Up and Running.

I finally got my webspace up and running so, head on over and bookmark my new website. As of today, this blog will no longer be updated.

It's Been Awhile, eh?

I made it back to Canada with everything intact.

I don't have time to do a full update atm but I bought a real web domain so, please update your bookmark and check out my new blog page. I'm still waiting for the domain to propagate but it should be up and running by next week (provided I can figure out how to use wordpress).

I hope to see everybody there! Thanks for reading.

Seeing Sayonara

I didn't summit Mt. Fuji.

We tried, and made it to the 7th Station, but the typhoon made it nearly impossible to go any further. At 11:30 pm, I swallowed my pride and admitted defeat. After months of planning and hours of research, it was tough for me to descend without reaching the top. Frankly, I felt lousy.

However, I really (re)learned something valuable: And I quote, "Life is a journey, not a destination." I know, I know, it sounds corny but despite my friends and I not reaching the summit of Mt. Fuji this weekend, we had -- I think -- a great time nonetheless. It was probably one of the most enjoyable, and incredibly hilarious vacations since coming on the JET Programme. Indeed, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard till I cried (and if I ever decide to re-start my blog, once you see the pictures, you'll understand why).

So, while initially I was bummed we didn't reach the summit, in the end, it didn't really matter. I feel lucky to have spent my weekend with such an awesome group of people. Thank you.

Anyway, that's it. I figured some of you would be curious as to whether or not I made it well, now you know. I've had a great time in Japan these past 2 years; sometimes, I can hardly believe that I won't be here next week. I've met a lot of great people, I've seen a lot of great places and, I've done a lot of great things. This has been an experience I will not readily forget.

Thanks for everything.

皆さん、二年間本当にありがとうございました。僕の日本生活はもう少し終わるけど、皆さんのおかげで本当に忘れがたい経験が出来ました。僕は、絶対皆さんを忘れません。それは、ありがとうございました。

では、さよなら。

Disconnected

I will cancel my Internet tomorrow. This probably means no more IM-chat, evening blog posts, etc. I'll have access to the Internet at school until the 20th so, if you want to get a hold of me please, EMAIL ME. I'll probably try to write one more blog post then (obviously).

As I mentioned before, I don't know if I'll maintain this blog after I go back to Canada. Hopefully something interesting will happen and I'll find the motivation to continue blogging but, for now, this is it.

Anyway, if I haven't said it enough, thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog as much as I've enjoyed writing in it. Take care, eh.

The View From Home

Time is fleeting.

I'll probably cancel my Internet sometime this week so, I'm not sure how much longer I will blog. I'll be able to check my email at school but as for regular posts, it doesn't look like I'll be able to continue much longer. Things have been good -- if not unbelievably busy.

Anyway, no complaints -- in 14 days, this will come to an end. It's been one heck of a ride.

傘の泥棒

ダレが俺の傘をぬすんでいった？！

Everybody in Japan has an umbrella. 5 of them are mine. Japan is definitely one of the safest countries in the world. People carry wads of cash to pay for things; you can walk around at night completely safe in the knowledge that 99.8% of the time nobody will get in your face; people leave their bags, wallets, laptops in restaurants without even considering that it might get stolen; etc. Generally speaking, Japan is awesome in that regard.

However, when it comes to umbrellas, it's a no-holds bar country. Every umbrella in sight is up for grabs -- from the 105 yen umbrellas one can purchase at the Daiso to the, well, I've never paid more than 500 yen for any of my umbrellas so, I don't know how much the most expensive ones are. To even think about it is strange; I blame the rainy season.

その事がびっくりした。

And the Countdown Begins?

Actually, not really. I think I've been so busy recently that it has kind of slipped my mind that I'll be leaving Japan in exactly 3 weeks. I'm right now focused on something bigger so, there won't be any countdowns on this blog -- not yet anyways.

In other news, I finally got a leg-up on the packing/cleaning today. Although I still have quite a bit of rubbish to sort out, the place is starting to look a little bit more sterile. My friend suggested I do a "suitcase rehearsal" in the following weeks as well.

