Last post from Julie

After 5 weeks of being together, it was time to say goodbye to Phil and Steven. Boohoohoo.

Goodbye Kabuki-cho. I'm not sure if I'll ever pass through your gates again. It was an experience. (We saw some hosts 'walking girls home' in the morning. Boys and girls will be boys and girls, I guess.)




Final sushi lunch!



Steven was always willing to try something, even if it was seaweed-filled miso soup. He promptly put the bowl as far away from himself as possible though haha.




Final temple (shrine?)! Steven was definitely temple-d out after Kyoto/Nara, but he still couldn't resist the lure of the cherry blossoms.




Saying goodbye at Shinjuku Station.



I'm going to miss you foos!



The express train to Narita Airport speeding away with the boys...



And that is the end of my account of the travels of Julie, Phil, and Steven.

Hopefully Phil and Steven will continue to post their take on things tho!

This is Julie, signing out...

Tokyo with Julie - Day 2

The second day in Tokyo (with me) started with moving suitcases to Shinjuku because we had decided to stay in the city for Phil and Steven's last night.

Little did I know that our hotel would be dead center in the middle of Kabuki-cho, the red light district of Shinjuku!

Here is one of numerous host clubs, where girls are tricked into spending way too much money to be pampered by the man of their choice:




After getting over our shock (well actually it seemed like I was the only one who was really shocked), we had a yummy tonkatsu (pork cutlet) lunch. And then we headed over to Harajuku where we encountered this:

Literally a sea of people. On a Wednesday afternoon!



After some shopping and more crepes, we headed over to Disneysea for the 'After 6 Passport.' I think it is the only Disneysea in the world, a park dedicated to ocean/water-themed attractions like the Little Mermaid Lagoon:



Sebastian's trapped!



Phil thinks he's turning Japanese with his 'peace' signs.




Leaving the park around 10:30 p.m., we were all exhausted. But we still had a mission left to be accomplished, which was to eat 'yakitori' -- chicken skewers. Returning to Shinjuku, we found 'Omoide-yokocho,' translated as Memory Lane, which housed some cozy yakitori stalls. A lot of them were already closed, but we found an open one and managed to order a plate of yakitori:

(Why are there so many photos where Phil has a big grin and Steven doesn't look amused at all?)



Afterwards Phil talked about going to Shinjuku 2-chome -- boyztown. But thank the lord, Steven said he was too tired and we got to go home and relax in yukata (cotton kimono worn as pajamas).



This video needs some explaining. Phil and Steven's favorite phrase at the moment is "excuuuuuuse meee" with their hands on their hips way high whenever they feel indignant about something. So when we were standing in line for Indiana Jones at Disneysea and a few little girls cut in front of us, Phil said "sumimaaaseeeeeen," using the Japanese word for 'excuse me' in a direct (but incorrect) translation. But because he was using Japanese, the girls looked back at him, with puzzled looks on their faces. Long story short, for the rest of the night, Steven kept saying "sumimaaaaseeeeen," as an inside joke. Ok, now you can watch the video:



Here's Phil's reaction for being made fun of:




The crazy travel accounts are coming to a close...

P.S. Steven, it's your job to answer our loyal readers' questions, ok?

Tokyo with Julie - Day 1

Before we start, just wanted to say, thank you everyone for the comments! You all comment way more than the readers on my usual blog.



I think the boys were exhausted from traveling, and I was exhausted from moving apartments and offices, but we kept going! It is time for Tokyo!

Phil going up on a parallel escalator in massive Tokyo Station.




We went on a riverboat cruise that the boys thought... underwhelming. Can't you see it in Steven's eyes?



But look at the serene boat ride with the cherry blossoms lining the river!



Walking along the river afterwards: The Asahi Hall with the golden sperm-lookin' thing, and Asahi Building, the beer-lookin' building to the left (I think).



Still walking along the river: More cherry blossoms!



And more!




A change of venue to Asakusa with its gigantic paper lantern.




After tons of souvenir shopping in Asakusa, we were all hungry for some SUSHI~~~. This is what Steven has been training for...



