was breath taking. Imagine a very large, old library with dark wood bookshelves that reach from floor to ceiling but replace the books with thousands of laterns lining the shelves, all glowing with a soft golden light.

We were able to take photos while walking through Okunoin but photography was not allowed at the site of Kobodaishi's Mausoleum and the Lantern Hall.

Shinkansen

On Monday morning, we boarded a high speed train (Shinkansen) to travel west to Mt. Koya.

When we were about a half hour outside of Tokyo there was a brief view of Mt. Fuji.

We arrived in Osaka-shin 3 hours later and then took the Subway to Namba (10 min), a regular train to Gokurakubashi (1.5 hours) and a very steep cable tramway up into the lush green mountains of Koyasan.

I never want to leave!

Tokyu Hands

My other favorite store in Shibuya, (photo from Wikipedia, - I think we were too awed to remember the camera), possibly the coolest store in the world.

I could have easily spent several days in this store and a full day just in the office supply section (we were there for 2 hours). They call themselves the "Creative Life Store" which I think says it all.

There are 25 floors each stocking a different category of goods. These are the categories: Gardening; Travel Supplies; Paints; Lumber; Hardware; Bags; watches, wallets; Party, Costumes, Gadgets and Games; Camping Supplies; Laundry Supplies; cookware; Haircare, Cosmetics; Bathroom decor; Furniture, Bedding; Storage, Organizers; Lighting; Stationary, Office Supply; Wedding supplies, Letter Sets; Art Supplies; Fabric, crafts; gift wrapping; Bicycles; cafe and Restaurant.

But this isn't your average everyday miscellany. The Japanese have a knack for making wacky, creative, and ingenious little gadgets that until you see one you never knew it was missing from your life. They also have a keen eye for design (even if its just to make a pencil sharpener or a clothes hanger). Every thirty seconds Brian and I were saying to each other "Whoa - look at this! This --random thing on the shelf-- is crazy! and "Did you see floor 5A?" "You've got to go up there!"

I'm a pen and notebook junkie (like some of you reading this) and this place is the utopia of pen and paper supplies. To better appreciate the magnitude of this discovery check out this video (not mine) on You Tube of the pen selection at Tokyu Hands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkscpVGMMyA&feature=related

Food Glorious Food!

Tokyu Food Show
One of my two favorite stores in Shibuya, an underground grocery store/food court.

We found this place by happy accident. It's located in the basement of the Tokyu department store in Shibuya right near the big intersection. I nearly fainted when I walked in. It is a foodie's dream: counter after counter of the most delicious items you can imagine. They have every cuisine from Italian to Chinese and the most beautiful pastries which you can watch the chefs prepare. It is also a grocery store with the freshest vegetables, meats and seafood I've ever seen. Here's a link to their Japanese site, with photos of the various food counters: http://www.tokyu-dept.co.jp/foodshow/shop/index_deli.html

Shibuya!

Shi-BOO-YA! We were saying that a lot on this trip because we loved Shibuya! It's a neon shopping extravaganza and home to one of the world's busiest pedestrian crossings and biggest jumbo tv screens. Click on the picture of the tv screens where the sky is black and look at the bottom of the image - see the crowds lining up to cross the street?

Arizona Freedom

After Yoyogi park, we walked down Omete-sando and the side streets that branch off of it. The windy side streets are filled with a variety of little boutiques like this one called "Arizona Freedom" which we had to get a picture of. It sold, what else?, western wear. I actually saw a lot of fashionable Japanese men with very funky and very pointy cowboy boots all over the city.

Rockabillies

Probably the coolest, and funniest part of Yoyogi park are the Rockabillies. They all hang out by one of the entrances, their hot pink and red Cadillacs parked nearby. There was a gang of greasers redoing their hairspray every 5 minutes, and a group of girls dancing to 50s music in their poodle skirts. Ha! From what I've read, they're there every Sunday.

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park is a lot like any other city park I've seen. It has sidewalks, large grass areas, water fountains, people walking dogs, Frisbee throwing and picnics. We put down our jackets to sit in the grass for a while. The weather was just right. The park also had a beautiful rose garden with a wide variety of colors.
Besides the dressed up kids, the other fun thing about Yoyogi are the bands. They set up along the outer sidewalk of the park, sometimes within 20 ft of each other which is funny because one band might be playing punk rock really loud and the one right next to it could be playing reggae and when you walk by the sounds mix. We stood and watched this punk band for a while. They were really good and they clearly had a devoted following. The short guy with the purple hair in the crowd was really into it.

Cosplay

Well, apparently we didn't get to the park early enough to see all of the cosplay kids, or maybe it was just a slow day. There were a few stragglers hanging out on the bridge though.
I was hoping to see some outfits like the picture on the right. (from Wikipedia)

Harajuku

On Sunday morning we took the train to Harajuku. It was only a couple of stops West. Harajuku is a funky area where teenagers dress up like manga or video game characters (called Cosplay) and hang out at Yoyogi park to show off their costumes. It's also a big shopping area for fashion. Harajuku station looks like an old fashioned train station. In the picture I'm across the street from it. The other picture was taken at a nearby intersection on Omote-sando Dori, the "paris" of Tokyo, a long tree-lined street with lots of cafes and fancy clothing stores. Unfortunately, you can't see the tree lined street in this photo though. It's a really nice street to walk down. We began the morning by walking down Omote-sando to find a cafe for a light breakfast. After that we walked back up to Yoyogi park.