Lost In Kyoto

Nazenji (南禅寺) (Kyoto, Japan)

Dating from 1291, this Zen Buddhist temple was just a few minutes walk from Heianjingu. We didn't actually go into the temple (the search for the Temple Books was well on its way and we had been declined by 2 places already) but it had a nice cemetery and gardens in back.

Heian Shrine (平安神宮) (Kyoto, Japan)

Our first day in Kyoto led us on a trek across the city to find the infamous "Temple Books" that my friends Devon and Jasmine got while in Japan. These books are beautiful, Japanese-style books (with one long folded piece of paper you read right to left) with each temple and shrine possessing their own "stamp" - a series of Buddhist and Shinto calligraphy specific to only that shrine or temple. We finally found them at the Kiyomizodera Temple at the end of the day but Heian-jingu was one of my favorite spots in Kyoto.

Heian Shrine was open for a Japanese government holiday on Monday and we met three really nice Japanese college students who asked if they could show us around the shrine to practice their English. If you don't know the difference between a shrine and a temple (which I didn't), shrines are Shinto and temples are Buddhist. Most shrines are this vibrant orange color to "ward off evil spirits." We were lucky enough to witness a Shinto wedding and see one of the most beautiful gardens in all of Kyoto for free. Assah!









Japanese old people are SO much nicer than Koreans. This cute old man shared his stale bread so I could feed the turtles with him :)


wishes

Japan in 6 Days

This past week in Korea was "Chuseok" or Thanksgiving. We were extremely fortunate in that this year Chuseok fell on a Wednesday, so Tuesday and Thursday were days off. Our school was awesome enough to give us off Monday and Friday as well, so we were able to have a third week of paid vacation. H and I planned a trip to Japan a few months back and while it was quite a whirlwind trip (3 cities in 6 days) we made the most of our JR passes (unlimited train travel on the most efficient rail way in the world) and had an amazing time in Kyoto, Naoshima and Hiroshima with some good dear friends from Texas. I'll let the photos do most of the talking from here on out...

Anyang

Part three of that Sunday adventure down south.




hey, at least they aren't at the PC bang.

Mr. Toilet House

That's right folks, the infamous toilet house. The owner, who works for the World Toilet Association, believes it is "a place of relaxation and purging, the toilet is a place for introspection." Ok, dude. 

Either way, it made for a pretty hilarious adventure (our taxi driver refused to believe there was such a thing as a giant 화장실 somewhere in his town until we finally found it 30 minutes later) and while it was "closed to the public" - the construction workers let us in. They thought we were a little nuts after our 25th jumping picture. Oh, and if you want to stay the night, you can! $50,000/night, no biggie.

Bug! It doesn't matter...

Suwon Fortress

Sarah, Helen and I had a great Sunday walking and taking a fire-breathing Rudolph sleigh around the fortress walls and then getting to do some old-skool archery. Assah!

King Jeongjo's visit to his father's tomb: A Reenactment at Suwon Fortress

I think the title says it all on this one...but, Suwon Fortress is rad*(this was my second time) and we just happened to be there when they were doing a historical reenactment (Korean's love historical drama). Every year King Jeongjo (22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty...200 years ago) would visit his father's tomb (located in the fortress) with a tremendously lavish procession from Seoul (some of those 2000 fools had to walk/dance on foot all 40km to Suwon, shiiiit).

Ansan: A World Food Tour

Sarah, Matt, Franklin, Debbie and I went down to visit Rosly in Ansan (where he teaches at the university there) to have a food tour a couple weekends ago. Ansan is quite possibly the most international part of Seoul as the all the factories (and thus factory workers) are there. We had Pakastani/Indian food, Vietnamese, Mongolian and Filipino food. While it may not be the place to be at night (I can't lie, it was the first time I've ever felt even the slightest possibility of being mugged and was sufficiently ogled more than a few times), it has awesome food.

Kring, part deux