Japan, on our way to Bali (5)

Hiroshima and Miyajima is famous in Japan for oysters. We had to stop and try the local variety. They charged 800 yen for raw and 500 yen for barbequed. We tried them both. I told Joanne I liked the oysters we had at Steve and Lucia’s house when they invited us to their eat-till- you drop fresh oyster party.

By the time we got there (I counted 10 different vehicles to get there; from subway trains, shinkansen, tram, taxi, ferry) it was near dusk. We managed to take some photos and had just enough time to try the local delicacies (oysters).

The view of “torii” (Shinto shrine gate) with the backdrop of water is classified as one of Japan’s “three best views”.

Miyajima Island is only a five-minute ferry ride from Hiroshima (it takes 30 minutes from another ferry port where our taxi driver dropped us off). This floating Shinto-shrine gate is a famous and revered site in Japan.

On our way to Miyajima Island we saw what looks to be a nuclear power plant in the distance. It was ironic that the power of destruction that once destroyed the city is now serving the people of Hiroshima.

Japan, on our way to Bali (4)

Among the citizens who perished in Hiroshima, were a lot of Koreans. More than one in ten who died were Koreans and no memorials were ever erected for Koreans for a long time until recently. We found this deserted looking small Korean memorial adjacent to the park and paid tribute.  Unfortunately, it had no Korean or English descriptions.

The ruin (A-Bomb Memorial) is now a World Heritage Site. It stands as a reminder of the tragedy.

The only surviving ruin after the atomic bomb struck Hiroshima.

One of Hiroshima's local cuisines is okonomiyaki. We found the one that was recommended in the book and it came with a very outgoing owner. Okonomiyaki is a mixture of bean sprouts, noodles, eggs and oysters fried in front of you. It was delicious.

A Japanese couple tying a paper with their wishes in the park; we also saw many of these papers tied to tree limbs inside the temple.

Geisha girl - full length

Japan, on our way to Bali (3)

Inside Maruyama park. The entrance was free and had many ponds and gardens. The park is located in Gion area (geisha district) of Kyoto.

A geisha girl in Kyoto all perfectly decorated. I was among a dozen professional photographers. After taking this picture someone asked me if I was a member. I later  learned she was a special model posing.  I liked the way the picture came out with my unprofessional looking small Canon digital camera, which I bought in Seoul to replace my lost one (a similar kind).

The largest bell in Japan; it was cast in 1633 and is located in Chion-in temple.  It takes 17 monks to ring the bell.

A view behind the main hall of Chion-in temple; it leads to another hall by a ‘nightingale’ floor. The floors made chirping sounds when walked upon. This type of floors was used in palaces and temples for security purpose.

This two story San-mon gate in Kyoto is the largest temple gate in Japan. It is an entrance to the Chion-in temple that was built in 1234.

Japan, on our way to Bali (2)

Kyoto train station with huge atrium. It is an eye sore to some for not keeping with the traditional architectural style of the city, but was impressive in its own right.

Koko-en garden has many ponds, streams and tea gardens.  It was once quarters to samurais that protected the castle.

Next to Himeji Castle is Koko-en garden. There were nine separate Edo-style gardens. We were told one of the scenes in the movie “Last Samurai” was filmed here.

Fine Japanese maple tree above us showing its brilliant color – couldn’t resist taking the picture.

You can see the whole town of Himeji from the top of the castle. The castle is located only about a 15 minute walk from the rail station. We had a  English-speaking volunteer guide (a very friendly Japanese man. Joanne read up on the castle before the tour and had all the right answers the guide threw at us. When I asked a question to the guide he told me “Joanne knows”.)

Japan, on our way to Bali (1)

One of the rare cherry trees that blossoms twice a year; spring and in autumn. It is located inside the castle.

The castle looks to be five (really 7) stories high and is surrounded by moats and was built with many defensive means in mind.

Himeji Castle is the oldest original castle that’s standing in Japan and is considered the most splendid castle among all. It was built in 1580 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was home to 48 different lords.

We ordered Fuku fish cooked in all sorts of different ways; from sashimi, BBQ-ed, broth-ed in soup, tempura-ed. If you don’t show a sign of convulsion and die within 24 hours you have not been poisoned. Obviously, we’ve survived to tell the story.

When in Osaka, we read that we have to try Fuku (blow) fish. The best place to try it was at a restaurant called Zuboraya. It was in a district called Namba where most of good eateries are located.