While things are going smoother on the "sayonara-side" of things, I'm still anxious about the "What's Next?"-part. One step at a time, eh?

Hot Like Kyushu

It looks like Mt. Fuji is still covered in snow despite the beginning of the "official" climbing season starting this Sunday. Volunteers have been trying to clear the snow to make way for the climbers that traditionally ascend the mountain on the first day. I'm hoping things will warm up substantially in the coming weeks. :\

Mojiko / 門司港

On the weekend I went on another photo trip with a few friends. Jon decided we should check out Mojiko so, on a somewhat cloudy Saturday morning, we drove up and spent the day photographing.

We were a little anxious heading up to Mojiko because it looked like it was going to rain (indeed, it had actually started to rain when we left Hakata) but by the early afternoon, the sky had cleared and we didn't see rain until we drove home.


Mojiko is famous for it's "retro-style" building which, to be honest, didn't actually resonate anything with me because "retro" could mean anything in Japan. As we were approaching Mojiko, we passed by a fairly run-down area surrounded by abandoned factories and houses. At this point in the journey, we weren't exactly sure where we were going so I said to Jon, "Dude, I hope this isn't it." Luckily, it wasn't.

While not a terribly interesting shot, the above photograph is an example of the "retro-style" architecture.


After spending the day walking around and going up the obligatory sightseeing tower, we decided to head into Kokura. We walked around Riverwalk (which, if you've been following my blog since the beginning, is where I took my very first concept photograph) for awhile before settling down in the food court for some dinner. I had steak -- from a -food court-. Yep, only in Japan.


After dodging some Mormons at Riverwalk, we decided to call it quits and head back. It was a long day but I'm glad I was able to just go somewhere to take photographs with like-minded people. I wonder if I'll have that kind of opportunity when I go back to Canada.. ?

Me, Myself & ..

I had a -real- post planned but I caught some sort of bug again. *cough*

In the News

I haven't done one of these in awhile so, I thought I'd better try to fit one in for this month.

It looks like the US Congress is about to pass a resolution demanding Japan apologize, unequivocally, for the use of sex-slaves or "comfort women" during World War II. The resolution is set to pass with support from both parties. You can read the article HERE.

Suppose the resolution does pass? Since it's non-binding and the resolution doesn't really include any material consequences, what's the worse that can happen? My prediction is that it will cause a newspaper fury in Japan, renew calls of "Japan-bashing" in the Japanese media, and Prime Minister Abe reiterating the statement that, "It wasn't 'coercion'." A month or so later, it will be forgotten.

Particulars aside, I think this case is interesting because it represents the limits of "moral power". The US Congress is perfectly willing to indulge Rep. Honda who tabled the resolution, so long as it doesn't actually do anything. It's like one of those resolutions we hear every year about combating AIDS in Africa or reducing greenhouse gases -- empty pledges that are useful as speech-fodder but don't mean much in terms of actual goals.

Is it possible that this "moral bill" will actually provoke a reaction from Tokyo? Perhaps. But probably not in the way desired by Rep. Honda and the "comfort women" he wants Japan to apologize to. I mean, last year alone, US-Japan Trade totaled $193.5 billion in goods alone; unfortunately, in this day and age, no apology is worth that much.

That's it for this week -- it was a humid one.
Take care. :)

En-Kai with a Bang!

Whew. I can't believe how often Japanese people party. I can't keep up with the Sayonara-enkai's (goodbye parties) and general enkai's around this time of year anymore. I've already had to decline a couple of enkai's as well because they overlapped.

Mind you, this isn't a complaint -- merely an observation. In fact, I'll be going to another enkai tonight. Huzzah!

'oogled

Ever wonder what happens when you post something on the Internet? It comes back to haunt you. Not that it's actually happened to me (yet) but I was just talking to my friend about a possible future scenario:

Company Representative: "Well, your resume looks good. You have the qualifications but, we Googled your name and found some comments that you made when you were 15 years old. You appear to be racist. Sorry, we can't hire you."
Me: "Ahh, shucks."

