Category Archives: Tours

Touring Seoul Korea 2012 Part 2

November 2, 2012 By in Chase, Cliff, Kathryn, Korea, Tours, useful Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Haechi: Symbol of Seoul

Conversation at the hotel after Day 1

  • Me: I just want to apologize for being such a flake.
  • Chase: It’s alright mom, we know you miss Halmi.
  • Me: I know, I’m trying my best to keep it together.
  • Chase: Don’t worry, I talked to Julie already.
  • Me: What do you mean? What did you say to her?
  • Chase: I told her my mom sometimes has breakdowns.
  • Me: Did you explain why? Did you tell her about Halmi dying?
  • Chase: No.
  • Me: What? You know, just saying that makes me sound like I’m crazy!
  • Chase: [shrugs shoulders]

Chase standing at the base of N Tower

N SEOUL TOWER

The N signifies “New” not North. It also happens to be located on Namsan Mountain, but N still means New. This is an important distinction because it provides a bit of insight to the Korean mindset of today. Compared to the Japanese, Koreans are eager to change and evolve and “N”-ovate. It was obvious from Day 1. Seoul today reminds me of Tokyo 20 years ago. Money flying all over the place, people from all over the world coming together, everyone is working at the crack of dawn and the air just feels electric. It saddens me to see how stagnant Japan has become in the face of an ever-changing, ever-growing global economy. While the rest of the world looks to expand and grow beyond their borders, the Japanese grow more and more insular. The views from N Tower are incredible and it is easy to see why there are so many visitors. The trek uphill ain’t easy, but it’s definitely worth it. N Tower is also popular for lovers and wedding proposals. Many couples will come with their own padlock promises:

Locks of Love? or Locks for Love? You decide.

KOREAN FOLK VILLAGE

I miss the good old days of child labor

One of the joys of going to a folk village is seeing your children doing “back-breaking” work. It’s also fun to see the different tools they used to do everyday activities.  BTW, the broom has not evolved so much. This village did a very nice job of showcasing the differences between the way the rich and poor lived. Instead of wearing designer labels or driving imported cars, you knew this was a wealthy household when you saw tile on their roof and color in their clothes. Everyone else had rice straw roofs and could only wear colors when they married. Otherwise it was beige. This folk village is a popular set for historical  Korean dramas. It is definitely hard to be in Korea and not appreciate the influence Korean dramas have had here and everywhere else. Trust me. People watch!

Drama about Korean Yentl

Back in the day, only boys were deemed worthy enough to get educated. Sungkyunkwan Scandal was about the first girl who pretended to be a boy in order to attend school.

Dae Jang Geum

Again, back in the day, women were not allowed to be doctors. Dae Jang Geum started out as a cook’s apprentice and went on to become the king’s first female physician. Looks like someone has “yellow fever!”

Menage a trois w/ the tour guide

This guy was hard as cardboard! Is this a compliment? I don’t know.

After we finished taking a bunch of goofy pictures, and molesting some more cutouts, we strolled through the rest of the village. It was easy to see why October is such a popular month to travel.

Gorgeous Day in the Folk Village

HWASEONG FORTRESS

Hwaseong Fortress

Hwaseong Fortress: Great Wall of Korea? It is actually a tomb so it is more likely a cross between The Great Wall and the Taj Mahal. The body buried here is an unjustly condemned and murdered king. This structure differs from similar ones in China and Japan because it managed to combine military, commercial, and political functions. The Fortress has had immeasureable influence on Korean architecture, engineering, and history. The only thing I regret is not seeing the archery area. There is a huge field with targets and for 200 Won you can rent arrows and shoot targets. Do this first because they rotate in 30 minute intervals and it’s easier to knock this out first and then walk around the fort. Most likely you’ll see a bunch of business men on a tour lined up proving how good they are.

MYEONG DONG

Myeong Dong literally means “Bright City” but it should mean “Shop til you Drop”. After 2 full days of sight-seeing, my droppability probability was pretty high. I wandered around and bought a few things for our new “baby” but I really didn’t buy anything for myself. I kept seeing fantastic things to buy, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger.  Of course, the next morning I was kicking myself. I did get my chestnuts. You know Korean roasted chestnuts are the best in the world.

Stay tuned -next blog, Korean Food!

End of long day

Until next time…

Touring Tokyo

September 20, 2012 By in Chase, Japanese Excursions, Living in Tokyo, Tours, useful Tags: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Once we learned that our days were numbered here in Tokyo, Cliff and I mad the executive decision to ease off the baseball. Every weekend, all weekend had suddenly seemed like to much time on the field and not enough on the town. This past weekend, Cliff was asked to participate in a 3 Day golf tournament. I decided to cancel baseball plans on book a tour of Tokyo with Chase.

Japan Tourist Bureau

I headed over to the local JTB in Hiroo. This is where you can book trips to anywhere as well as shinkansen (Bullet Train) tickets. Remember, shinkansen tickets can only be purchased 1 month prior. They had a terrific pamphlet for  travel packages in English:

Trust me. Get one of these if you ever plan to do any touring in and out of Tokyo. The funny thing is, everytime I asked them if they had pamphlets in English, they said “no” but then they would walk me over to it. Trust me, they’re there.

