Seollal in Seoul

    On January 23rd, Korea celebrated it's New Year, also called Seollal, marking the first day of the lunar calendar. This is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays, and spans the course of three days of celebration. Most Koreans spend this holiday with family, often travelling to their hometowns to visit relatives, feasting on traditional food and playing folk games. The most common traditional activity is Sebae. This is where children wish their elders 'Happy New Year' by performing one deep bow. The elders reward this gesture by giving the children money and offering words of wisdom. At our school, we actually performed this tradition in our classroom. The teachers sat at the front of the classroom as each student approached individually, bowed to us, and we responded by wishing them a happy new year and giving them a little money. 
      Due to Cam's passport mishap (turns out washing machines and passports don't play nice together), we had to travel to Seoul for our 2 day holiday to visit the Canadian consulate. We arrived in Seoul on Monday, New Year's day, and went straight to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung is the biggest palace in South Korea and number 1 of 626 things to do in South Korea according to Lonely Planet. First constructed in 1394 and reconstructed in 1867, it is the main palace built by the Joseon Dynasty, once consisting of 330 buildings with 3000 staff members, all serving the royal family. Unfortunately during the Japanese colonial rule, much of the palace was destroyed. However, it is in the process of being restored to its original majesty and as of 2009, roughly 40% of the buildings have been reconstructed. The site also houses the National Folk Museum of Korea and the National Palace Museum of Korea. 
     For Seollal, the palace held a special outdoor performance, which included traditional dancing, music, and spiritual rituals. Admission to the palace, as well as the museums was free for the day. Visitors were also handed replica new year's paintings (sehwa), which were paintings that the king and his retainers would present to each other as gifts to celebrate the coming New Year. As 2012 is the year of the dragon, the replica is of Uryongdo, a painting of dragons in clouds. The original is housed inside Sajeongjeon Hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
      The palace grounds, despite being only a small portion of the original, are enormous, with building after building. Not to mention the two museums, which both hold huge exhibits. If you are a traveler with some time to invest in Korean history, this is the place. You could easily spend a day here, meandering through the gardens, inbetween the numerous buildings and mysterious corridors. The unfortunate thing about visiting on January 23rd, is that it is cold. And when I say cold, I mean wearing long johns under jeans, two pairs of socks, 3 shirts, a huge jacket, a knitted scarf, toque, felt lined mittens, and that isn't enough. It was easily minus 10 outside, not including the windchill. Well it may not be that cold, but considering visiting the palace grounds entail a lot of walking around outside, it was a little too cold for us to spend as much time as we would have liked here. Hopefully we will get the chance to revisit the palace in the spring when the weather is a little more forgiving. 

Main entrance to the palace grounds

Two women dressed in traditional Hanbok clothing (with parkas on top!)

Part of the special Seollal performance

Uryongdo print

*Credit goes out to Wikipedia and the Lonely Planet website for a lot of the facts included in this post

Japan the Series: Day 5

    Despite an afternoon departure flight, on our fifth and final day in Japan we still managed to engage in a couple of touristy activities that resulted in two of the best views in Tokyo.  Views that served as the perfect lasting memories of an unforgettable trip. 


    Our first view came via the sea from a morning riverboat cruise down the Sumida River into Tokyo Bay. We had stumbled across the riverboat cruise terminal from our first day in Asakusa, but we didn't explore further as we thought it would be too expensive. However, as we found ourselves again in this area on our last day, we decided to check it out and found it surprisingly reasonably priced. For just about 10 dollars Canadian, we were treated to a (somewhat) guided 50 minute tour of the river, highlighting the diversity of architecture along the riverbank and the importance that these waterways serve in Tokyo's history. It was quite stunning, and a certainly more relaxed way to travel compared to the bustle of the subway system.


     Our second view of the city came via the sky on the observation deck at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The towering office building stands at 243 metres high and with an observation deck on the 45th floor, it provided some amazing panoramic views of the city and at no cost! Mt. Fuji stands in the distance from one window (of course it was too foggy to see), while from another you can see Tokyo Tower and the new Sky Tree Tower, which when it opens will be the tallest tower in the world. No matter which way you look, the city seems endless; building on top of building, most only existing as a micro speck of space in your line of view. 


      When travelling almost exclusively on the subway system, it is easy underestimate the sheer volume that these mega-cities encompass, as you never see just how much distance you can travel underground. These two incredible views gave us the chance to put Tokyo into perspective: a city so immense, so diverse, and so unique, only Tokyo. 

Reflection of the Sky Tree tower in the Asahi brewery building

One of the many bridges over the Sumida river

Tokyo Bay

Apartment buildings in Tokyo Bay

A small glimpse into old world Tokyo

A familiar sight after five days

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

I think if you squint really hard you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance

Japan the Series: Day 4

After recovering from a late night out in Roppongi, we set off to the Shibuya area for our fourth day in Japan. When people think of modern Tokyo, they would probably envision something very similar to the streets of Shibuya. It is the shopping district that surrounds Shibuya station, one of Japan’s busiest subway stations. It is known as being one of the fashion centres of Japan, overflowing with Japanese and Western stores, as well as many restaurants and a busy nightlife scene. This area is also famous for Shibuya crossing, a scramble of crosswalks in one of the busiest intersections, almost like a Times Square in New York. Here we did some more shopping (they had an English bookstore!), and of course people watching. For lunch, we found a fantastic ramen place where you buy your tickets for a meal at the vending machine outside. 

