Korea- Day 6

We had a late start yesterday, after staying out the night before. First we had some Korean food for breakfast. All the restaurants we ate at yesterday were styled so that you take off your shoes and sit on the floor, which is fun. We then headed out to see the Palace. On our way from the train to the palace we saw a statue of king Sejong, who created the Korean alphabet, and we all attempted to learnt the alphabet.

We discovered that there was actually a huge museum underneath the statue. I learned my name in Korean and we watched a 4D movie about a Korean admiral (Asia really makes good use of 4D theaters!

My name in Korean

By the time we left the museum, it was too late to enter the Palace, but we got some pics from the first courtyard.

I was okay with not seeing it, because I saw it the last time I was in Seoul. We then went searching for a traditional sort of village that we nearby. Unfortunately it was also closed, but we explored some of the shops outside the village's walls.

We then went to Itewan, which is kind of like the foreigner district. It was very busy and bright, like all of Korea that we have seen so far! One member of our group really wanted to see the mosque in Itewan, so we ended up in thee turkish district.

The mosque was on top of a hill, which gave a really good view of Seoul. Unfortunately, the girls all stayed outside because we were not properly covered and it was too late for them to be handing out coverings for us.

We had some Korean Barbecue for dinner, which was also in the traditional shoes- off style. It was apparently delicious! Can't wait for today.

Korea- Day 5

Today we arrived in Korea! We didn't have much time to do things during the day, and it isvery late now, so I think I will post pictures later. The Hostel that we are staying at is very close to the train station which is convenient. It is not as nice as the last one (I'm sharing my bed with a girl on the program), but it's still pretty great.

We met up with three other people from the program and they showed us around the area. We are near a university, so there is a lot of nightlife.

We had some Korean ice cream and a very spicy dinner.

We then went out to some bars, did karaoke, and hung out at the local park. We made three Korean friend there who wanted to practice english! We will probably see them later in the week.

Japan- Day 4- Kabuki, Imperial Gardens, Onsen

Today was a once again busy day! We started off at a Kabuki performance. We had to wait in line for a half hour to get a single act ticket, which was worth is for a seated ticket. The performance was about and hour and 15 minutes and was incredibly different from anything in the west. The movements and even the voices they use are very slow and melodramatic. Very interesting and a good show.

Next, we explored Ginza some more and checked out a famous toystore called Hakuhinkan park. It had some pretty cool toys and a whole floor of stuffed animals. 

After that, we tried to see the Imperial Palace. First we walked through the imperial gardens which were gorgeous. It has a lot of moats with high walls and cultivated trees. I expected the architecture to be a lot like the Forbidden City and the Palace in Seoul, which I found very similar. It was very different though, without the elaborate panting. We were disappointed to find that we weren't able to actually enter the palace (although not for trying). I wonder why that is.

(what I could wee of the palace)

selfie!

moats

The moats were filled with HUGE koi.

We finished our day with a trip to a hot spring, o-edo onsen monogatari. We chose an onsen that we knew would be more touristy, but it was still very interesting. It is supposed to look like old Edo. 

They painted the ceiling black to make it look like it is outdoors. It was very cool, although very touristy.

I love the old Edo Claw machine :)

... and the old edo crepes!

They had an animaton dog which barked- I appreciated that.

Relaxation room

The baths were a very unusual experience from a western point of view. It was kind of uncomfortable at first, but then you get used to it. Its a really large room filled with a zillion different kinds of baths of varying tempeatures. There were also outdoor baths and saunas. I think we managed to try everything. I don't think that I have ever felt so clean!

The onsen was a little outside of Tokyo, and the train we had to take to get there had spectacular views. Pictures couldn't really give the ride justice. The train went over a bridge across the bay, as the onsen was on an island.

Japan Day 3- Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku

Today we covered a lot of ground and checked out three different neighborhood. Fist we had some sushi from breakfast in Asakusa (where our hostel is) and then we headed out for Shibuya. The first thing we saw there was the Hachiko the dog statue, which seems to be a big deal there. 

What a cutie

Shibuya was really cool and had some awesome stores. There is a large street crossing that is pretty famous there.

Shibuya Crossing

We found this wall which was an ad for google play. Each headphone jack plays a different song.

We checked out a lot of the stores around there too! 

department store

bathing ape

Tokyo Hands is probably the most well known store in Shibuya. It is 8 floors of DIY stuff and useless interesting things, like these shoes:

creepy!

The stairs also told you how many calories you burnt while climbing, which I found funny. 

We then walked to Yoyogi park- beautiful.

Selfie at the park!

Tokyo is COVERED in GIANT ravens,

We exited the park into Harajuku. This neighborhood is known for its cute-sy culture and girls who dress up like little girls. I only saw a few of them, and didn't manage to snap any pics. The nieghborhood was filled with really fun boutiques and some great pedestrians shopping streets.

We found this awesome sticker store there- walls and walls of stickers!

Cute-sy Harajuku

From there we headed to Shibuya- kind of like Tokyo's Time Square. We accidentally exited west of the station first and ended up in an office area.

Luckily, we soon found the bust streets and massive billboards. It saw really crowded and loud and bright, which was pretty wonderful.

We wondered into Kabukicho- the red light district. IT filled with bars and arcades and pachinko parlors, which makes it really busy.

We went into a lot of the arcades, which had hundred of claw machines. I managed to snag a tiny shiba inu toy--- victory! (I know claw machines are a rip-off, don't judge)

We tried to figure out the pachinko machines, but they were surprisingly complicated. The pachinko building are also really overwhelming with the loud roar of all the machines. There is also a whole section of Kabukicho that has these things called host clubs where attractive men wait on and flirt with the customers- which is really foreign to americans. We didn't go to any, but the signs and advertising were pretty funny.

Here is Godzilla watching over (?) Shinjuku.

We also saw a ganguro girl (thanks google). I tried to take a pic without being rude, but as you can see, you can't see anything. Try googling Ganguro girl if you want to see something weird!

I managed to get some more good pics of sensoji temple on the way back tonight as well!

two people praying

Off to bed- Can;t wait for tomorrow!