Asian Sabbatical - Day #11 - Seoul, South Korea

Sunday, July 10th

Myeong-dong

My hotel is located right on this street

The Seoul Tower

Great city views from Namsan Park

Seoul Tower - almost up the moutain

Lock Trees - like the lock bridges in Paris

Views of Seoul from atop Namsan Mountain

Interesting character at the top

Sungnyemun Gate

Sungnyemun - you can walk through the gate

Deoksugung Palace

Looking back to Seoul Tower from downtown

Cheonggyecheon Stream

Stream Walk through the heart of downtown

I woke up this morning in Osaka, Japan --- tonight I end the day in Seoul, South Korea.  We had a really early start at 5:30am.  My flight to Seoul was at 9:30am, while Randy/Wendy departed for Beijing at 9am.  We walked to the terminal from our connecting hotel (really convenient for us).  We wished each other a couple good days - we'll reconnect on Tuesday. 

My only unfortunate thing on the day happened right away.  My wooden walking stick I had purchased for my Mt. Fuji hike had to get left behind.  Bummed.  I had been told I should be able to carry this on, but, this was not the case.  I was informed that it would cost $80 to check the stick.  Considering I only paid about $10 for it -- I decided to cut ties. 

1hr, 30 minute flight to Seoul.  Then, a 45 minute train to downtown and then a 10 minute metro ride --- arrived at the Grand Myeong-dong Hotel around 1:30pm.  Great area of town -- really busy upon arrival.  I dumped my gear in my room, rested for about an hour - then went out to see the sites.  I decided to go for a run/walk and just get a feel for the city.  I put on my running belt, carried my water bottle and camera - and went out to make it happen.  I've added a summary of a few of the sites I came across today. 

Cheonggyecheon Stream

3.6 mile stream that stretches throughout the heart of Seoul.  Located about 15-ft below street level, it resembles the riverwalk in San Antonio.  Small waterfalls line the walk.  A number of overhead bridges provide access at various locations in the downtown area of Seoul.

N Seoul Tower & Namsan Park

A communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain.  At 777ft - the Seoul Tower marks the highest point in Seoul.  I climbed the mountain from my hotel in downtown.  A very tough climb, filled with hundreds of steps to get to the top. (A cable car offers another option to visit the summit).  Really interesting area at the top.  Great viewing decks to get some perspective of the city below.  Many folks rested on some steps while being entertained by a few singers. 

Myeong-dong

This is the area of my hotel - The Grand Myeong-Dong Hotel.  This particular neighborhood is known as Seoul's main shopping and tourism area.  People were everywhere today.  The door of my hotel opens to one of the busiest sections of the street. 

Deoksugung Palace

Located right by the main City Hall in the middle of Seoul, this is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty.  Deoksugung is a walled compound of palaces in Seoul that was inhabited by members of Korea's royal family during the Joseon monarchy until colonial period around the turn of the 20th century

Back to the hotel around 8:30pm.  A quick dinner from around the corner (while I watched some Korean baseball on TV).  Tomorrow I have a few more sites to see before taking an evening flight to Beijing  It will be a quick visit to Seoul -- but the endless miles I walked/ran today allowed me to get a really good grasp of this vast metropolis.

Note -- upon arriving into China, I may not be able to post any blogs for about a week.  China does not support Google.  Therefore, I don't think I will be able to blog, as my BlogSpot is a google based program.  I'll keep records daily and will post as soon as I can. 

Keep the faith - will check in very soon!

Asian Sabbatical - Day #10 - Kyoto, Japan

Saturday, July 9th

Bamboo Forest

The gang at the Bamboo Forest

Spectacular views

Walking through a different world

Bro & Sis

Golden Pavillion

Spectacular site!

Reminds me of the golden dome on Notre Dame campus

One last shot

Rock formation of Ryoanji Temple

Ryoanji Temple

Final day in Kyoto.  Today we saw some really unique areas and sites.

Kinkakuji Golden Pavillion
This location is one of the most visited tourist areas in all of Kyoto.  After my visit today - I definitely can see why.  The Golden Pavillion is a Zen Buddhist Temple.  It's a spectacular visual - as the temple is located across the water with a golden upper 2 layers.  Spectacular stuff!   The area is also surrounded by a great walking path, highlighted with a waterfall, statues, ponds, etc. 

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Wow - this was one of a kind location.  We took a couple mile walk through some of the neatest terrain one could visualize.  See picks above.  A bamboo forest!  We walked up and down hills with this bamboo extending high into the sky above. 

Ryoanji Temple
We ended the day with a walk through the Ryoanji Temple.  A refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden featuring a distinctive large rock formation arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation.  There were 15 large stones.  The number 15 is said to have a symbolism meaning perfection.  It's said that you can only see 14/15 stones at any location while visiting the Temple - as no one is perfect.  (Note - we, however, were able to see the 15 stones today -- what does that mean?)

We had a bunch of travel to get to our spot where I'm writing the blog today.  I'm currently at the Kansai International Airport - at the Hotel Nikko.  We took a metro and train combination for 1hr, 30 minutes to get to Osaka, Japan - the location of the airport.  Tomorrow, we leave Japan.  Randy/Wendy are headed to Beijing, China - while I'm headed to Seoul, South Korea.  Prior to this trip, I had only been to a couple countries in Asia (Israel, Turkey, Russia, and Beijing, China).  I will spend a couple days in Seoul while Randy/Wendy see some of the sites I have already visited - we will meet up on Tuesday to start our travel together once again.  A trip to the Great Wall will soon follow.