Hey, I know I've said some pretty offensive and "inappropriate" things on this blog -- but for those "in the know", I'm probably the last person that actually believes anything I say (if you do, you're being utterly foolish -- darn it, I did it again. I apologize -- it's an obsessive-compulsive habit; like writing run-on sentences in brackets and putting "quotes" around inappropriate words). Kidding aside, it is a little bit worrisome to wonder if human resource departments already screen applications via Google to see what kind of "stuff" they can uncover. I'm sure most searches are fairly harmless but others, especially of those people in the public sphere, can result in some pretty unfortunate results.

Oh yea, Google owns Blogger -- huzzah! I'm an insta-archived client.

Post Office Blunder

Perhaps I spoke too soon. As I mentioned a couple of days earlier, I had posted a few boxes to send home. I thought everything was swell until a post office worker came by today to ask me for a -detailed- and -specific- list of things I had labeled in my two boxes "Clothes" and "Personal Effects". Of course I didn't remember everything exactly but I did as requested to the best of my memory. I'm a little bit apprehensive it won't go through but it's too late to worry about that now, eh?

A Couple of Things

One of the things I'll miss about working in the Japanese countryside is its beauty. On some days, it's just stunning. While I mentioned that I'm definitely a city-slicker (who uses that word anymore? Right, I do.), it's nice to see the "other-side" occasionally.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have the misconception that Japan is just one giant, urban country made entirely of lasers and concrete; in some ways, it is (re: Tokyo). But, as with anything, there is always an exception. In retrospect, I'm glad I got placed in Fukuoka because in a lot of ways I got to experience the best of both worlds.

My successor is going to have a great time here -- I know I did.

Enjoy the weekend.

"Thank you very match"

My 2 years "teaching" English in Japan is rapidly coming to an end. I went to my first "Sayonara Party" last weekend which was quite sad. I'll definitely miss Japanese beer. I wish I could say I've imparted some basic knowledge of English while here -- but alas, I suppose, given the overwhelming evidence (see exhibit A), I have failed miserably. My apologies. As the Japanese say, "It can't be helped!"

In other news, I got my bulk packing shipped. It was cheap. My advice to current and future JETs moving back home: the bigger the box, the better! You're better off packing things in a big box and shipping it all together than doing a couple of smaller ones. To lighten my load before I leave, I might end up sending one more box -- hopefully everything will stay dry and arrive safely.


I'm pretty sure I seared my eye while taking this photograph. This was the view from inside the moving bus on my way home from work on the weekend.

One more week till the dreaded rainy season is upon us. Ever heard of being drenched in sweat and moisture from just standing? Neither did I till I came here! :)

Like A Merry-Go-Round

These things don't stop! Over and over, and around, around they go. When will it end? Nobody knows!

Pachinko / パチンコ

A pachinko parlor is -the- eyesore of the Japanese architectural landscape. Not only do they look like cheap houses of "entertainment", the vapid souls it lures in with its flashing lights and noisy sirens is itself a study in stupidity if nothing else. Naturally, I was intrigued.

I "smooth talked" my Japanese language teacher to skip class with me and teach me the basics of pachinko. Armed with a thousand YEN (exactly $8.79 CDN), I took the plunge and headed inside my first pachinko parlor. The "game" isn't that difficult to learn. It is very similar to slots. Basically you put money into a machine, small metals balls (see above) drop from some tube into a basket, then you turn a knob to "shoot" the balls into the machine. You have to control the strength of the turn to make sure the balls land and drop at a certain spot. The balls proceed to bounce down the machine, going through various obstacles, until they either land in the "chance net" or, which seemed to happen 98% of the time, they land outside of it. If a ball lands in the "chance net", then a computerized slot screen loads up and the game plays out exactly as if you're playing slots.


This was the best (secret) shot I could get with my keitai camera. My sensei tried pulling the "Gaijin Card" to see if I could take a picture with my real camera -- unfortunately, the management said mine wasn't valid at the time.

