"How about a little Boyz II Men to round out your Korea experience?"
Yes, that was actually said to me by my gracious host. Korea is lovely. I've been here for a little over a week now, and I've seen lots of neato stuff. That quote was from a few days ago, after we'd taken the gondolas up to Seoul Tower (which was closed), and while we were sitting in the little old gazebo at the base of the tower eating ice cream. Boyz II Men suddenly wafted through the still air, rather like something from the wrong end of a skunk.
Then we went to Tokyo, which was really impressive and not nearly as terrifyingly full of people as I expected. Actually, let me clarify that. There were about 10 times more people than I've seen concentrated in one place in my life (except perhaps Disneyland at Christmas), but it wasn't terrifying in the least. My personal space was meticulously respected, and the one time I was slammed into, I was bowed at so much that I felt almost embarrassed.
The food was delicious (sushi + wasabi = happy hobo), and Host and I braved (and conquered) the Tokyo subway system. I cannot take credit for the victory, however; I mostly just followed along as best I could and trusted that her subway instincts were more finely honed than mine. Contrary to her belief, we did NOT end up in a forest in Hokkaido, nor were we forced to hitchhike back to Tokyo on the back of very small scooters. Which would have been cool, but would not have allowed for much shopping time. Here are two favorite subway photos:
We also visited the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. We took a train out of the city, walked quite a ways to the museum, only to discover that you have to purchase tickets online. AND they were sold out for the day. However, because they anticipated the unpreparedness of foreigners, they directed us to an office back in the main town where we could get tickets. So we hopped on a yellow bus with cartoon characters on it, got our tickets, and had a great day:
More pics later! I'm going out to get some sort of food now. Possibly something with tentacles.
Then we went to Tokyo, which was really impressive and not nearly as terrifyingly full of people as I expected. Actually, let me clarify that. There were about 10 times more people than I've seen concentrated in one place in my life (except perhaps Disneyland at Christmas), but it wasn't terrifying in the least. My personal space was meticulously respected, and the one time I was slammed into, I was bowed at so much that I felt almost embarrassed.
The food was delicious (sushi + wasabi = happy hobo), and Host and I braved (and conquered) the Tokyo subway system. I cannot take credit for the victory, however; I mostly just followed along as best I could and trusted that her subway instincts were more finely honed than mine. Contrary to her belief, we did NOT end up in a forest in Hokkaido, nor were we forced to hitchhike back to Tokyo on the back of very small scooters. Which would have been cool, but would not have allowed for much shopping time. Here are two favorite subway photos:
We also visited the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. We took a train out of the city, walked quite a ways to the museum, only to discover that you have to purchase tickets online. AND they were sold out for the day. However, because they anticipated the unpreparedness of foreigners, they directed us to an office back in the main town where we could get tickets. So we hopped on a yellow bus with cartoon characters on it, got our tickets, and had a great day:
More pics later! I'm going out to get some sort of food now. Possibly something with tentacles.
coughed this up at 1:01 AM
1 El Commentos:
I love your 'vaguely unattractive Japanese youth with bad haircuts' photo. Those kids is famous!
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