seoul!

today about 25 of us traveled from tokyo to seoul to extend our spring break for a few extra days.  after a delayed plane ride on airasia (pretty much the ryanair of asia), we made it to our hotel!  we decided to grab some korean bbq for dinner and it was delicious.  the place was around the corner from the hotel and they spoke zero english.

we sat on the floor (shoes off of course) and the lady lit the pot in front of us and put some animal fat in before cooking beef, cabbage and onions.  we were also given a side of scallions with something (my breath is going to smell amazing this trip!) that we were supposed to eat with the meat. yummy.

we asked for rice and she brought it, but put it on the table next to us so we didnt want to take it - we were afraid to offend her.  after cooking all of the meat, she put some red sauce with veggies (i think) in the pot and steamed it for a bit.  then, she added the rice and stirred it all together.  she then scooped us each some.  it was spicy but delicious.  actually the part that was slightly burnt inside the pan was the best.

at the restaurant, there was a tv on in the background which appeared to be a korean soap opera.  very entertaining!

japan trek video

this is a video one of the organizers put together to commemorate our trip.  this will give you a quick glimpse into everything we did!

last day in tokyo!

yesterday was our last full day in tokyo.  we decided to sleep in since we had not slept all week.

we started out by taking the subway (map to the right) - interesting experience, but we were successful!  we went to ginza which is like the 5th avenue of tokyo.  fancy stores and the flagship uniqlo store.  the day we were there they shut down the street to cars, so we could walk up and down in the middle of the road which was pretty cool.

 
also, not sure what was up with the cats or how they got up there/stayed up there, but people were taking pictures, so i thought i should follow suit.

after lunch in ginza, we went to harajuku.harajuku is the name of an area in tokyo known for its hippsters who dress in either goth or girlie outfits (cutesy).  the street was packed and had lots of fashionable stores - way fashion forward for my taste!  after we made it through the main street which was PACKED, we walked around the side streets which were adorable. really cute trendy shops mixed with american brand stores. i could walk around here forever.

 

after harajuku area, i got sick (stomach style, not a cold).  i wont be explicit here for your sake.  update from later on: i was sick through the rest of my time in japan and korea.  im not sure exactly what caused it, but either my body was sick of eating weird stuff or i ate something funny.

i took the rest of the day off.

other things japanese

i will keep it to the three "t"s.

treats: so many unique and delicious sweet treats - pocky sticks, hi-chew, jellys, calorie mates, green tea kitkats, mochi and more.  our organizers exposed us to many of these delicious treats every morning when we got on the bus.

toilets: out of this world.  they had buttons to make noise while you went to the bathroom and had full on control panels.  i am still amazed.

trash: there are few trash cans, but there is essentially NO trash on the streets.  people took pictures the one time they found trash on the streets.  extremely clean country!

tokyo - day two

since we didnt sleep enough all week, we thought we would wake up at 3:45am on friday to go to the fish market and witness the fish market auction!  we were in line by 4:25am and only one more group of two was admitted after us.  crazy!


we hung out in a room for a bit (played cards) until they led us in two shifts (we were shift two) to witness the fish auction.  it is kinda like an old school stock floor where people check out the inventory and then a guy stands up and rings a bell and then everyone puts up their hand and nods with bids (also kinda like storage wars, if you have seen that show). the fish were huge and were going for a lot of money (so we were told).  the auction happens every morning.  its insane they have a business around this.

after the fish auction we decided to eat some fresh sushi at one of the local sushi places in the fish market.  once again i have documented my dishes to prove that i ate it all.  dont ask me what it was - i am not sure i even want to know now, but it was good (for the most part).  i ate all different types of fish, sea urchin, roe and of course, eel, again.  we were not allowed to pick what we want, we were given whatever they had.  also, they kept making it constantly, so you had to keep up!  i only had to spit out part of one after i tried to get it down for quite awhile.  it is disrespectful to take a bites of it, so you have to put the whole piece in your mouth and some included a LOT of fish.

in the market there were sushi shops, places to purchase fish and other little stalls of stores such as pottery, toys and veggies.  i have included my favorite sign, "mostly made in japan, no china."

after the fish market we went back and caught a twenty minute nap and shower before we were off again to explore tokyo.  this time we went to asakusa which is the old downtown part of tokyo.  in asakusa there is a shopping area called nakamise where they have souvenirs and local treats (green tea ice cream!).  i bought a japanese fan at the market.

 

at the end of the street there was the oldest temple in tokyo called sensoji.  outside the temple you could put 100 yen, approximately 1 dollar in a box and then shake a canister to get your fortune number then you pulled your fortune out of a box on the wall.  well i got the bad luck fortune.  among other things it said: "your wishes will not come true."  really uplifting, i know.  one upside is that we could tie our fortunes onto this standing structure to get rid of our fortune.  hopefully that is true.

we saw some amazing fashion at the market. 

after the temple, we took a ferry to gardens in the city, which were beautiful.  cherry blossoms and ponds and trees. serenity now. 

instead of touring more that afternoon we decided to take a quick nap before our farewell party.  at the farewell party (for the official trek) they showed a video montage the organizers had put together (will post after this post).  we ate and drank and then experienced club life in tokyo.  weird to have smoking in buildings again.

tokyo - day one

thursday was our first day in tokyo!  thursday was a long travel day as we went from hakone to tokyo.  we started our time in tokyo with a corporate visit to fast retailing (owner of uniqlo and theory as well as other brands).  we learned about uniqlo's startegy for growth and its founders' philosophy.  uniqlo - standing for unique clothing, is about producing clothing in many colors and sizes but not being trendy like h&m and zara.  they are trying to expand extensively internationally (outside japan) and indicated many times that they are hiring.  however, they want ALL employees to have worked in stores which will be interesting to see how they convince mbas to work on the floor.  they are very conscious of their social impact and want to find ways to improve the world as well.

after uniqlo, we had some down time in the city before dinner and so we walked to the imperial palace which was surrounded by a moat and a guard.  also, there was a cool tree (bonsai looking) garden outside the palace.

after our trip to the palace, we went to our eel dinner.  yes, i said eel and yes, i ate it.  shocker, i know.  we had about 20 courses.  i ate/tried everything.  again, shocker, i know.  i documented every dish to prove it! food in order (down and right to left) 1. mixed fish. 2.box of random seafood products (from top left in box clockwise) mackerel sushi, shellfish dish, deep fried crustacean and fried shrimp with pink crusting, green slimy veggie, jelly cube with veggie in it and a sardine 3. upclose of the deep fried crustacean 4. sashimi (tuna and yellowtail) 5. egg with eel inside 6. eel organs barbecued on a stick 7. stuffed tempura mushroom with a soy sauce 8. plain eel 9. barbecued eel over rice. yay rice!