Even though we didn't stay longer than 15 minutes (that was the point, actually), it was interesting to finally step into one of these places since noticing their ubiquity. I still believe pachinko is a scam because there is virtually no skill involved to play the game and the odds are stacked -so high- against the player. At least I got some interesting souvenirs out of the experience! :D


In other news, one of my JTEs took me to see fireflies this week. We don't get fireflies in Toronto (at least I don't think we do -- I've never seen any) so, I was fairly curious to see what they looked like. I always imagined fireflies to emit a whitish glow -- in fact, they're green! For some reason they reminded me of glow sticks...

That's it for now -- enjoy the weekend!

It's settled!

And the tickets are booked!

In about a month I'll be ascending Mt. Fuji -- the tallest mountain in Japan -- in what will probably be my last trip in this land of the rising sun. Will I be able to scale the mountain successfully? Or will I be thwarted by Mother Nature and/or old age? Stay tuned for this blog just got a whole lot more interesting...

Japanese TV

I was going to write a blog update but Japanese TV really sucks you in so, here's a photo update instead!

Point of Reference

I've been really trying to take advantage of the lovely weather these past few weeks. Although occasionally a little too humid for my taste, most days are sunny with the temperature hovering around 22 degrees Celsius. I've also been on quite a number of "photography trips" with my office-mate Jon. I thought last year's name situation in the office with four people whose name started with "J" was difficult for the Japanese people, imagine them trying to differentiate between, "Jon-san" and "Johnson-san".

I've also recently discovered how to do panoramic shots. The above photograph is stitched together from 10 different shots. I probably could have done it in less but it was my first attempt at trying so, I was probably being overly cautious. Unfortunately, I forgot to include a point-of-reference that demonstrates just how big/long the statue really was. Just take my word that it wouldn't fit in just one photograph!


Is this considered blasphemous?


Air-conditioner season officially starts tomorrow in Japan! Woo-hoo! In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, public Japanese institutions (like my office, schools, etc.) aren't allowed to turn on their air-conditioner units until June 1st -regardless- of the temperature outside. See, you just learnt something new. :)

Just Another Sunset Shot

Just a photo update this time. Time for Japanese class!

The Finish Line

I wish I could say that I'm cherishing every moment I have left in Japan. I've started packing recently and the closer I get to the end, while not exactly "thrilled" to be leaving, I don't feel all that unhappy to "move on".

Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to sound ungrateful for this amazing opportunity; nothing is the same anymore, that's for sure. But I guess the more I look toward the future, regardless of how murky it is right now, I'm slowly drifting further away from this place.

Somebody needs to kick my arse.

Breaking the Rules

I've been deceived. My impression of Japan has always been a country that reveres silence. Nothing would make me more happy than a quiet work environment. I guess I never really noticed it before but the Japanese teachers staffroom is noisy. And I don't mean just the general background noise of people working, I'm talking about shouting matches, people hollering across the room, teachers talking to themselves, humming, etc.

This reminds me of the incident last year when I was on the bus with my friend. We weren't talking particularly loud but it was definitely audible (the bus was mostly empty). In Japan, or at least in Fukuoka, when a bus stops at a red light, the majority of bus drivers turn off the engine. Don't ask me why -- I don't know; but that's besides the point. Anyway, while we were stopped at this red light, somebody proceeded to "shhh" us. I had only been in Japan for a few months at this point so, I was pretty taken aback. In retrospect, I probably should have, err, made "violent eye-contact" (hey, I'm not looking to get deported.. yet).

Seriously though, it's not like we were *cough* intoxicated ALTs clearing subway-carts of people *cough*; we were just two people casually discussing neo-existentialism (okay, I made that part up).

Man, will I ever get it right?

In other news, the BBC has an excellent special report on global food culture on its news website. It's the kind of stuff I've been saying since I started this blog. You can read the full article HERE. My question is: Is this really news? For a country that conquered the world, did it really take -THIS- long to finally realize that not everybody fries their fish or puts meat in their pies? And Icelanders eat penguins?! Wow, I want to try that.

