I really got behind with these updates, my sincerest apologies. I’ll be covering them individually throughout the next week so please keep checking back. With the end of my time in Japan growing ever nearer, there’ll be lots to update about. But first: Korea!

With its cheap prices, and relative close proximity, I had been interested in getting over to Korea for some time. Though the shortest international trip I’ve ever been on—just a long weekend really—it ended up being more than enough time to see the sights and sounds of Seoul. Yeah, that was a bit of a back handed compliment. The trouble is that Seoul is a huge thriving megalopolis—the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the world according to Wikipedia—with out a lot going on. Even such notable experts as Lonely Planet say that if you’re looking for art, history and culture, you might want to move on somewhere else.

Now don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, it’s just that after three days we pretty much ran out of things to do (we even went to the main shopping area of Seoul twice). I was able to taste some great food though, see some unique cultural things, and got to enjoy myself for far less money than I would have spent back here in Japan (even getting my hands on some Krispy Kreme donuts! Man, when did that become something to brag about!?). Therein though lies the problem; things in Korea are cheap, and the Japanese know it. Seoul often elicits comparisons to Tokyo, and with good reason; most of the interactions I witnessed while there were of Koreans selling things to Japanese. As we would walk down the busy market streets, people were constantly calling out to us in Japanese to buy something. Pictures of Japanese celebrities endorsing some product were absolutely everywhere, and I saw nearly as many signs written in Japanese as Korean. It was definitely a bit of a shock at first, but also an interesting experience in how culture impacts in ways we don’t even realize. After all when I go shopping in Tokyo I’m constantly bombarded by giant posters of Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, and Tommy Lee Jones enticing me to purchase something cool and “American”. Of course there is a bit of a difference as you don’t see bus loads of American tourists being dropped off to buy cheap goods (actually in most cases it’s more expensive to buy things here). But the way culture is used to market things was definitely brought home.

Sorry for the tangent there. I would try and describe more of my experience there, except that there just isn’t that much more to tell, and since it’s almost quitting time at school I think I’ll just leave it off here. I certainly learned a lot while there, and though perhaps not as eye opening as my previous trips to India and Thailand, was nonetheless quite thrilling and memorable.

Ok, next up is Kyoto, so check back in the next couple days for the continuing chronicles of my last few months in Japan.