Winter Vacation Part 1

Hey everyone,

Let me start by apologizing to those of you who have been anxiously awaiting new posts detailing the Wolfish Family Winter Vacation. It's taken me a while to compile everything that we did in Japan and South Korea and I was also away from my computer for a few days earlier in the week, but I promise that over the course of the next few days a full rundown of the last two weeks will make its way onto the blog. I figured it would be easier for me to write and for everyone to read if I broke up the posts into a few entries. Unfortunately, my camera and I had a misunderstanding in Japan and I won't be able to post pictures from the Japan part of the trip until next week, but I trust that those of you in contact with Dad will be able to see or have already seen his pictures. So now, withouth further adieu, here's part 1 of the Winter Vacation posts.

December 24:

After some last minute packing, I woke up early Thursday morning, ready to travel. I was pretty excited all night and didn't sleep much, but I was definitely ready to go. I caught an express bus from Suwon to the airport in Incheon, the ride was pretty quick, about an hour and 15 minutes long, which was nice. I got to the airport with plenty of time to grab breakfast and enjoy all the spectacular sights that the world's best airport has to offer. I even indulged myself in a Caribou Coffee, I can't believe they've made it all the way out here! The flight from Incheon to Tokyo was pain-free. I got an entire row to myself for the hour and a half flight and we even got a meal (because the flight was continuing onto LAX). After clearing customs, etc... I hopped on an airport limo bus bound for our hotel in downtown Tokyo. Our hotel, the Tokyo Prince Hotel, was a pretty decent hotel, although the outside of the building probably hasn't changed since the hotel was first built. It looked like it belonged in Soviet-era Russia instead of modern-day Japan. I met up with Mom, Dad, and Robyn for dinner and we all went to bed relatively early so we could be well rested for a busy next few days of touring Tokyo.

December 25:

Following a delicious filling breakfast, we made our way towards Harajuku, which, to quote Frommer's is "the mecca of Tokyo's younger generation." Harajuku was a very cool area. On one side of the main bridge you have teenagers changing into their more hip, fashionable outfits and on the other side you have the Meiji Jingu Shrine and a large park, signs of a more traditional Japanese culture. The contrast between old and new in the area was very interesting to see. After exploring the Meiji Jingu Shrine and the park and gardens that surround it, we crossed the bridge, snapping some photos of the oh-so-fashionable Japanese youth and entered the market area of Harajuku. Robyn and Mom made a beeline for the boutiques and Dad and I found the nearest benches (I'm only joking, well half-joking). One of the stores we walked into had a plethora of treasures, many which would be perfect housewarming gifts for Uncle Niel (You could really use a collection of Buddy Lees and the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, right?) We made our way through the very busy neighborhoods and eventually we decided on sushi for lunch, which was excellent. After lunch we made our way from Harajuku to Roppongi, a newer, upscale area complete with towering skyscrapers and an enormous mall and streets lined with art galleries. We went to go explore Roppongi Hills, Tokyo's largest urban development and found our way to the art museum on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower. Before entering the art museum we took in the fantastic city views of Tokyo from the 52nd floor skydeck. The art museum had a very weird exhibit on the human body on display that included some of Da Vinci's drawings on the human body as well as a pretty ridiculous piece of art that can only be summed up as the Superhero Geriatric Ward. Wonder Woman, the Hulk, Superman, Catwoman, and Mr. Incredible were all there. It's too bad no of us took a picture, it really was truly hilarious and my words don't do the figures justice. It's also a shame the gift store didn't sell little figurines of the superheroes, that would've been a definite must-have purchase. We went exploring thru some of the neighborhood areas after leaving Roppongi Hills where Dad and I stumbled upon the John Lemon club and the Cavern Club. I tried to convince Dad it was worth it to come back later that night to check out the Cavern Club, but my efforts fell short. Apparently the Japanese cover bands that play there are pretty good and attract quite large crowds. Anyways, we settled on tempura for dinner, which was quite tasty, as was all the food we had in Japan, and called it an evening.

December 26:

Dad and I decided we would indulge Mom and Robyn and we took them to some fancy shmancy department stores. The good news about Japanese department stores is that the basement is a foodie's paradise. Not only do they have good food everywhere, but they also sample everything! Granted most of the samples were pickled vegetables, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable for Dad and myself and it was very easy to kill time there while Mom and Robyn paroused the other floors. After the department stores we moved on to another Shinto shrine, this one was dedicated to babies and mothers, semi-interesting. For lunch we ate at the most popular and famous restaurant in Japan: Jonathan's! Who knew I had a stake in the most awesome and amazing chain restaurant in the world? In the afternoon we walked back towards Hibiya, the area of Tokyo where the Imperial Palace and the magnificent East Garden and Hibiya Park are located. We explored the East Garden before closing time, which was amazing. It is a beautiful, vast expanse of green and the grounds are great. Mom and Robyn decided to call it a day early and headed back to the hotel while Dad and I went to see what we could of the Imperial Palace grounds. Afterwards, we made our way to Ginza, the "swankiest" area of Tokyo. On our walk we passed by an oyster bar that smelt incredible, only to be followed a block later by a deliciously scented Portuguese restaurant. We felt guilty about eating without Mom and Robyn and decided it would be best if we walked back to the hotel. Along the way we encountered the land of Pachinko parlors, the third national sport of Japan. It's a very carnival like atmosphere in Pachinko land and the parlors are basically adult versions of Chuckee Cheese. We returned to Ginza for a dinner of shabu-shabu (beef that you dip into a broth and mix with soy sauce and other sauces). Unfortunately, the shabu-shabu we had wasn't quite as flavorful as the shabu-shabu I've had in Korea.

December 27:

Early wakeup call, quick breakfast, then we hopped on a bus bound for Mt. Fuji. Our guide, Yasushi was very good and had the right mix of information and humor to keep us engaged. The bus ride from Tokyo to Fuji was around 1 hour, 40 min. We lucked out, the day was very clear and when we arrived we could see the mountain very well. We could only drive up as high as the 4th station, but that was still fairly high up and we were able to see beautiful views of the mountain range. I also had some delicious grilled squid with teriyaki sauce at the 4th station, probably the best squid I've had since coming over to Korea. From Mt. Fuji we made our way to a local hotel for lunch, which, as far as tour lunches go, was amazing. A very delicious bento box! After lunch we drove an hour to Hakone, where we boarded a ferry that took us from one point on Lake Ashi to Togendai, where we took a gondola to the top of the mountain for great views of sunset over the mountain range and the lake, very scenic. In addition to passenger ferries, Lake Ashi also has roughly 5 replicas of the pirate ship from The Goonies. From Togendai we got back on our bus and were dropped off at our hotel in Hakone. Hakone is famous for its hot springs, but none of us could muster up the courage to venture in. Even with all my jjimjibang experience, I was a little nervous to go in by myself. The hotel was very similar to the Spanish paradors, although not quite as nice as the parador we stayed at last year in Ronda (that place was incredible!). We chose to have dinner in the buffet-style restaurant, which was awesome. Crab legs, lobster, sushi, chicken, shumai, shrimp; this restaurant had it all and it was all pretty delicious. They also had one waiter, Mory, an Australian, who was very attentive to us and made sure that we "enjoyed our meal." The hotel had an amazing garden, very Japanese and very beautiful. We definitely lucked out with the weather; the next day, we left under the cover of rain showers.

That's all for Part 1, Part 2 should be up tomorrow if all goes as planned. I hope this is enough to tide you all over.

iPod A-Z song update: "The Pretender" by Jackson Browne