**Breaking News**
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka has hanged himself. He was found unconscious this morning at his residence in Tokyo. The Minister was to testify in front of a panel about inappropriate construction bid-rigging this afternoon. You can read the full article HERE.

Just For Laughs

It was a busy weekend; Heck, it's been a busy week. But no complaints -- it's nearing the end so, I'm just trying to take everything in stride. I'll have plenty of time to contemplate the "meaning of life" and other absurd mental pursuits in due time. But for now, enjoy the video!

Warm, Wet Weather

I finally had to turn on my air-conditioner today. The rainy season is upon us and that means flash thunderstorms, the humidity index reaching 80% (just today!) or more, and the return of the giant spiders (sorry, no photograph this time).

Where has spring gone?

A Million Different Things

It's been another busy couple of days. We had the annual JHS Sports Festival on Sunday. I probably circled the track at least 20 times and took approximately 800 photographs. Aside from my concept shots, I'll be giving all the photographs to my school to use for posters, slide shows, etc. Sports photography is -difficult- and I had trouble figuring out which controls to use on my camera. I'll have to try to invite myself to another sporting event so I can practice some more. Although not the sharpest photo, the above picture was definitely the most interesting out of the lot and where I was able to, luckily, time it on-spot.


I also went back to the waterfall in my area and had some cold noodles from a bamboo pole. It's a little bit difficult to explain so, I'll post a photo up once I get the chance to sort through everything. I still have pictures from 2-3 weeks ago that I haven't processed and posted yet; I think I waste far too much time just surfing the Internet.


I also got my first prime lens by Nikon. I got the Nikkor 50mm 1.8D which is probably one of the best lens from Nikon for around $100 USD. I've seen photos with this lens and the image are -SHARP- as heck. I'm hoping to improve my composition skills since this lens will -force- me to think about my photograph before actually taking the shot; plus I'll have to move around a lot more since I won't have the convenience of zoom either. Unfortunately, since I'm still learning how to use a prime lens, I had difficultly capturing these bugs. My friend James has a far superior shot of this hovering insect on his flickr/blog site. I -- unintentionally -- went for a different angle, but as you can tell, it isn't nearly as sharp.


I think the best inspiration for things "out of this world", is to just look around in -this world-. This fly reminded me of something out of some '90s Japanese sci-fi TV show or movie.


Anyways, this post has kind of gone all over the place but that pretty much describes the past few days for me.

And in case you thought I was finished, here's an interesting news story: Japanese tourists are the best tourists in the world! In second place: Americans, and in third, the Swiss. And the worst tourists in the world: the French. You can read the full article HERE.

10 Years Later

In case you haven't heard, Blizzard officially announced the development and highly-anticipated release of StarCraft 2. Of course I won't be able to play it as intensely as I did when I was in high school (ahh~ the good ol' days..), but it sure does bring back a lot of memories.

Anybody up for the original? Haha~

The World at Our Feet

One thing that has changed since I've become more addicted to photography (let's face it fellas, photography is a drug!) is that I'm starting to notice things a lot more. Be it the colour of the sky, the reflection in a puddle, or the neon-lights of a city ready to party.


Things that I never thought were particularly interesting become a challenge: How can I make this mundane subject more attractive?


After all, a photograph isn't reality. It's a lie; a deception so well conceived that most people believe it to be true.


Although, truth be told, I still have no idea what I'm doing 90% of the time.


Like this caterpillar, I'm just chugging along..

In the News

I just read a very interesting article in The New York Times about China's problem ensuring its food and drug exports are safe for human and/or animal consumption. You can read it HERE . The reason why I thought this was interesting is because I thought this was fairly old news. When I went back to Canada for Christmas, nobody in my family was buying "Made in China" products because of some other contamination that, I'm assuming, didn't make it on the Western news outlets. "Made in China" has, and continues to be unfortunately, just another way of saying "Made Cheaply".

