韓国に行ってきました〜
Since I have decided to leave Japan, I thought I'd at least explore the surrounding area while I still can. The cheapest option (believe it or not) was going to South Korea for a couple days, so that's just what we did!
Blueberry aloe-flavored ice cream from the Baskin Robbins at Incheon Airport. Only available in Korea!
Like this case of ice cream, almost everything was brightly-colored and delicious-looking in Korea. The people dressed in what, to my mind, was a more Western way than people in Japan: the clothes seemed to fit their body, be appropriate for the weather, and were brightly-colored and individualistic. Nobody looked like they were wearing a weird costume, and many of the girls had sensible heels or even comfortable shoes!
Well, we got into Seoul at about 4pm on the first day, and we never had to leave Seoul the whole time. It kind of reminded me of an American city - not just because they had things like Baskin Robbins, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and many other American stores - but because as densely-packed as the buildings seemed to be, people were not just on top of each other the way they seem to be in Japan. We only had to wait in a short line or encountered a full restaurant once.
Anyway, one of the first things we did is go to Bae Yong-joon's restaurant Gorilla InTheKitchen.
It was just as it looked on the website: pretty empty. They didn't speak much English, but we managed to order some delicious food nonetheless.
Afterward, we took a taxi to this mall and just walked around there. (Taxis were also abundant and cheap, cheaper than Japan!)
Evidently Jackie Chan has a restaurant.
The next day we spent almost exclusively near Myeongdong Station. It was fun and easy taking the trains around the city, especially when you're already used to the Japanese trains.
We got lunch at this place called 大原, though it was not pronounced おおはら. I got 石焼ビビンバ, which I got several times over the course of the trip. Highly recommend!
This picture is actually all the delicious pickles and other side-dishes they give you before the main course even comes out!
For dessert, we went to Dunkin' Donuts(!!!) which I have rarely been to even in the US. Lookit their adorable sleeves!
After dinner, I got a massage and we ate something I didn't take a picture of. But sometime during the trip, I also managed to eat these little sweets.
They were shaped like corn, but they were just like tiny taiyaki filled with cream. They were selling them down near the station platforms and they made the whole area smell so good~ X9
The last day was the busiest: we got up early to go see the changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung Palace. This was maybe my favorite part of the trip (that and the food!). It was kinda cold and very windy, but also very sunny, so the pictures came out pretty well.
It was really cheap to get into the palace (which was huge!), and they even had free guided tours! But we had just missed one, so we just wandered around the grounds and the gardens.
I thought the whole thing was very impressive. And the gardens were also spacious and beautiful. They even had sakura, which were in full bloom, as it's still colder there than it is here.
It was kinda funny how you had these very traditional scenes in the foreground, but very modern buildings with scaffolding and cranes in the background. 笑
Then it was off to another delicious lunch ...
And straight onto a bus tour of the city. Well as you can imagine, that put us both right to sleep. So I only have some random pictures and vague memories of those 2 or 3 hours.
Beautiful Seoul Station~ So modern. It looks like the airport, which was also gorgeous.
Girl Scouts of Korea. I don't know.
Then, we must've gone back to the hotel to take a proper nap before going out again for one last delicious dinner:
焼き肉ぅ〜！ I don't know how this place stayed in business, but they had 時間制限なし 食べ放題 焼き肉. And after you ate some of all the available kinds of meat, you could get おかわり of any you liked. That means bulgogi! AND! You didn't even have to cook or cut the meat yourself, because this lady was walking around to all the tables doing it for you! It was so good.
Lastly, we went to N Seoul Tower, which does NOT stand for North Seoul Tower. As in Japan, they've taken the "N" to mean both "New" and "Namsan," the area where it's located. :/
It was hard to get too many good pictures of it, as it was already night. But you can ride this fun little cable car up there instead of having to climb the mountain. N Seoul Tower is where you're supposed to write your named on those little locks and stuff, but we didn't want to pay extra to get up to the observation deck. But they did have a Cold Stone on the lower level selling cell phone straps (??) so I got me one of those.
