Theo and I have been planning to meet up for quite some time. I just didn't think we'd be doing it so soon! We wanted to explore Seoul (well, I wanted to explore Seoul---he lives there), before leaving the country. With the Chuseok Holiday (Korean Thanksgiving) and a few extra dollars in my pocket, I thought, "Why Not!" After all, this is the ONLY time I'll be in Asia for a while, and I may as well "hit up" as many countries as possible while I'm here.
We made plans to leave on Friday morning and come back Sunday afternoon. We wanted to tour Mt. Fuji and explore the city of Tokyo. Basically, we wanted to see what we always see on television.
Thursday night, I planned on taking a bus from Ulsan to Seoul. This is a 4.5-5 hour bus ride. I needed to get to Seoul by 6:40 to catch the plane to Japan. I packed up my things and headed out to the Bus Station. I was hoping to get a bus that would take me straight to the Seoul Airport, but they were all sold out. So, I hopped on the slow bus at 8pm and headed to Gangnam. Yes, Gangnam Style... It took 4.5 hours. I arrived in Gangnam at around 11:45. I was too tired to dance ;-). I caught a taxi to Theo's friend's house, where we stayed for the night before heading to the airport. We made it through customs and got on the plane. The flight to Tokyo/Narita is about 2.5 hours. We actually made it there early. I'm convinced the pilots in Asia fly way over the Sky Speed Limit (if there is one lol). We touched down, went through customs, where we were mildly interrogated abut how long we planned to stay in Japan, why we were in Korea, and they asked Theo what base he was stationed at in Korea. Whatever...
We made plans to leave on Friday morning and come back Sunday afternoon. We wanted to tour Mt. Fuji and explore the city of Tokyo. Basically, we wanted to see what we always see on television.
Thursday night, I planned on taking a bus from Ulsan to Seoul. This is a 4.5-5 hour bus ride. I needed to get to Seoul by 6:40 to catch the plane to Japan. I packed up my things and headed out to the Bus Station. I was hoping to get a bus that would take me straight to the Seoul Airport, but they were all sold out. So, I hopped on the slow bus at 8pm and headed to Gangnam. Yes, Gangnam Style... It took 4.5 hours. I arrived in Gangnam at around 11:45. I was too tired to dance ;-). I caught a taxi to Theo's friend's house, where we stayed for the night before heading to the airport. We made it through customs and got on the plane. The flight to Tokyo/Narita is about 2.5 hours. We actually made it there early. I'm convinced the pilots in Asia fly way over the Sky Speed Limit (if there is one lol). We touched down, went through customs, where we were mildly interrogated abut how long we planned to stay in Japan, why we were in Korea, and they asked Theo what base he was stationed at in Korea. Whatever...
We took the Narita Express train to Ueno, a small city just outside of Tokyo. Our hostel was a quaint little hole in the wall place. It looked like something out of a movie. In fact, this whole trip felt SURREAL. We didn't really have any plans for Friday, except to explore the city, since we had the Fuji toured planned the next day. We just walked the markets and were amazed at how EXPENSIVE it was! We decided to go to Shinjuku, where there are lots of little bars and many of the expats and JET(Japan English Teachers) hang out. We ended up in Shinjuku around 8:00. We decided to eat and drink at an English Pub. We were looking for the center of Shinjuku, where it was supposedly more lively. After walking around for a while and NOT seeing this "lively area," we decided to sit down in a coffee shop and wait for the city to wake up.
At around 10:00 we decided to walk down further into the city. The party was "alive and poppin" as they say. We met people form ALL over, including a San Franciscan who'd been there for 20 years, and would be returning to the States soon. We bar hopped for a while, and then, my old self was tired. I didn't want to leave Theo, so I found a quiet place to rest while he continued out into the night. I had read that you can pretty much sleep anywhere in Japan, and actually, many people bring their blankets and pillows and sleep in the local Burger King or KFC. I saw a KFC, and low and behold, there were people sleeping. It was open until 4am. I went in, plugged my phone in, and took a nap until 4:30am, which is when the first train back to UENO would leave. When I woke up, I was amazed at the number of people who were out, and either ready for work, or still partying. It was almost like Vegas.
We got back on the train, and headed back and to the hostel for what little rest we could have. In Korea, there are wifi hotspots everywhere. In Japan, that is not the case. You have to pay for wifi if you want it. WE weren't able to check our phones, and when we got back to Ueno, we finally received a message that due to the poor weather conditions, the tour we were originally scheduled would divert Mt. Fuji and go to other venues. We decided that wasn't something we wanted to do, so we cancelled the tour and made plans to do some more city surfing, and go to CENTRAL Tokyo, where all of the high fashion and entertainment industry is located.
