Seoul, Day 1

On Monday the 16th, my friend Tim and I flew to Seoul for a five day trip. I was really excited to explore another new country, and to compare it to both Japan and the US. I had a friend from high school, Courtney, who was studying abroad herself in Seoul, and she said she would be able to meet us and show us around. I had been prepared to go by myself, but knowing that I was going with someone from my UCEAP program, and also knowing I had a friend in Seoul who knew her way around made me feel more comfortable. 

The flight from Tokyo to Seoul wasn't bad at all. We flew Korean Air (an airline I now recommend!) and arrived in a little over 2 hours. Looking out the window during our final descent into Korea was so interesting to me. Korea is much more green and mountainous than I had thought it would be, and as we approached the airport, we could see many small, hilly islands in the water. It was a foggy, rainy day, which made the dark green islands look mysterious. 

About to land in Korea.

Once we arrived at Incheon International Airport (which is as nice an airport as people say it is), Tim and I split ways because we were staying at different places. My Airbnb host's location was only one express train ride away from the airport. The Airport Express took me from the airport to my neighborhood of Hongdae in only 45 minutes. It was so awesome to look out the window and see the landscape of another new country fly past me. I got off at Hongik University station and found my Airbnb without too much difficulty. Once I got out of the train station and got my first good look around, I realized how cool Seoul seemed and I got very excited to explore the new city in the next few days. 

My Airbnb was down a quiet alley, and I had my own room. The room itself was pretty small, and if I opened the window even one centimeter at night to have some fresh air, a mosquito would always find its way in and bite me. But other than that, I liked my Airbnb location - my host Wonnie would provide breakfast ingredients each morning (eggs, bread, Frosted Flakes, coffee, orange juice), and the house was very close to the train station and the fun college neighborhood of Hongdae. 

My Airbnb room.

After settling in a little bit, Courtney, Tim and I met up and explored Hongdae. There were many restaurants, cafes, and clothing stores open late. One thing I immediately noticed about Korea: there are a lot more young people there than in Japan. Japan actually has a decreasing population - the death rate exceeds the birth rate, and as such, Japan has a high elderly population. Korea is quite different. There seemed to be many more people my age, and I think shops, restaurants, and cafes are open later because of that. 

A street of restaurants in Hongdae.

We got dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant. It was my first time having Korean BBQ. I think that's kind of funny - even though I'm from San Francisco, my first time eating Korean BBQ was in Korea. It was delicious! Courtney showed us a good way to eat the meat (that we prepare ourselves at our own table) - wrap the cooked meat in a lettuce leaf with some rice and spicy sauce. So good! Courtney also taught us that in Korea, you're not supposed to fill your own glass. Your friends fill it for you! 

Our BBQ spread.

After dinner we walked around more and stumbled across a Hello Kitty cafe. The entire thing was painted pink and had pink armchairs and seats. Nearly everything you order is shaped like Hello Kitty's head. It was wild.

Hello Kitty cafe!

Everything is shaped like Hello Kitty.

One thing I found interesting as we were walking around Hongdae was the abundance of cafes. On every block, there are at least 5 cafes. Another interesting thing - Seoul has Dunkin' Donuts. The west coast of the US doesn't even have Dunkin' Donuts! Courtney said cafes are so popular in Seoul because for the locals, there is not much to do, so people sit in cafes, hang out, and charge their phones. I thought it was funny that people who live in Seoul could think there was nothing to do. But this practice came in handy for me as my pocket wi-fi has a low battery life. I'd go into a cafe, get a coffee or donut, and sit there charging my phone for an hour. Every cafe has power outlets at nearly every seat. Quite interesting.

Me and Courtney my first night in Seoul.

Yokohama

On Saturday the 14th I traveled to the nearby port city of Yokohama. Yokohama is about one hour from my school by train, and lies on Tokyo Bay. I had wanted to go there because I heard Yokohama has an interesting Chinatown, and I wanted to see how it compared to San Francisco's Chinatown.

Beautiful red lanterns.

San Francisco has a fun Chinatown, but Yokohama's is larger and has many more restaurants. There are also several shrines along the streets. These shrines were quite beautiful - red lanterns hung on strings from the shrine gate, red incense sticks were burning in a large metal pot with sand, and the shrine itself was painted with brilliant red, green, and gold. On top of one particular shrine there was a colorful, intricate dragon statue.

A shrine with a colorful dragon on top.

There were many food vendors in Yokohama's Chinatown as well. Many of them sold Chinese treats, like pork buns. It was fun to walk around the narrow streets and see all of the different foods, clothing, and souvenirs for sale. On one particular crowded street I looked down and saw a frog trying to make its way across. No one else had noticed the frog yet, so I pointed at the frog and pretty soon there was a crowd gathered around the frog. One girl exclaimed, "Kawaii!" (Cute!) Many people were taking photos of the frog. It was pretty funny. I just hope someone eventually picked the frog up and brought it to a safer place.

After Chinatown, I walked to Yokohama's bayshore. The bayshore has a lot of interesting things and attractions to see. I walked along for a bit and came across two large brick warehouses. Reading the sign, I learned the warehouses were built in the early 20th century, and were the first brick warehouses to be built to such a size in Japan. Each was probably more than 100 meters long. One of the warehouses was partially destroyed in the 1923 Kanto earthquake, so that one was only half as long as the other. The warehouses had many shops and restaurants. I mostly walked along the outside and admired the brick and ironwork. The architecture reminded me of San Francisco's Fort Point. 

The Yokohama warehouses.

Yokohama has a beautiful skyline, especially later in the day when the sun reflects off the shiny skyscrapers. Something that makes Yokohama's skyline interesting is the tall ferris wheel on the island of Minato Mirai. It was a beautiful city and going there reminded me of the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

View of the skyline from the warehouses.

It was a beautiful day in Yokohama!