Happy 2014 everyone! As you can see, T.G. and I have started our New Year off with exiting visitors, abundant travel and lots of fun! (Yes, that's Mt. Fuji behind us in the picture!)
Our New Year started with my Mom, Uncle Kenny and wonderful friend, Janice, visiting us from the States. As many of you know, from reading my blog, this is my Mom's second visit to Seoul, so she was brave enough to lead the way for Kenny and Janice! They all arrived on January 6th and we had a nice long and busy visit. The first few days we toured around Seoul, took the subway and visited some of our favorite markets. Then we all headed off on a jam-packed tour of Tokyo for four days. Once back from Tokyo, we all took it easy, played games and enjoyed time full of games and fun food adventures!
While our visitors were here, it got quite cold...especially down by the river. That wind bit straight through our coats even though we were so bundled up! Needless to say, we didn't stay out long exploring that day.
While on our way to Japan, we ran into a 'Hello Kitty Cafe' and had to have our photos with the kitty!
The Tsukiji Market (築地市場 Tsukiji shijō), supervised by the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (東京都中央卸売市場 Tōkyō-to Chūō Oroshiuri Shijō) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and was a major attraction for foreign visitors[1][2]. Currently however, access is no longer permitted to the inner market, and the outer market is open to visitors only after 9:00 AM. While this regulating was in place for quite some time, recently it is enforced.
See, HUGE tuna!
After the fish market, we visited the opposite side of the bay, which is a lovely beach with gorgeous views of Tokyo Bay! Not to mention, endless shopping!
Even though the water was very chilly, being near the water and the beach always outs a smile on my face! And how could it not, with the beautiful scenery and fantastic company!?
They even have their own Statue of Liberty...not sure about the back-story on this, but it was very pretty!
Day two was our tour to Mt. Fuji! We set out early on a tour bus headed outside of Tokyo. Seeing this beautiful sight is one that will leave you with chills and makes you just sit back in awe.
Mount Fuji (富士山 Fujisan, IPA: [ɸɯꜜdʑisaɴ] (
)), located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft).[1] An active stratovolcano[5][6] that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) south-west ofTokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped several months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers. It is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" (三霊山 Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku; it is a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, a Historic Site, and was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22nd, 2013.[7]
The mountain has been selected as a “cultural” rather than a “natural” heritage site. As per UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. The 25 locations include the mountain itself, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taishaand six other Sengen shrines, two lodging houses, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi, the eight Oshino Hakkai hot springs, two lava tree molds, the remains of the Fuji-kō cult in the Hitoana cave, Shiraito Falls, and Miho no Matsubara pine tree grove.[8]
We got to play in the snow...Mom enjoyed eating the yummy snow!
Views from the highest station we could get to due to the cold, windy weather. It was very fun and beautiful!
T.G. got some great shots of the mountain with our large zoom lens!
We had lunch provided at a Japanese restaurant at the base of the mountain. It was very yummy!
They also have their own amusement park!
After the station views, we boarded a large boat for lake views of Mt. Fuji and the surrounding area. It was a really nice way to see the mountain and the where people live around it.
After spending time outside of Tokyo, we returned to the city via the Bullet Train, which travels very fast! We were back in Tokyo in no time and relaxed the small amount of time remaining in Japan.
Once back in Seoul, we spent the last few days inside, taking it easy and spending time together. We played a lot of games and cooked fun dinners together. We even had a farewell dinner at our house, where several of our Seoul friends came over to visit our family before they returned to the States.
Julie took us for a traditional Korean BBQ lunch on Wednesday...Rachel came too! We all had a blast!
T.G. and I really enjoyed having our second set of visitors here and cannot wait to host our next guests!
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