I went to bed that Friday night for about 2hrs, and I couldn't sleep. I decided to get up and add Tokyo to my list of cities I'd run in. I put on my running shoes and headed out for a jog around the city. In Korea, there are hardly any runners. Everyone walks. In Japan, it was very different. People were not giving me strange looks for running through the streets and disregarding stoplights when there wasn't a car coming. It was quite obvious they they were used to this kind of thing. It was very comfortable. I did about 4.5 miles and then headed to Starbucks for some Wi-Fi ( that I had to tether) and breakfast. I stayed at Starbucks until Theo woke up (12:30pm) and then we headed to Central Tokyo.
We made it to the airport first, where we would store our bags, and then took the Narita Express(their bullet train) to Central Tokyo. We arrived at around 6:00. We walked around the city, took lots of pictures, and just took in "the Tokyo Lifestyle" We stopped for dinner, and then went to a couple of night spots. There were LOTS of Americans/non-Japanese people in this area, but it was VERY expensive and crowded. We were invited to a few lively bars, and decided that really wasn't the scene for us. We took some pictures and then headed back for Shinjuku. We stayed there all night. Shinjuku is more like a mix between a little bit classier downtown Campbell and downtown San Jose and Tokyo is more like Santana Row x10.
We met four teachers who said they loved living in Japan. I don't know that I would say the same. Overall, I think Japan is great to visit, but Koreans are far more friendly and helpful. We asked MANY times for help finding a certain station or historic site....people were just NOT willing to give any answers or even attempt to help.
I'm getting tired of writing....
It's a beautiful place, but I think I'd have to absolutely know Japanese to live there. I was told that I should go to Osaka, and NOT Tokyo, because it is just like any other big city. People were right. I'm not saying I was disappointed in Tokyo, I just think my next trip to Japan, before i leave, will be to Osaka. I won't be there for the Olympics, but at least I can say I saw it! I had a blast in Japan. I really love just walking around new cities and watching people live. That's the best way to find the heart of a city. The best moments on this trip were when I was out for a run, and saw students, with their matching uniforms walking to school, a group of little league-ers on their bikes on a way to a game, and the average joe running to make his train. In those moments, I felt like I lived there. I knew Japan. That's all I wanted.
~xoxo
-jo
We got back on the train, and headed back and to the hostel for what little rest we could have. In Korea, there are wifi hotspots everywhere. In Japan, that is not the case. You have to pay for wifi if you want it. WE weren't able to check our phones, and when we got back to Ueno, we finally received a message that due to the poor weather conditions, the tour we were originally scheduled would divert Mt. Fuji and go to other venues. We decided that wasn't something we wanted to do, so we cancelled the tour and made plans to do some more city surfing, and go to CENTRAL Tokyo, where all of the high fashion and entertainment industry is located.
I went to bed that Friday night for about 2hrs, and I couldn't sleep. I decided to get up and add Tokyo to my list of cities I'd run in. I put on my running shoes and headed out for a jog around the city. In Korea, there are hardly any runners. Everyone walks. In Japan, it was very different. People were not giving me strange looks for running through the streets and disregarding stoplights when there wasn't a car coming. It was quite obvious they they were used to this kind of thing. It was very comfortable. I did about 4.5 miles and then headed to Starbucks for some Wi-Fi ( that I had to tether) and breakfast. I stayed at Starbucks until Theo woke up (12:30pm) and then we headed to Central Tokyo.
We made it to the airport first, where we would store our bags, and then took the Narita Express(their bullet train) to Central Tokyo. We arrived at around 6:00. We walked around the city, took lots of pictures, and just took in "the Tokyo Lifestyle" We stopped for dinner, and then went to a couple of night spots. There were LOTS of Americans/non-Japanese people in this area, but it was VERY expensive and crowded. We were invited to a few lively bars, and decided that really wasn't the scene for us. We took some pictures and then headed back for Shinjuku. We stayed there all night. Shinjuku is more like a mix between a little bit classier downtown Campbell and downtown San Jose and Tokyo is more like Santana Row x10.
We met four teachers who said they loved living in Japan. I don't know that I would say the same. Overall, I think Japan is great to visit, but Koreans are far more friendly and helpful. We asked MANY times for help finding a certain station or historic site....people were just NOT willing to give any answers or even attempt to help.
I'm getting tired of writing....
It's a beautiful place, but I think I'd have to absolutely know Japanese to live there. I was told that I should go to Osaka, and NOT Tokyo, because it is just like any other big city. People were right. I'm not saying I was disappointed in Tokyo, I just think my next trip to Japan, before i leave, will be to Osaka. I won't be there for the Olympics, but at least I can say I saw it! I had a blast in Japan. I really love just walking around new cities and watching people live. That's the best way to find the heart of a city. The best moments on this trip were when I was out for a run, and saw students, with their matching uniforms walking to school, a group of little league-ers on their bikes on a way to a game, and the average joe running to make his train. In those moments, I felt like I lived there. I knew Japan. That's all I wanted.
~xoxo
-jo