And finally!
Here's all the お土産 we brought back!
So many souvenirs ...
Blueberry aloe-flavored ice cream from the Baskin Robbins at Incheon Airport. Only available in Korea!
Like this case of ice cream, almost everything was brightly-colored and delicious-looking in Korea. The people dressed in what, to my mind, was a more Western way than people in Japan: the clothes seemed to fit their body, be appropriate for the weather, and were brightly-colored and individualistic. Nobody looked like they were wearing a weird costume, and many of the girls had sensible heels or even comfortable shoes!
Well, we got into Seoul at about 4pm on the first day, and we never had to leave Seoul the whole time. It kind of reminded me of an American city - not just because they had things like Baskin Robbins, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and many other American stores - but because as densely-packed as the buildings seemed to be, people were not just on top of each other the way they seem to be in Japan. We only had to wait in a short line or encountered a full restaurant once.
Anyway, one of the first things we did is go to Bae Yong-joon's restaurant Gorilla InTheKitchen.
It was just as it looked on the website: pretty empty. They didn't speak much English, but we managed to order some delicious food nonetheless.
Afterward, we took a taxi to this mall and just walked around there. (Taxis were also abundant and cheap, cheaper than Japan!)
Evidently Jackie Chan has a restaurant.
The next day we spent almost exclusively near Myeongdong Station. It was fun and easy taking the trains around the city, especially when you're already used to the Japanese trains.
We got lunch at this place called 大原, though it was not pronounced おおはら. I got 石焼ビビンバ, which I got several times over the course of the trip. Highly recommend!
This picture is actually all the delicious pickles and other side-dishes they give you before the main course even comes out!
For dessert, we went to Dunkin' Donuts(!!!) which I have rarely been to even in the US. Lookit their adorable sleeves!
After dinner, I got a massage and we ate something I didn't take a picture of. But sometime during the trip, I also managed to eat these little sweets.
They were shaped like corn, but they were just like tiny taiyaki filled with cream. They were selling them down near the station platforms and they made the whole area smell so good~ X9
The last day was the busiest: we got up early to go see the changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung Palace. This was maybe my favorite part of the trip (that and the food!). It was kinda cold and very windy, but also very sunny, so the pictures came out pretty well.
It was really cheap to get into the palace (which was huge!), and they even had free guided tours! But we had just missed one, so we just wandered around the grounds and the gardens.
I thought the whole thing was very impressive. And the gardens were also spacious and beautiful. They even had sakura, which were in full bloom, as it's still colder there than it is here.
It was kinda funny how you had these very traditional scenes in the foreground, but very modern buildings with scaffolding and cranes in the background. 笑
Then it was off to another delicious lunch ...
And straight onto a bus tour of the city. Well as you can imagine, that put us both right to sleep. So I only have some random pictures and vague memories of those 2 or 3 hours.
Beautiful Seoul Station~ So modern. It looks like the airport, which was also gorgeous.
Girl Scouts of Korea. I don't know.
Then, we must've gone back to the hotel to take a proper nap before going out again for one last delicious dinner:
焼き肉ぅ〜！ I don't know how this place stayed in business, but they had 時間制限なし 食べ放題 焼き肉. And after you ate some of all the available kinds of meat, you could get おかわり of any you liked. That means bulgogi! AND! You didn't even have to cook or cut the meat yourself, because this lady was walking around to all the tables doing it for you! It was so good.
Lastly, we went to N Seoul Tower, which does NOT stand for North Seoul Tower. As in Japan, they've taken the "N" to mean both "New" and "Namsan," the area where it's located. :/
It was hard to get too many good pictures of it, as it was already night. But you can ride this fun little cable car up there instead of having to climb the mountain. N Seoul Tower is where you're supposed to write your named on those little locks and stuff, but we didn't want to pay extra to get up to the observation deck. But they did have a Cold Stone on the lower level selling cell phone straps (??) so I got me one of those.
And finally!
Here's all the お土産 we brought back!
So many souvenirs ...