In case you’re wondering why we stopped in Japan for a second time, the first one was mainly planned as a short respite in an onsen and ryokan after a torturous month of getting ready to leave on this trip. The second time around was to do a more extensive tour of Japan. After staying in Korea a lot longer than anticipated, we decided to forgo our trip to Hokkaido and just do the southern-central part of Japan. This trip would make it our fourth time visiting Japan.

Japan is a country that we really enjoy and if things were not as expensive, we could definitely see ourselves staying here longer without a problem. It is clean and the people are polite. There is good food everywhere and their trains and buses move like clock work. Despite initial confusion about their rail system (with different companies running different rail systems, and passes working only on certain rails, and a matter of knowing where and how to get around the subway and rail stations) it is quite easy to travel using their trains (all kinds of categories: regular, express, limited express, super express shinkansens, etc. using a variety of Japanese names) and subways. In fact, it was very interesting mingling with and watching Japanese people in the trains while they were on their way to work, school, or travel.

Two Weeks in Korea (3)

We were one of the audience to see a taping of “Concert 7080”. No picture taking was allowed during the show so I took this before the show started. Among the performers were “Haebaraghi” and Min Hae Kyung. We were seated right above the left banner in case you catch it on TV.

A fire-red maple tree at the peak of autumn foliage

Namhansansung (literally, it means “south of Han mountain castle”). The wall was built on the periphery of ancient Seoul for protection. It only took us 45 minutes from where we stayed in Seoul to get there.

In front of gate Mt. Namhan castle. This is the southern gate of the wall that used to surround ancient Seoul.

The streets of Seoul where we stayed (Dongbu Ichon-Dong) were showing beautiful autumn colors and shedding leaves. The air was getting crisp and there was a report of first snowfall in Mt. Solak.

Two Weeks in Korea (2)

A place in the middle of Seoul (near Jong-ro). I don’t remember this place when I was growing up near there. We happened to be there when the guards were out wearing their traditional outfits.

A beautification project that was the brainchild of the current president Lee Myung Bak (then the mayor of Seoul). I paid a visit to where I used to live and found this. I couldn’t recognize the place because of all the new buildings and streets.

Being with Joanne also means going shopping. This shop is called “10 Corso Como” and is located in the trendiest district of Seoul. I saw a pair of fancy looking sneakers with a price tag of over $500; never have I seen such expensive sneakers! As you can see, I look thrilled to be in the shop; at least there were seats. Fortunately, we didn’t buy anything there, but had a great Italian lunch.

Korean dinner “jeong shik”. Instead of bringing dishes on a tray, this restaurant had the fully loaded table brought over on wheels and slid it right on top of an empty table. Never seen dishes brought out that way before and that sure saved a lot of time with all those dishes.

Restaurant- row near Mt. Namhan very close to Seoul. They specialize in whole chicken stew stuffed with ginseng and herbs. Imagine, Joanne bringing all those vitamins, just in case we got malnourished. I haven’t taken a single pill yet. They will be the first ones to be discarded to lighten our luggage load even more.

Two Weeks in Korea (1)

Catfish stew dinner. The food tends to be more spicy in Korea than in L.A. but I have yet to have dishes that didn’t taste good.

This restaurant is known for fresh water eels. The ladies were barbequing outdoors next to tables. Although it was getting chilly we chose to sit in the outdoor courtyard. What you don’t see is the Imjin River behind the restaurant that runs close to the DMZ.

One of many street vendors selling “duk bok ki” made of rice cake. It is a favorite of many but I’m not much of a fan of rice cakes of any kind.

This is a restaurant known for its beef stew soup. It is now being run by a third generation owner and it used to be located near my childhood home in Seoul. Recently, it relocated to its current spot in Myung-Dong.

One of the few remaining hand-made Korean-Chinese style noodle place. The chef runs fingers through the dough multiple times to make thin noodles; a knife never cuts it. This is how it used to be made; now days, machines do it.




We are all creature of habit. When things are comfy, we tend to want to stay that way. My sister and brother in law made us feel right at home and we spent the past two weeks living like ordinary residents of Seoul; hair cuts, doing laundry, dry cleaning, trying out a public bathhouse, two karaokes, a concert, get together with friends (we crossed paths with two friends from Los Angeles, one on a business trip: the grand opening of a FOREVER 21 store in Myung-Dong , and another on a pleasure trip, a 5-day temple stay, does that sound like a pleasure trip? He and I had a memorable and totally un-regrettable night out together. He can fill in the details if he wishes).