A short walk from Shibuya is the Harajuku area. And yes, it’s the same Harajuku from that Gwen Stefani Japanese fixation period. This area is known all over the world for its unique street fashion and shopping.  Many young people gather here to show off their expressive fashion statements. Since we were pretty shopped out at this point, we didn’t spend too much time here, save for a quick walk through the streets.
Next to the very, very busy Harajuku subway station was the entrance to the Meiji Shrine, a large park dedicated to Emperor Meiji. Although I had briefly read about the shrine before our trip, it originally didn’t make our list of things to do in Tokyo. However, we ended up spending a lot of time here, time we both consider very well spent. The park is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the defied spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken who were noted for the Meiji Restoration period which restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868.

In the park, there are outdoor exhibits explaining and referencing his life and the impact that he had on Japan and its modernization. One display served as a visual representation of his whole life and his greatest achievements throughout his reign. Another display was composed of hundreds of barrels of sake, paying homage to the history of the industry of producing and selling sake and its economic importance to the country. There was also a display composed of barrels of French wine donated by many famous French wineries, representing the relationship that Meiji established with Western Cultures. The park itself was immense and gorgeous; ancient old growth trees towering over every path, the odd glimpse of a meandering stream amongst the lush foliage, both majestic and serene beyond belief. It was here where I felt most aware of the Japan that was, the park an island of flourishing tranquility nestled quietly in the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world.

Shibuya Crossing

I'm home!

Delicious Ramen

Harajuku Subway Station

Entrance the the Meiji Shrine

Barrels of Sake

       After a much needed rest back at our hotel, we set out again to the Shibuya area for dinner and New Year’s Eve celebrations. As midnight approached, we decided to change our plans and spend the New Year’s Eve countdown at Tokyo tower. The tower is a communications tower similar in shape to the Eiffel tower, painted white and orange, standing at 332.5 metres high.  For the countdown, hundreds of people gathered at the base of the tower to watch as a light show illuminated ‘2012’ high up on the tower. It was a pretty tame New Year’s Eve but a very memorable night in an incredible city.

Tokyo Tower

Happy New Year! 

Sending my love to family and friends

Japan the Series: Day 3

On day 3, we got an early start to catch the action at the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market. Commonly known as the Tsujiki fish market, it’s the world’s biggest fish market and has been operating since 1935 in this location. For us, arriving at 8 a.m. was pretty early, but the market starts every morning at 3 a.m. with the famous tuna auction starting at 5 a.m. Although it was early, there were lots of tourists and many people lined up at the surrounding sushi markets for a fresh breakfast. The market itself was enormous, filled with a lot of people and every type of seafood imaginable. Despite all the people, it was pretty well organized and most of the sellers and buyers were quite friendly. We saw a few stalls selling huge whole tunas for a mere $700 dollars each.

After the Tsujiki fish market we hoped back on the subway to the Ginza area. This area is known for its higher end shops and classy residents, kind of like a Rodeo Drive in California. Lanvin, Chanel, Louis Vuttion, and Prada all have shops along the main road and for those who can’t afford designer goods, there was also more affordable options like H&M and Forever 21. The vibe was very uptown here, with many young women toting designer handbags and luxurious furs, almost always accompanied by a well-dressed, older gentleman who carried the shopping bags and a thick wallet.

                After some retail therapy, we took another subway to the Roppongi area. This area is a little more gritty, and probably the biggest foreigner district in Tokyo. Here you will find greasy American food chains like Outbacks, TGI Friday, the Hard Rock Cafe, and even Subway. There are also numerous pubs, restaurants, and clubs in this area, where the foreign crowds love to get their fix of homely goodness served in a glass. Also in this area are many tall office buildings, many of which serve as large department stores too. It was very interesting to explore this area; it is strikingly similar to Seoul’s foreigner district Itaewon.  Our lunch in Roppongi was incredible. We had soba noodles (made of buckwheat) served in a hot broth, tempura style pork over rice with a fried egg on top (delicious!), and some curry over rice. Roppongi also served as a great place for a crazy night out, which for us ended at a Irish bar talking late into the night with some interesting gentlemen from France who were intent upon making sure our glasses were never empty. Unfortunately the night also ended in our only time getting lost in Tokyo, accompanied by a large bill from our cabbie, but we eventually made it safe and sound to our hotel for a good night’s sleep. 

To use on your freshly purchased fish at the market

Ginza shopping district

Tokyo Midtown Tower

Delicious lunch!

Street art in Roppongi

Japan the Series: Day 2

      Our second day in Tokyo, we got up bright and early to go to Tokyo Disneyland. It may not have been the most Japanese thing we did on our trip but who doesn’t love a day at Disneyland? Tokyo Disney has two parks, one is the same as the original Disneyland and the other is called DisneySea. DisneySea is more geared towards adults and as we have both been to the original park in California, we chose to go to this park for the day. It is also the most expensive theme park ever built, estimated to have cost over $ 4 billion to construct. Like all the other parks, Disneysea is nothing short of incredible. Each area of the park is based on a different port from all over the world. There is the Mediterranean harbour where you can ride a Venetian gondola and eat Italian food on a piazza. There is the American Waterfront that represents the northern seaboard of the United States in the early 20th century that has a gigantic passenger ship in the harbour called the SS Columbia. In total there are 7 themed 'ports' that were beyond incredible.

What amazes me about every Disney park is the intricacy and scale of all the components that make you feel like you are in a completely different world.  Although I’ve never been, Cam said that their replica of the streets of Venice is absolutely bang-on. All in all, it was a perfect day, despite a pretty big crowd. Sometimes everyone needs to let their inner child run wild and there’s no better place to do that than Disneyland.