2017-04-01 to 04-10, Tokyo Sakura & Seoul, S. Korea

I'm leaving Japan.  I haven't found a job that meets all my requirements - I'm being pretty fussy - I think because I really want to go home for a while.  I decided to go to Tokyo and see my friend Reiko, and hopefully some cherry blossoms (sakura), while waiting for them to bloom in Hikone.  I had also planned to change my working visa (which expired on April 6) into a tourist visa so I wouldn't be illegal and forbidden from coming back for a time.  I didn't anticipate any problems but they wouldn't do it, said I had to go back to the area in which the visa was issued.  That messed up my plans...  so, instead I spent a few days in Tokyo and then went to Seoul, S. Korea.  Upon my return I would automatically be given a 90 day tourist visa.  That worked out well.

A few days in Tokyo.

We tried to go to a little park where the sakura were supposedly in full bloom - everywhere else the blooms were about a week behind.  When we arrived there was a line.  A LONG line.  And as we walked back to try to find the end of it we decided to go somewhere else.  When we reached the end of the line we heard it was a two hour wait.  Not worth it.  So we went to Ueno Park where things weren't yet in full bloom but there were TONS of people.

An art museum.

The next day I was on my own and since it was a weekday I decided to try that park again.  This time there weren't many people.

The park is located near Tokyo Dome - a baseball stadium/concert venue and next to it is a giant roller coaster that seems to go into the building.

The next day Reiko and I went to Chidori no fuchi (?) which was crowded but walkable.  Many of the trees were in full bloom because the previous two day's warm weather.

The next morning I went off to the airport and Reiko went off to work.

This was such a last minute trip - so unlike me.  I booked it two days before I left and got a place to stay the day before!  I opted for an Airbnb which was run like a regular B&B in that the hosts meet, greet, give directions and serve a great breakfast.   Actually they went beyond that when I had trouble booking through Airbnb and then when I couldn't get out of the subway gates (I think I used the wrong ticket) I looked up and a man asked 'Are you Elisa?'  I couldn't quite believe it but I said yes, and he told me that he was on his way home and his sisters (the bnb owners) had asked him to keep his eyes open for me!  He got me out (!) and then walked me to their place.

In the morning...breakfast.  One of the sisters loves to cook and makes great, and gigantic, Korean breakfasts every morning.  They also have toast and cereal if one prefers.  The breakfasts were so big that I was never ready for lunch before 2 or 3, even with all the walking.  

Breakfast at the bnb. The rolls are rice paper stuffed with seasoned rice noodles and vegetables and the tofu pouches were stuffed with rice and hijiki seaweed.  The soup below had seaweed and tuna.

After filling up I went out to explore.Seoul is surrounded by 4 mountain ranges, and a low wall (sort of like a mini version of the Great Wall in China) follows the mountains and goes around the city.  There are MANY steep slopes in the city and I don't know how (if) older people - who mostly reside in the old houses on the outskirts and steep slopes - can walk up and down these slopes because they are so slippery.  Those that can are in good shape but the loose gravel and small rocks even made me go down very, very slowly. 

I started out at the Design and Culture center which is a very interesting building that holds a museum, shops and I think space for classrooms.

This is one of the gates in the wall that surrounds the city.

See the wall on that hill?  I followed that for a little while and came upon 'The Wall Museum' which was interesting.

This shows the mountains surrounding Seoul (and where the wall was built).

The back of the museum and part of the wall.

 I strayed away from the wall hoping to find the 'mural town' and ended up in a neighborhood of VERY steep roads. 

 I kept going downhill and was about to give up when I went into a shop for a drink and the man at the counter asked if I had seen the mural village.  I had actually, somehow, skirted around the village and was headed in the opposite direction (of course).  So I headed back UPhill and found it.

I found a park with great views.

And interestingly these signs were posted in various places - parks, palaces, etc. throughout Seoul.

A type of azeala.

 It was suggested I visit the nearby university (SKKU) and I picked up a lunch and sat on a bench watching the students walk by.  There was a large Confucian Temple on the campus that was open to the public.

A fire extinguisher (I'm guessing) is in here.

I was exhausted after about 6 hours of almost non-stop walking and went back to my room for a rest.  Then out to dinner to a fish place nearby.

 Breakfast the next morning.  Salad with a spicy dressing.