PANORAMIC TOKYO tour A070

8:35am Meet bus at Grand Hyatt Roppongi

Comfortable shoes & clothes Mandatory

9:00am Leave Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal & Start tour after being “processed”, given proper sticker, and assigned seat.

Our Itinerary:

Seem like a lot? It was!

Get your scrolling-finger ready:

Meiji Jingu Shrine:

Meiji Priests

Emporer Meiji was known as the Father of Modern Tokyo. His shrine is huge and visited by millions.

Imperial Palace & Gardens

I love the mix of Old and New architecture here.

Asakusa Kannon Temple & Nakamisa Shopping Arcade

What big knockers!

Don’t Smoke, but do stand Downwind

Lunch was at some hotel restaurant by the water. The view was incredible but the food was just so-so. Warning, they didn’t feed us until 13:30-ish, so pack some protein bars. By the time we ate, we were definitely ready.

After lunch…

Tokyo Bay Cruise

Rainbow Bridge

Having a GREAT TIME! Ignore the expression on Chase’s face

Odaiba (Last Stop)

New York, Paris, & Tokyo!

By the end of the tour we were exhausted, but super glad we had done it. I would recommend this tour for anyone living or just visiting Tokyo. By the time we were dropped off it was about 18:00. It was definitely a full day. We learned a lot about Tokyo and its history that probably even locals don’t know.

Price in yen per person

  • Adult 9,900
  • Children 6-11 yrs 6,600

It was a joy to spend the entire day exploring Tokyo with Chase. I had already been to many of these places, but I certainly didn’t have the histories. It was a tremendous time for both of us. As Chase grows bigger before my eyes, I realize how this time with him is so precious and fleeting. It was really gratifying whenever he would look at me and say, “This is great mom! Thank you!” Being a parent is often a thankless job, but sometimes, you get thrown a bone and it’s amazing just how long that can keep you going.

Until next time…

Tokyo Year 2

August 19, 2012 By in Baseball, Culture Shock, Daily Living, Japanese Excursions, Living in Tokyo, Tokyo, Tours, Uncategorized, useful Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Just by reading this blog, you are witnessing a miracle. Many of you know how horrible my jet lag is so the fact that I can turn on a computer and put together sentences only a week after returning from America is quite an accomplishment. I love how Cliff seems to apply tough love to the situation and acts like I have never left. Within hours of getting off the plane, Cliff requested I cook Indian for dinner.

THURSDAY

Chase fit right in w/ these baby Buddhas

Cliff decided to take the day off and asked that I pull together a hike or tour for us to do as a family. Mind you, Tokyo is practically at 100% humidity at all times now and the temperatures are always above 90′s. I keep having to remind myself I am too young to be going through menopause even though I am in a constant state of full-body-sweating. Given this is Obon season, I booked a walking tour through Tokyo titled “Blood of Samurai“. Lilly, our tour guide, walked us through historical graves, shrines and the like, all the while providing interesting bits of history and folklore.

Lipstick Buddha

One of our stops included the shrine of the Lipstick Buddha. Different from the Lipstick Lesbian, Lipstick Buddha is where you go to have beauty bestowed upon you. You can apply some of your own makeup to the statue or just use some of the pressed powder available at the shrine. I was not going to miss my opportunity to apply generously.

Head Washing Pool

Many of you are probably familiar with the practice of seppuku (ritual suicide) as performed by Samurai when faced with losing face or dying. During our tour, Lilly, took us to the graves of the 47 Ronin and we were able to see the preserved pool where beheaded heads were cleansed. I don’t know why it really mattered whether your head was clean once you lost it, but whatever. It was a lovely spot to sit and meditate next to. In previous blogs I have talked about Japan being the capital of instruction manuals. Everything from DVD players to chewing gum has an instruction manual. Here’s the latest one I’ve come across:

How to Kill Yourself w/ a Sword

FRIDAY

Jingu Stadium

You cannot attend a game w/o proper tools

The Japanese have made buying team paraphernalia a high art form. We ended up buying some “bat beaters” and a towel, but there was so much more we could have purchased. We also stopped by concessions to pick up some food:

Concession Stand

No peanuts or cracker jack here. I had smuggled in onigiri (rice balls) and Chase opted for takoyaki (octopus balls) and Cliff had a small bucket of chicken nuggets. There were hotdogs though!

Hotdog Plate

In the stadium, you could purchase beer and ice cream from one of the walking vendors:

Beer Boy

This one happened to be a male, but believe me, most of the others were cute girls in short shorts with kegs strapped to their backsides. I asked Cliff if those were his “dream girls” and he replied, “only if they’re mute too.”

Before the game started there was a pre-show and evidently, baseball here includes cheerleaders:

Getting Ready for Players to be Introduced

These girls also came out between innings and whenever something exciting happened. It was so interesting to see the calm, stoic Japanese transform themselves into crazy, yelling fans. Each player has his own song or beat that the fans play when it’s his turn at bat. Fans of each team also have a signature move they all do, kind of like when people get up and do a wave in America. The Yakult Swallow fans raise and lower umbrellas for a great play:

Score!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE JET LAGGED WHEN:

  • You wake up wanting to vomit
  • Your eyeballs feel loose inside their sockets
  • You find yourself drinking sake aka Jet Lag Juice at 12:08am
  • You find yourself saying things like, “Shut your hole!” or “I feel like punching your face!”
  • You give your child 1000 yen and tell him to find his own way home

Until next time…

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