Tuesday!
We got lost a bit in the rain, but finally found the restaurant we were looking for, and went in to have a seat. All of the sushi was put on different color plates to indicate the price. Prices ranged from about Y70 - Y399 ( 74 cents - a little over $4) per plate. Each plate had 2 pieces of either nigiri (thin fish slices on rice) or maki (sushi rolls). We let the belt run by us about 2 full circles to scope out what kinds of sushi we were interested in trying and then we went to town! We also sipped on sake which was a really interesting experience. We got hot sake and I didn't mind it really, at least the kind we had. It was really interesting to watch the atmosphere in this small restaurant and although we didn't get to some of the outdoor activities, I'm happy we were able to just relax and really absorb the delight of a small restaurant on a rainy day.
We got back to Seoul late and didn't end up getting home until about 12:30am. On our way home, we noticed that on the corner of the market, one of the old ladies metal booths was completely misshapen. Then on a further glance, we realized the entire side of the building next to it was charred and crumbling. There had been a sizable fire about 3 blocks from our apartment! Unbelievable - but we were thankful we didn't come home to a pile of blackened rubble with nowhere to go and unable to call anyone (since we didn't bring our phones to Tokyo) at 12:30am!
This past week Rachel and I both had "gym days" at our schools. At Froebel we basically just went to a park and played some outdoor games and had a picnic lunch, just the kids and teachers. It was a really nice break from spending entire days indoors - especially since it was such a beautiful day!
Sorry this has taken a while! Here is the long-awaited conclusion to our Tokyo adventure:
Unfortunately we woke up to rain on Tuesday morning, which was even more unfortunate since we inadvertently planned ALL outdoor activities for our final day in the big city. After a quick stop at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (TMG) for a free view of the city 45 stories up, we sat down on the floor of the observatory to figure out our POA. We finally decided the best thing to do was to dine on some traditional Japanese food and take in the culture un-rushed, over a long lunch. One of the only things left to do on my list was to eat at a conveyor-sushi restaurant, where the chefs make the sushi in the middle of a circular conveyor belt and put the fresh made delicacies on the belt to make their rounds past hungry sushi-lovers.
We got lost a bit in the rain, but finally found the restaurant we were looking for, and went in to have a seat. All of the sushi was put on different color plates to indicate the price. Prices ranged from about Y70 - Y399 ( 74 cents - a little over $4) per plate. Each plate had 2 pieces of either nigiri (thin fish slices on rice) or maki (sushi rolls). We let the belt run by us about 2 full circles to scope out what kinds of sushi we were interested in trying and then we went to town! We also sipped on sake which was a really interesting experience. We got hot sake and I didn't mind it really, at least the kind we had. It was really interesting to watch the atmosphere in this small restaurant and although we didn't get to some of the outdoor activities, I'm happy we were able to just relax and really absorb the delight of a small restaurant on a rainy day.
We got back to Seoul late and didn't end up getting home until about 12:30am. On our way home, we noticed that on the corner of the market, one of the old ladies metal booths was completely misshapen. Then on a further glance, we realized the entire side of the building next to it was charred and crumbling. There had been a sizable fire about 3 blocks from our apartment! Unbelievable - but we were thankful we didn't come home to a pile of blackened rubble with nowhere to go and unable to call anyone (since we didn't bring our phones to Tokyo) at 12:30am!
Last weekend we went to Seoraksan National Park to go hiking! It was absolutely amazing to be on top of a mountain on a beautiful day after a couple hours of hiking! We hiked to Gwongeumseong Fortress at an altitude of 1,200 meters and were able to just hang out on the mountain for a while and enjoy the view and the air, before we had to meet our tour group to get ready for dinner. Later that night, a few of us (including the bus driver and tour guides) sat on the sidewalk and made ramen noodles and just hung out and laughed until late in the night. The next morning we awoke bright and early for another short hike near our pension, which led us to a beautiful small waterfall and mountain stream. Pictures of Seoraksan HERE!
This past week Rachel and I both had "gym days" at our schools. At Froebel we basically just went to a park and played some outdoor games and had a picnic lunch, just the kids and teachers. It was a really nice break from spending entire days indoors - especially since it was such a beautiful day!
A more in-depth school update soon!
Also we are planning on going on a few more small trips in June - white water rafting and deep sea fishing! If you care to check them out more in depth go to http://www.adventurekorea.com/ouradventure/calendar_content.asp?id=calendar&RowNo=398 and for rafting go to http://www.adventurekorea.com/ and click on the calendar on the left and click on June 27th.
Meghan, you guys are so cool! aahhh im jealous!
ReplyDelete