One Blonde...: February 2010

Friday 26 February 2010

Slacker

So the two weeks since Tokyo have been a bit of a manic blur... school is a confused mix of nobody knowing what is going on combined with a major language barrier - no i still don't speak/understand Korean... thus have been totally rubbish at uploading the majority of new photos. Hopefully it was all come to a mighty conclusion this weekend with the Finale Talent Show... (the school year ended today and re-starts on Tuesday - they're really into long relaxing holidays in this corner of the globe) The Talent Show is set to be total hell, the prep has been pretty damn horrendous but then what does one expect when trying to form a two hour english language production using a cast of of 4, 5 and 6 year old Korean children - they say a bad dress means a good show, i pray to god this holds true, when the kids were supposed to be onstage several were in a ball pool! (yes my school has a ball pool, it is part of a giant playcentre!) As well as the Talent Show, the darling Rebecca is returning to Chicago via India AND due to the fact its Korean independence day (Fuck You Japan day) on Monday we are also attempting to make the most of the 'free third day' by heading to Samcheok on the mid east coast to sample the 'scenery'...For now, goodnight, I still need to create a costume that works as both a Dog and a Butterfly for tomorrow... I can not wait until this damned fiasco is over.

Sunday 21 February 2010

One Blonde in Tokyo: Senso-Ji

Sunday morning arrived and it was a beautiful bright and sunny but cold February day - perfect for exercising my new camera's (Fujifilm digital and Chocolate brown Instamax, the Lomo is still on the wishlist). Our first destination was one of Tokyo's 'must see's', Senso-Ji Buddhist Temple. Luckily for us it was a mere two stops away on the subway, we left the hostel at 9am after some breakfast and made our way to Asakusa. The place was buzzing with people, from tourists to locals. The Temple itself is very much active, so many visit to pray as well as those to take photographs. The path strip leading up to the main temple gate is a haven of gift stalls, selling a million beautiful Japanese trinkets, postcards, tshirts, dog outfits and the like. The temple itself is stunning. Korea is full of temples but my experiences so far have been minimal, the feeling of being next to such beautifully crafted bulidings which hold such important spiritual meaning is very enlightening.

One Blonde in Tokyo: Day 1

Holiday time for teachers in Korean Hagwons is limited so it means that when a three day weekend occurs we need to maximise it. Recently Korea celebrated 'Sollal', or Korean New Year... the second biggest Korean holiday after Chuseok (the time I went to the Zoo!) We celebrated this major holiday in a rather controversial manner by booking flights and going on a trip to Tokyo.

Tokyo, and indeed Japan, have been very central to my life plans for years now, initially I had planned to spend a year not in lovely Korea but indeed in Japan however circumstances lead me to Korea which is AMAZING however i desperatly wanted to visit Japan whilst I was in the area... luckily for me so did my fabulous friends Jenny, Shauna and Mary. We left Munsan on the aiprot bus at 520, and took a flight with Delta Airlines from Incheon to Narita. Arriving in Narita we took a rather lush train ride into central Tokyo before finding our way to our hostel. The Kahaosan Ninja! The place had been recommended by a friend who had stayed there a few weeks previously and it was great. Part of the experiences we had originally looked into when visiting Japan was to stay in a capsule hotel, however we soon discovered these were mainly used by drunk Japanese men and weren't that safe! Luckily for use The Ninja was designed as a capsule hotel. So our hostel room for 16, was in fact 16 wooden pods! It was strange, living in a space where you couldn't stand up, i was in one the second level capsules (they were arranged like conjoined bunkbeds, i was in the top bunk) the last time I slept in a bunkbed was probably when i was atleast 12 years ago so getting up and down the ladder was rather interesting. After dropping off our luggage and freshening up, we decided to go and get aquainted with Tokyo and took the subway to Shinjuku, towards the east of central Tokyo, we then spent around 6 hours wandering, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Harijuku. Taking in the skyline, the atmosphere, the shops, the people and off course the world famous Shibuya crossroads, the busiest crossoroads in the world and featured in one of my favourite films 'Lost in Translation'. As the evening wore on we decided to find something to eat, we found a great underground restaurant and managed to indulge in both raw fish and Sake. Both of which were great. We then headed back to our hostel and our first experience sleeping in a capsule... before getting ready for our Sunday assault on the city.