Journal Entry 35

July 25th, 2004

"Friends in the Far East"

 

I arrived in Japan on June 22. Like I said, I met my University friends Trupti and Erik and stayed with them for a week. Great food (we made both Western and Japanese meals), A/C, nice views from their 8th floor apartment, cards, movies, talk, and an intro to the Japanese toilets that have heated seats and wash your butt for you.

They live in Yokosuka, but Trupti and I made a trip into Tokyo for two days where we walked around that immense, Jetson-like concrete jungle. Highlights were the international fish market, free samples at the department stores, hopping up to the 43rd level of a hotel in a glass elevator for nice views of the city, and seeing a Lamborghini Murcielago (orange) up close, parked in at an expensive mall.

I then jetted off to Kyoto. The Japanese are known for their honesty, so I tested this by leaving my backpack in locker #2803 of the main train station, unlocked, for 8 hrs. It was there when I returned after seeing some Zen temples. Nice.

I spent a week and a half with my buddy Goenkaji out in the country before I met Matt, my friend/former coworker (who also met me in Nepal last year) who was in Japan on business. Spent another day in Kyoto (temples and walks and drank some water that heals all your ailments), then off to Kobe for a couple days. Day-tripped to Himeji, a really cool old castle...one of the few well-preserved ones that remain in Japan.

Also got a chance to stay in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel. You sleep on a matt on the floor. Breakfast served at a low table, sitting on the floor. There's a onsan, too. This is the traditional bath. You get naked in a big room, then sit on a little stool in front of a mirror where you soap up, shave, etc, with a little spray gun, along with anyone else in there. Then you get in a scalding bath, after you're already clean. Repeat if necessary.

So, forever I when I think of Japan, I will picture:
Immaculately-trimmed trees (like bonsai). Concrete. Steel. Realistic plastic renditions of food.

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Well, Erik had to work, but Trupti is recently unemployed (voluntarily) so the two of us met up in Osaka, Japan and hopped aboard a ferry to Korea. Nice ferry...it even had an onsan. We arrived at Busan, the country's southern port, next day, then bussed up to Seoul. We wandered around there for a few days. Back to point-and-see method of food ordering. Saw some historic palaces and tombs, but mostly just absorbed modern culture...walking around the city, eating street food and sit-down food, coffee, neon lights, department stores, local markets, and the subway.

We did a side-trip down the west coast to the Boryeong Mud Festival, an annual event where you hang out at the beach and cover yourself in mud. I wish I had more to say about this, but strangely, I don't. Fun, though.

After I finished sorting out some visa issues in Seoul, we were off to the northeast section of South Korea. We did a brilliant 3-day hike in Seorak-san National Park, amid jagged mountain peaks and green forest and steep valleys and some hermitages. Apparently Korea is 70% mountainous, and nowhere was it more evident than in the middle of this wonderful park. It was the stuff of paintings!

Our last stop was the very ordinary city of Gangneung. But that was by design, because very ordinary cities seem a good spot to hang out and see the "real" country. Spent part of the day at a beach, caught a flick, wandered around, ate, basically...the usual.

Kimchi. Korean pickled cabbage. Served with every meal. Every meal. In the street they fry it into pancakes. You buy it fresh or refrigerated, spicy or light, whatever form you want. Good stuff. To further engrave the country's fascination with the stuff, it must be noted that instead of saying "cheese" when getting your picture taken, Koreans say "kimchi".

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So Japan and Korea are finished. Two slices of the expensive side of Asia. However, both are possible to do cheaply, it just takes some creativity.

The change in seasons was abrupt. I arrived in Japan one day past summer solstice. New Zealand and New Caledonia were dark around 5pm, heart of winter, then I'm into the middle of summer. Funny, I'm still adjusting, it seems.

Japan was to be my departure point from Asia. But the continent proves to be a black hole for me. I decided on Korea, because, on the map, it looks so close, might as well. And now, I fear I may be stuck again, caught in the web.

Trupti's returning to Japan. Our hotel started on fire this morning. That brings things up to date.

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"When will I eat my apples without haste, completely, with a mind filled with red ripeness and summer?" (-Erik Storlie, 'Nothing on My Mind')

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