Here's an interesting anecdote: Recently, my friend went to China the same time I went to South Korea. She's Korean-American so, it was kind of funny to compare our experiences. Hopefully based on my blog posts, you can tell I had a great time. I didn't run into any trouble whatsoever; the people, though very different from the Japanese, were genuinely polite and helpful throughout the entire trip. I would go back to South Korea without hesitation.

My friend summarizes her trip as follows: "I'm glad I went, but I would -NEVER- go back." She told us countless stories of aggressive peddlers, rude attendants, fraudulent businesses, etc. Even when I went last year, though I obviously didn't encounter as many difficulties, China still has quite a ways to go before one could classify it as being "tourist-friendly".

Anyway, I bring up the story only to illustrate my point: Capitalism as a process works -- it's just sometimes the results that can be unexpected. That being said, I think, and I hope, this is a wake up call to the nation of 1.3 billion. In one years time, the whole world will be watching the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and I wonder what people and tourists will remember: Wow, this place is amazing or "Dude, you got pollution in your hair."

A Boxed Life

A very kind teacher helped me collect some boxes from school and then brought them to my jutaku after work. ありがとう。

I can, and probably should, start packing. I thought I had a lot more stuff to box up, but looking around my place now, I'm starting to think otherwise. That's a good thing, though. Less rubbish to send home means less money I have to spend on postage. However, the problem is, what do I take with me and what do I toss? Can I fit 2 years into a single (or double) box?

A House of Cards

It's funny, you know, how a single moment can change everything. It doesn't take much to sway the fickle. Sometimes no matter how certain you are about something, it can turn out to be exactly the opposite of what you thought. Conviction -- or the unsubstantiated opinions of the hopeful -- isn't always enough to change the systemic limitations imposed on the individual by particular circumstances.

A house of cards will collapse from the gentlest breeze.

Seoul: Day Six & Seven

I spent my last day in Seoul with no real plan. I was pretty exhausted from all the sightseeing and wanted to just take it easy on my last day in Seoul. I flipped through the Lonely Planet: Seoul lying on my friend's desk in the morning and decided to check out some of the local museums.

My first stop: The National Museum of Korea. Recently constructed, this museum was huge and housed not only artifacts from the early Three Kingdoms period to modern-day Korea, but also had in its possession a fairly large Chinese and Japanese collection. Unfortunately, I went on a bad day. It must have been "Museum Day" for several schools because when I got to the museum, the place was exploding with children. Like children anywhere, they were loud, obnoxious and turned the museum into a zoo. Luckily I didn't have to endure any "English Shower" (I wouldn't have even attempted to go in if I wasn't Asian-looking). I went through each exhibit quickly and got out of there ASAP.

The above photograph is not from the National Museum of Korea but from the Korea National War Museum. See below.


Since my first stop didn't work out as I expected, I decided to check out the highly recommended Korea National War Museum. Lonely Planet strictly advises against going to both museums in one day. Well, I've never been one to follow directions and the allure of being rebellious proved irresistible. In your face Lonely Planet.


This place was amazing. If you thought the National War Museum was big, this one is even -bigger-. It was enormous. All the exhibits were very well done and their section on the Korean War was impressive. Any first or second-year university student studying the Korean War could just spend an afternoon at the museum and write an A+ paper -- no problem.

Perhaps I spent an inordinate amount of time looking at each exhibit because just as I was making my way up to the last floor, an announcement came on the PA system telling everybody to get out in 30 minutes. I rushed through the last floor and by the time I had left the museum, I had spent more than -THREE HOURS- there (and I probably could've stayed longer if I wasn't pressed for time). It's that good, honest! :)

My POTM was taken at the museum and is a photograph of a figurative statue depicting North and South Korean brothers embracing each other after reunification. While a lot of South Korean propaganda tends to adopt this picturesque and idealistic future, I find it difficult to believe things will be so easy. That being said, to be honest, I don't know enough about the situation to make an informed opinion. Like most of my blog, it is self-indulgent twaddle. :)


At the outset of the trip, I told my friends that after the DMZ, my top priority while in South Korea was to eat a particularly famous Korean dish. There was simply no point in me even -going- to South Korea unless I was guaranteed that we would at least try to find this dish. Well, on my last night in Seoul, Shannon and I, with only a crude map drawn by one of her students, went on a trek looking for this dish. A 10-minute walk turned into a 2 and-a-half hour expedition that saw the likes of our group grow from 2 to 5 people all in search of a single restaurant that served.. DOG.