Seasoned meat, egg rolls with ketchup and rice balls.

Seoul has a lot of shops where one can rent hanbok (the type of clothes that people used to wear) and wear them while walking around.  Similar to the shops in Kyoto that rent kimono.  In Kyoto you get discounts or free entrance to many sites if you are wearing a kimono.  Don't know if the same is true in Seoul.  It definitely adds to the atmosphere, especially at the palaces.

I met an American couple who are living in Saipan at breakfast and we decided to walk together.  We headed to an area that still has a lot of old buildings.  It's a regular neighborhood but has turned into quite a tourist spot, it's called Bukchon Hanok Village.

This door is made of loose rocks held in place with wire.

? I don't know why....

See that square hole in the roof?  Many old homes where designed in a square with an inner courtyard.  That whole is over the courtyard.

Some of the old homes have been converted to shops, cafes, or guesthouses.

There are 5 main palaces in Seoul.  One, Changgyeonggung Palace, has a 'secret' garden and I had made a reservation to see that (anyone can go to the palace but you need to take a tour to enter the garden) so I said goodbye to the couple and went on my way.  I found the palace without going the wrong way once!!!  Very proud of myself.  I picked up my ticket without having to wait in the long line and decided to get lunch before going in.  My stomach had been acting up so I decided to have porridge at a porridge restaurant.  There were probably 30 different choices - from abalone porridge to pumpkin.  I opted for pumpkin which was delicious.

I had plenty of time to walk around the palace before the tour.

Personally I would call it a park rather than a garden, it was nice but not really anything that special.  Possibly because the 1.5 hour tour started at 3:30 and I had been walking all day with the exception of the 20 - 30 min. in which I ate lunch...  I was tired before I started.

I walked home exhausted again, I really can't seem to do the 'relaxing vacation' thing...
Here are a few pictures of 'my' neighborhood and the Airbnb.

Spotlessly clean but very small.  If there were 2 people I don't know where the 2nd suitcase would go.

Korean bathrooms (and Taiwanese) do not have separate shower areas so everything gets wet.  The toilet paper is kept in the medicine cabinet which you need to remember to close.  There are slippers to wear in there when you aren't taking a shower since the floor is still often wet.  You have to wipe down the toilet after your shower.  I should say that in the airport hotel and in the place I stayed in Taiwan the rooms were bigger and if I was careful I could keep the water away from the toilet area.
I stayed in the Airbnb for 3 nights and spent the last night in a hotel near the airport.
I took my suitcase and went to a park with cherry blossoms and a flower festival in a town called Yeouido-dong.  It was VERY crowded but I was lucky enough to get a locker big enough for my suitcase in the subway station.  Then I walked around enjoying the beautiful weather and looking at the interesting street food and things for sale (like fake flower hair wreaths).

Sauted or fried silk worm larvae snacks.  I did not try that.  I heard that only older people still eat them but a number of vendors were selling them so they must have been popular.  Other favorites seemed to be corn on the cob, chicken on sticks, corn dogs, cotton candy.

Really crowded.

?  I don't know.

The Han River

singers

Wherever you are, by veering off the main path or ro you can usually find places nearby that aren't as crowded.

I think this is the Diet building.

There were many parks all around the city and they usually had a variety of exercise machines.
It seems to be mostly senior citizens who use them.

I think this was a wedding.

Most of the snacks trucks didn't have prices and I didn't know which were spicy so I opted for this crisp, delicious waffle that had whipped cream and strawberry jam inside.

I ate it while sitting in this park.

 Then I started back tot he station for the ride to the airport where I called the hotel shuttle.

There was nothing much around the hotel except hotels and restaurants.  I had soup again.  This time with wontons.  

Breakfast at the airport.  I have to say I was glad to have a non-Korean choice.  I can't say that I didn't like Korean food but I never felt like 'I want that.  And that. And that.' the way I do ALL the time in Japan.

I definitely like Japan more than Korea although the people were very friendly.  There's just something about Japan that makes me so comfortable and keeps me coming back.  But I'm glad that I finally got to Korea.  I have been wanting to go for a long time.

Sitting in the airport I was really ready to go home home (U.S. home) but I had to go back to Japan to repack my boxes (which were packed for moving to another area of Japan, not going home and possibly not returning) and to get my suitcases with all my clothes.  I'll leave that for my next post.