The big difference, looking at the list, of course, was that we didn’t have to get up each morning to go to work like every one else. This alone, I suppose, doesn’t make ours an ordinary life. When the biggest worries after getting up in the morning are what to eat and where to go, I had to pinch myself (& Joanne also asked me to pinch her on a few occasions) from time to time, to remind ourselves that we were actually doing this. We are very thankful and we count our lucky stars every night.

Here are some photos of sights and tastes of Korea as well as fond memories that we take with us as we head to Osaka, Japan.

Back in Korea

The tallest flag pole in the world is located across the DMZ in Kaesung, N. Korea.

The table where many north and south meetings occurred (note the U.N. flag in the middle representing the boundary) and important treaties were signed including the 1953 cease-fire agreement. 

This MP is in ready combat position.  He stayed absolutely still and didn't even blink; just like the Buckingham Palace guards.

Panmoonjom facing north.  The soldiers from both sides stare at each other for hours.  There was an air of tension in the place.  You are not allowed to make any sort of hand gestures. 

Lee Eun Ha, a singer popular during 70's and 80's.  She is still active.  I thought the stage was too small for her.  She started off singing my favorite song.

Now that we’ve returned from China, we are once again in the comforts of my sister’s house (Thank you my sister! She’s been an angel.) After experiencing China, we realize that Korea IS “The Land of the Morning Calm” negating what we have previously written in our blog. Everything looks so much cleaner and people seem so much nicer. I guess it’s all relative (just goes to show how much nicer it is in the states. I miss L.A.’s smoggy but still fresher air). Our plan is to recuperate here awhile before moving on to the jungles of South East Asia (we haven’t packed a lot of heavy clothes so I’m sure we will have to leave before the bitter cold comes around).


What we saw in China that wasn’t part of the tour


- An older woman hanging high on a bamboo pole in a scaffolded building. The guide told us that she was protesting unfair housing. There were cameras and police when we passed by below her. We were almost on the Chinese national news that evening.
- Everywhere we saw groups of four or more playing a game of some sort on the sidewalk. They were mostly card games. It looked like the people had a lot of time on their hands and loved to gamble.
- In Shanghai, we saw men walking around wearing their pajamas in the early evening out in the public. The guide told us that they think nothing of shopping in department stores in this attire and that in hot summer evenings, they show much more skin and even the women join in the public pajama party.
- When the sun comes out, all of the laundries are hung out to dry. Not only do they hang them outside their windows but even on the sidewalks. We saw large sized men’s and colorful women’s underwear hanging in between bus stop sign pole and no parking sign post on a busy street.
- While we were sitting inside a restaurant in Huangzhou, we saw a waitress carrying in a crowing chicken by the wings. Soon after, a chicken dinner was served. With all the fake items going around in China, it seems they even want their chicken to be authenticated.
- Seeing more than two or three people riding on a bicycle is not an uncommon sight (we even saw twelve riding on a single bicycle in a circus). What we hadn’t seen before was a man seated behind the woman, while she was weaving thru traffic. He even had his head leaning onto her back with arms around her and hanging on for a dear life. The guide said this type of seating arrangement is not uncommon.


Panmoonjom, DMZ

We visited the DMZ and Panmoonjom after we arrived in Seoul from China. We had already made a reservation with the USO prior to leaving for China. USO runs a limited number of tours to DMZ and if you could, I would recommend going with them. Not only is the tour in English, but you also get the full protection from the US Army in case something happens (it also costs a third of what other tour companies charge). The tour of Panmoonjom was led by a sergeant from Texas; it also happened to be his last day of duty there. After fulfilling a one year assignment, he said he was transferring to Seoul. He was a character and at the end of our tour, as a customary ritual, he announced that he would hand over his leather arm band to someone in our group. In our case, since so many of the tour group wanted his arm band, he threw the band over his shoulder as if he were a bride throwing her bouquet at a wedding. He wanted to be fair to everyone.

We visited the Panmoonjom in the DMZ and we were also led into a very long tunnel that was discovered as recently as 20 years ago (surreptitiously dug by North Korean soldiers below the DMZ). This reminded us of the tense state of military confrontation that exists in the Korean peninsula. The Korean people have suffered long enough from this division and it is in the minds of all Koreans that the country should be united as one, some day soon.


Misari

Misari is a place about a hour’s drive north of Seoul with many café’s that stage live performances by singers whose heyday was from 70’s and 80’s. I’d always wanted to see the singer, Lee Eun Ha, perform in person and I got to see her Saturday night. The stage was rather small, but her performance was not disappointing. We got there a little early and even ordered our dinners in order to get good seats. We knew the dinner was a bit over priced but being there was a treat.