Finally, we found it.


After nearly 3-hours of hunting, we thanked our comrades and headed into the restaurant. Shannon is a vegetarian so, she just came along for the ride. We ordered the "boshintang" or dog-stew and waited for it to be prepared. The restaurant was empty except for a couple of salarymen sharing a drink together over some shabushabu. After a few minutes, the restaurant owner finally brought the steaming stew to our table and placed it in front of me. I slowly inhaled some of the soup stock, anticipating a foul odour, but was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it smelt. I picked up my metal chopsticks, looked for a piece of meat, grabbed it and stuck it in my mouth.

Conclusion: It tastes like lamb. In fact, it actually wasn't that bad. Sure, a lot of people have mental hang-ups about eating dog (I wouldn't do it everyday either) but I didn't go abroad just to experience the same thing I do at home. To me that's boring. I realize I'm just talking about food, but culture and food are intricately linked and, well, this was just something that I had to try at least once. Two-thumbs up! :)

After completing my mission, we headed back to the apartment so I could start packing. My flight was in the morning which meant I had to wake up -very- early (as usual).

Anyway, that's South Korea in a nutshell. I had a great time and would definitely consider going back -- if not on vacation, on a more semi-permanent status (haha, joke?). Thanks for reading.

Panmunjom: Day Five

This was by far the most interesting part of the trip. IMHO, a trip to South Korea is incomplete without checking out one of the world's most heavily fortified borders. The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is the military demarcation line that runs along the 38th parallel and separates North and South Korea. Running along the DMZ is the Joint Security Area (JSA) which is the only part of the border where both the North and South military face each other.

This place was eerie. Before entering the zone, we were briefed at Camp Bonifas and then required to sign a wavier absolving the US and UN military of any liability if we should get hurt or killed while on the tour. No joke.

We were then taken to the JSA where we were allowed to take pictures and whatnot. We were told not to make any sudden, rapid movements, or pointing motions, or faces/gestures at the North Koreans as they could be misinterpreted and/or used in propaganda material. In fact, one member of my tour group was so afraid that she refused to bend down to tie her own shoelace.

In the above photograph, the South Korean in the foreground is standing halfway behind the building in a modified-Taekwondo pose to a) intimidate the North Korean soldier and, b) to make himself less of a target.


This was the closest I got to an actual North Korean soldier. He kept checking us out with binoculars.


A typical South Korean soldier. We had about 5 or 6 surrounding our tour group for "protection". The sunglasses are for intimidation.


This is a rather poor shot of the giant flag in the North Korean "town" closest to the JSA. While the South Korean town is an actual town, the Northern counterpart is actually empty and is really an industrial complex of some sort. The flag is so big and heavy (it weighs approximately 300 pounds) that when it rains, it gets soaked and tears itself apart. It must be replaced 3-times a year.


After the outside tour, we were led into the UN Unified Command Building where we got to -- technically -- step into North Korea. While we were safe inside the building, the last person to cross the line was a Soviet-Russian in the mid '80s who fled from a communist-led tour. A gunfight ensued and while several North and South Korean soldiers were killed, the Russian was saved.

The soldier pictured above stands right behind the conference table used by the United Nations Unified Command Officers. From what I gathered, he was there to protect the honour(?) of the UN Unification conference talks and we were instructed -not- to pass in front of him. Indeed, the last person to walk in front of him -- interestingly enough, a Japanese tourist -- got socked right in the jaw.


