http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com What the heck we are doing in Japan, anyways Mon, 06 May 2013 13:41:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://0.gravatar.com/blavatar/4b0284d125c0467a0dd78564edc43048?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/seoul-searching-can-korea-cure-my-culture-fatigue/ http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/seoul-searching-can-korea-cure-my-culture-fatigue/#comments Sat, 04 May 2013 13:55:46 +0000 genkiduck http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/?p=2169 Continue reading »]]> http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/seoul-searching-can-korea-cure-my-culture-fatigue/feed/ 3 save our seoul banner2 genkiduck On our first night in Seoul we went exploring in the Myeongdong district, in search of a recommended restaurant that's name we could neither read nor pronounce. Needless to say we could not find said restaurant... and eventually decided "The Kimchi Restaurant" was a safe choice. After the Kimchi Restaurant (which almost killed me), we did find this place, Red Mango / Cacao Green, which had awesome desserts and an awesome "memory collector" (photographer) host! photo: Moon Hwang On our first full day, we set out to be proper tourists, and encountered this colourful Children's Day processional. We then set off to the nearest palace to be tourists. photo: Matthew Keehan The secret garden on the palace grounds. A gazebo in the secret garden. Once you're Japan-ified you can never escape. We ended up joining this Japanese tour through the garden in lieu of waiting an extra half hour for the English one, much to the bewilderment of the tour guide. After the palace, exploring Insadong. They have lemonade in a bag! This is the best place ever! Korean BBQ with our tour guide of the day, Paul, and our lovely Korean restaurant / temporary host family! On our second full day we joined a tour to the DMZ (Demilitarized zone). I'll probably be writing a separate blog post about this adventure so I'll keep it short and sweet for now. At the train station inside the DMZ. These are the tracks to Pyeongyang, North Korea, built in hopes that they can one day be used if/when the Koreas are reunited. ...Speaking of reunions, that night we had an epic dinner as my husband was reunited after ten years with his homestay brother - who had lived with him in Canada for 3 years. Happy, soju-induced times were had by all! On our final full day in Seoul we headed for Gangnam to do the obligatory jockey dance, in honour of Psy's Gangnam Style. Except for Matthew, who just gave Psy the finger. We passed by this graffiti many times as it was just outside the train station nearest our guesthouse. I'll miss you, Seoul, and God willing I'll be back! http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/sumo-sunday/ http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/sumo-sunday/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:24:02 +0000 genkiduck http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/?p=2149 Continue reading »]]> http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/sumo-sunday/feed/ 1 sumo big guys genkiduck The high-ranking sumo wrestlers line up for a ceremony before the main competition commences. The sumo wrestlers don their ceremonial garb for a pre-competition processional. Sumo Fighto! Sumo Basho! Yokozuna front Yokozuna back The guy in yellow is one of the Yokozuna, and he won every match. You can see why in this photo taken at the moment the match starts - the guy is a bull, and he moves from motionless to full charge in a split second. Yokozuna hand grab Sumo storytelling Sumo comedy drinking Me and my fellow sumo spectators in Miyagawa Park after the event. Special thanks to Chris (in the grey hat) who got up early to reserve and defend a spot for us all! http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/coconut-spinach-dahl/ http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/coconut-spinach-dahl/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:09:49 +0000 ジョーダン http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/?p=1913 Continue reading »]]> http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/coconut-spinach-dahl/feed/ 3 Coconut Spinach Dahl astroviper http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/curried-kabocha-soup/ http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/curried-kabocha-soup/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:29:53 +0000 ジョーダン http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/?p=2093 Continue reading »]]> http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/curried-kabocha-soup/feed/ 1 Curried Kabocha Soup astroviper http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/simple-vegetable-stock/ http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/simple-vegetable-stock/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:28:02 +0000 ジョーダン http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/?p=2110 Continue reading »]]> http://thejwsdojapan.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/simple-vegetable-stock/feed/ 0 astroviper