Good night from Japan!

Asian Sabbatical - Day #9 - Kyoto, Japan

Friday, July 8th

Trains schedules can be interesting to interrupt

The bullet train

Info on the A-bomb dome

Picture of devastation

A-bomb dome

Peace Memorial Park

Picture looking through the Memorial back to the A-bomb dome

Close-up pic

People effected

Exposure zone

One final look

Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle - going through the front gate

The palace inside the Hiroshima Castle

Shukkei-en Garden

Today was one of those days that I will always remember in my travels.  I really enjoy history - and World World II is right at the top of the list when it comes to interesting topics.  Therefore, a day trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto was an excellent choice. 

We took a bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima around 8:30am.  It was around a 100 minute train each way.  Just the right time for a mid-morning nap for me.  (I'm a fan of the nap - specifically when it comes to trains and planes).

Arriving into Hiroshima - we decided to walk across town to Peace Memorial Park.  About a 25-minute walk across town led us to an AMAZING area.  The first thing we came upon was the A-bomb dome.  This was one of the very view partial buildings that was not completely burned/demolished in the attack on August 6, 1945 (see above photos)

So - at 8:15am on August 6th, 1945 - the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on the very spot we were now standing. Wait - what happened here?  Sometimes when I'm touring in certain areas (site of crucifixion in Jerusalem, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Hitler's Bunker) --- it doesn't seem real.  Did this really happen right here?

The photos and descriptions while walking around Peace Memorial Park told a dramatic story.  Then, we went into the Peace Park Museum.  Very explicit photos.  Details leading up to the events, the actual day of the bombing, and than the after effects.  2 things I did not know (or at least had forgotten), were the size of the area effected by the bomb and then how many people were killed.  The bomb basically killed anyone withing a 2km radius of the blast and those within a 4km radius had long term effects and many perished.   350,000 people were directly exposed to the blast  The number that died is not known exactly - as many deaths came months later due to cancer, etc from the radiation exposure.  Death numbers were estimated around 200,000 people.

We spent quite a bit of time touring the museum.  Extremely interesting!  After taking in the sites 1 last time, we decided to walk across town to the Hiroshima Castle.  We toured the area, took pictures of the temple, and walked the vast grounds of the castle.  The castles and temples we have visited so far in Japan are now telling a pretty similar story.  Interesting for sure - and different from China.  I'll have more on that in the coming days.

Our last tour of the day was actually a fly-by.  Shukkei-en.  A historic Japanese garden in the heart of Hiroshima.  It was raining hard about this time of the day, so we decided to take a couple photos from the outside but not pay the entry fee to do the walk-about.  All good stuff however.

A train ride back to Kyoto.  Then, a $10/beer at our hotel.  1 beer that is.  We got a really good price on a hotel room in a pretty nice place.  The restaurants inside the hotel are a bit pricey.  The beer we had came with a warm, scented towl, and a small bowl of mixed nuts.  We savored this over some great conversation. 

Calling it a day --- tomorrow we end our tour of Kyoto.  Good night from the Far East!

Asian Sabbatical - Day #8 - Kyoto, Japan

Thursday, July 7th

Fushima Tunari

Amazing first torri gate leading to the shrine

Shrine

Walking path

Amazing hike

Winding through the moutainside

messenger foxes

Can't stop taking pictures

Going back downhill

Nanzen-Ji Temple

Grounds of the Nanzen-Ji Temple

Nanzen-Ji Temple

Philosopher's Walk

Nijo Castle

Full day in Kyoto today.  Kyoto is much more of a traditional feel than Tokyo.  Temples, shrines, castles, a lot less congestion, quiet ---- a really good detour from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

Fushima Tunari-Taisha Shrine

This shrine is an important Shinto Shrine in southern Kyoto.  It's famous for its thousands of orange-colored torii gates, which straddle a network of trails that lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari.  Fushimi Inari is the most important of several shrines dedicated to Inari - the Shinto god of rice.  Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds.

This shrine was one of the most unique areas I've ever visited in all my travels.  The long hiking path up Mt. Inari was truly amazing - as the path winded through the amazing orange-clad torii gates.  This is a very special place.

Nanzen-ji Temple

This temple is a Zen Buddhist temple that was established in 1291 by Emporer Kameyama on the site of his previous detached palace. 

Walking around the temple complex was extremely peaceful.  It is set in a hillside of a relatively remote area of Kyoto.  One can see how this would be a place of worship and reflection. 

Philosopher's Path

The Philosopher's Path is a winding stone path through the northern part of Kyoto's Higashiyama district. The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. Usually in early April these trees explode with color, making this one of the city's most popular viewing spots.  Approximately two kilometers long, the path begins around Ginkakujo (Silver Pavilion) and ends in the neighborhood of the Nanzen-ji Temple. The path gets its name due to Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University.

This path was lined with some nice restaurants and shops.  Today was a bit warm for an afternoon stroll, but its easy to see how this place is amazing during the cherry blossom season.

 Nijo Castle

,The castle consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens.

The last stop of the day was the Nijo Castle.  We weren't able to go inside today, as tours end pretty early - around 4:30pm.  We were able to walk some of the exterior and get some pictures of the fortified walls and the palace.

We've been hitting it hard the past few days.  Exhaustion and tired legs have set in.  We decided to call it an early night after a quick bite to eat at the Kyoto Train Station.

Tomorrow - Hiroshima ----- a name that brings back some memories from the past.