The rest of the tour was mediocre compared to the JSA-tour. We went to a look-out point where we were forbidden to take photos beyond a certain line (see above; although Google Earth works) and then we walked through a North Korean infiltration tunnel.


The Bridge of No Return.


Like I said, I'm a history nerd so this was, by far, the most interesting part of the trip. I learned a lot about the Korean War and why certain things unfolded the way they have. And being so close to -real- history made things that much more intriguing. :)

After the DMZ tour, we headed back into Seoul. We decided to check out the last of the "big markets" in Seoul. We went to Dongdaemun Market to do some shopping but my friend got overwhelmed by the market-style arena. So, we decided to skip Dongdaemun Market and headed to the Western-style COEX pavilion. I didn't have much to buy so I browsed a bookstore for a couple of hours instead.

After COEX, we headed to a food market to get the rest of our omiyage shopping done. We headed back to the apartment and then met up with some friends for some drinks. It was Sara's last day in Seoul so, we decided to try some famous Korean Soju. That stuff is delicious. I wish I could have brought back a couple of bottles but seeing as I'm trying to cut down on the drinking (Mt. Fuji training!), I figured they would probably go to waste.

I spent the last day in Seoul by myself just checking out stuff that I know nobody but myself is interested in (i.e., museums). I'll conclude my South Korea blog posts tomorrow. Until then, thanks for reading.

Seoul: Day Four

I was -forced- to wake up rather early today because my friend insisted we check out one of Shannon's English conversation class. Normally I wouldn't have a problem observing a class except that the class was at 8 o'clock in the morning and, in case it wasn't obvious, I was on vacation.

To be fair, it worked out well in the end because we had some stuff planned in the morning that took us longer to complete than expected. However, since I did attend an English conversation class while in Korea, allow me to make some generalizations based on that -one- university-level conversation class.

I'm going to skip the details and go straight to the conclusion: Korea is ahead of Japan when it comes to English conversation. Not only did the students have a better grasp of pronunciation, they also possessed a larger and richer vocabulary than any Japanese person I've met of similar education. Furthermore, they were not afraid to speak in English and they seemed far more mature when they did speak. Did they make mistakes? Of course -- but so do most "native" speakers if you really listen. In any case, I was fairly surprised; but more on that later.


After the English conversation class, we left the campus to start our morning hike along the Inwangsan walking-tour. My office-mate and the Lonely Planet: Korea guidebook recommended this walking-tour as a great way to see Seoul from a mountain-top vista. We had some difficulty finding the starting location because the directions given in the Lonely Planet guidebook are simply abysmal. We ended up turning too early and had to walk through peoples' garden to get back on track (we were careful not to trample anything and, in fact, were following a well-worn path throughout). After stopping to ask where we were several times, we managed to find the starting gate only to discover that.. the mountain was closed.

Yea, -CLOSED-. I didn't realize that was possible but apparently every Monday is the mountain's "day of rest" (not my choice of words). Frustrated, we decided to walk around the base for awhile before catching a bus back to central Seoul.

The above photo is just a really cool -- and very narrow -- house I saw while on the "walking-tour".


The roof of a Korean-style building.


I didn't plan anything for this particular evening so, we decided to get some of our "omiyage" shopping done. We headed back to Insadong market and browsed around for a couple of hours.


I've been fooling around in Photoshop and I recently learned how to do this type of photographic effect. I apologize in advance if I suddenly start posting all my photographs like this. :)


As the evening drew near, I decided tonight would be the ideal night to try to find the much-sought after, but ever-elusive, "boshintang" restaurant. Don't know what that is? Ahem, google it. I called my friend to see if she knew of any of the aforementioned restaurants near Insadong market but to no success. We walked around trying to look for one but since neither of us could read Korean, our search -- or rather, my search -- ended in futility. However, I would get my revenge later.

That's it for Day Four. The best part of the trip is coming up tomorrow so, please come back then. I'll try to wrap up my Korea-related posts by this weekend and then it's back to Japan. I'm the luckiest guy in the world, eh! :)