November {11/1-11/19} 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚

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Monthly Favorites

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Moods:

Excited, Adventurous, Curious, Overstimulated, Tired, Stress

November Blog! Welcome to part one detailing what I did from November 1st to the 19th! We will first talk about our first tourist destination in Korea which was Nodeul Island. My friends and I heard that this place was an ideal location to have a picnic and that is what we did! We ate fried chicken together while watching the subways going across the Han River bridge. It was a spectacular sight at night;p Warning! If you are lonely with nobody DO NOT come here as there are so many couples spending their time here as well. Now onto the Evnne Concert: Context I watched Boys Planet at home so when Evnne had an event where they not only performed BUT you can high-five them… I bought my tickets with a friend and we went to Yonsei University to see them. I am a huge fan of Yoo Seung Eun from Boys Planet as I always voted for him back then and to now see him in person was just a dream. This event was a highlight for me because they were nice to meet in person, I never once in my life would have thought to meet face to face with an idol. Dreams do come true!! 

Japan Arc: 

YES, the trip plans made it out of the group chat! My friends and I went to Tokyo, Japan for one week. I first wanna say I am super grateful to be able to travel outside my host country so again thank you so much to the Freeman Foundation for the financial support needed to gain additional international experience. Now back to the arc, here is what we did! We booked our flight online from Incheon International Airport to Narita Airport and then we took a shuttle bus to Tokyo and from there we took the subway to our Airbnb. During my first sight of Japan, I felt the same way as I felt when I first landed in Seoul. There were so many flashing lights and excitement that brewed within me knowing I was in a new place and ready to experience an all-new culture. And my friends already planned a set itinerary before heading to Japan so we already had an idea of what we wanted to do. The first day we just settled into our living accommodation and familiarized ourselves with the surrounding areas. It was a great move on our part as we were so tired of lugging and struggling with our luggage. On the second day of our trip, we spent the whole day in the Disney Sea at Tokyo Disney. We went on a lot of rides and explored the various attractions, my favorite was the little mermaid castle as it was so grand and the interior looked like we were under the sea. My favorite part though was towards the end of the day as we watched the Tokyo Disney Parade, rode the Tangled Story ride, and saw the fireworks pop as we made our way back to our home. We also did a lot of last-minute shopping so it became chaotic as we were trying to buy gifts for family and friends in a crowded environment. As a tip please be prepared to walk plenty of steps; on average I was walking 30-40K steps a day so buy or wear walkable shoes and keep yourself hydrated. On Day 3; we woke up early to go visit a popular pudding shop owned and made by a grandpa. The pudding was quite delicious and the tea was just my style. We later went to the popular site of the Your Name Stairs, where we took pictures and recreated the scene in the anime series where the stairs were inspired. We then took a trip to Ginza to do major shopping and then headed to TeamLab Planets. TeamLabs is a museum-esque place in Japan known for its sensory-type exhibits. It did not disappoint as I took many pictures and enjoyed the scenery that we were in. We ended this day eating dinner and heading to a baskin robbin as at the time they were doing a Hello Kitty collab. On Saturday, we headed to Asakusa to visit the traditional sights of Sensoji. This place has a lot of trinkets and souvenirs to take home for family and friends. We then headed to Tokyo Station to go shopping! We then headed to the Pokemon Center and finally ate dinner at Ichiran; a popular ramen restaurant in Japan. Sunday, we took a bus to Sunshine City where they had so many shops catered to characters such as Miffy, Pop Mart, and Studio Ghibli. All great places to explore. We then headed to Harajuku, home to unique fashion and trendy shops. I must say this place holds up to these factors as this place has become my favorite location in Tokyo. I was in shopper heaven as I bought so many items today. Later on, we made our way to see the iconic Shibuya Crossing and shop again! Our way through Shibuya 109. 

Trip to Kamakura: On our second to last day in Japan we took a trip outside of Tokyo to the nature field and quiet lands of Kamakura. Kamakura had a lot to offer as we explored the streets of Yukinoshita (the best place to find revolving sushi and delicious daifuku) and went to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu to see the traditional sights of Japan such as the temples and torii. We also went to the bamboo forest in Hokokuji and it was so beautiful as I had never seen fully grown bamboo before. We ended the day by going to Shichirigahama Beach where we saw the beautiful ocean view in front of us. Unfortunately, we could not see Mt.Fuji from afar as it was foggy when we went, and then we went to Koshigoe Rakko Park to see the iconic train pass. I am glad we took this as we were able to see the natural parts of Japan that still preserve their traditional buildings and it was more quiet than the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. 

Home back to Korea: The trip back to Korea was a STRUGGLE. Our luggage was filled to the brim and I remember that it was so heavy lugging it around. As a tip, be sure to be at a location near the airport bus terminal as that was where I kept my luggage before departing as we still had time to explore Tokyo before we left. We spent our last moment shopping as always because we wanted to not regret not buying the stuff we wanted so we went to places such as Hands and the Brandy Melville location in Japan. We had a time limit on our luggage so we were in a rush to get everything together. I was stressed but overall did not regret it because I knew I wanted to buy more items before I left Japan. I failed to mention that The Don Quixote in Japan has so many items to buy and I will be back there to continue shopping. Anyways back to the journey home, we took the bus terminal after collecting our luggage and went back to Narita Airport where we went through the airport process and as we knew it we were heading back to Korea. As a final message to Japan, I wish and desire to come back. Going to Japan made me realize again that there is such a big world out there to explore. It fueled my desire to travel more in the future and so Japan I will be back one day.

Back in Korea, it was a struggle carrying a piece of huge luggage from Incheon to Sinchon, again a struggle has arisen, but I was able to make it back to my dorm safe and sound. If you ever get the chance to travel outside your host country, please take advantage of how close you are to other countries within the Asian continent. Do not be scared to go traveling! 

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Locations:

Incheon, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea

Tokyo, Japan