Good job, Steven!




After all that sushi, we needed to take a walk to Ginza, one of the shopping districts of Tokyo. Too bad everything was closed...




We also managed to hit Shibuya that night. This is 'Scramble Intersection,' which was shot in Lost in Translation. This is a Tuesday night, so just imagine it on the weekend!



In Shibuya, we found something yummy...



Woohoo, crepes! Japanese people love their crepes.



And Steven does too!




Last activity of the day: Purikura! You get into a booth, pose for a bunch of pictures, then design them with an electronic pen to get a printout of sticker pictures that you can exchange with friends, stick on postcards, etc. Aww, we look so lovey dovey. Angel wings and everything.

Beppu and Miyajima - March 20th

Beppu is famous for its numerous hot springs.



So the first thing we did was to go to a co-ed mud bath. Everyone's naked, but you can't see anything as long as your body is submerged in the water. No photos were allowed for obvious reasons, but let me share some classy lines a 'friendly' fellow bather said to me:

"If you didn't have a boyfriend (referring to Phil or Steven), I would help you put mud on your back."

(When walking over to another pool, he slows down to walk behind me because I am covering my front with a handtowel): "Your backside is all goose-bumpley."

"Oh, there's a mosquito floating near your boobs. I do understand how it feels though."

This is all in Japanese, so when I translated everything to the boys later on, they looked appalled.


Anyway, here's the bus stop you'd get off to go to this place, 別府温泉保養ランド (Beppu Onsen Hoyo Land). I give it 2 and a half stars. The murky water makes it difficult to avoid running into things or notice steps going up/down. Also, the floor can sometimes get too hot because it's all natural. I got some mild burns actually.




After spending an hour locating a meat bun store that one of the books recommended, we were replenished enough to continue our exploration of Beppu.

One of the main attractions of the area is called The Eight Hells -- pools of boiling water that have some kind of unique characteristic like having a vivid color. We managed to hit 3 of the hells.


Hell #1: 海地獄 (Ocean Hell)
This hell has a bright blue color.



Ocean Hell also featured Amazonian lotuses that only grow in hot spring waters in Japan.




Hell #2: 血の池地獄 (Blood-Pool Hell)
This hell has a bright red color.
Here are Phil and me looking devilish in front of the pool.




Hell #3: 龍巻地獄 (Tornado Hell)
This hell spirals up like a tornado. It's not active all the time, so sometimes you have to wait a bit. I think it shoots up for 6 minutes every 40 minutes, or something like that.




After enjoying the hot springs and hells, it was time to move onto Miyajima, a sacred island off of Hiroshima.

Here's the bento box (lunch box) we had on the bullet train:




When we got to Miyajima, we threw our things in our hotel room and hurried to 厳島神社 (Itsukushima Shrine) before the light-up ended at 11 p.m.




The madness that is traveling with Phil+Steven continues...

Julie's Take on Seoul - Day 2

When you're power traveling with Phil and Steven, there is no time for blogging.
I have left the two in the Kansai area of Japan (yes, we have made it to Japan) in order to come back for my school's graduation.
So I'll get you all up to speed one post at a time.



We had a slow start on day 2 of Seoul. (Yes yes, I was the main cause.)
As a result, we only had 5 minutes to walk around Bongeunsa Temple.



Then we rushed off to meet Phil+Michael at the school they work at for a tour.
Here's Steven brushing up on his Hamlet soliloquy.



Can you tell what that is that we are holding?



It's a friggin' Oscar, people! One of the directors at Phil+Michael's school was awarded for making a documentary.


It was so fun holding that thing. Quite heavy! Those actresses aren't just acting like they're having a hard time holding it up with their skinny wrists.

Here's Steven's acceptance speech.




After the tour, Phil's assitant Cindy took us to a yuuuuummy Korean BBQ place. We didn't have to do any work. The BBQ lady cooked, we ate. She cooked, we ate. Mmmmmm.




With our bellys full, Phil, Steven, and I decided to go back to that temple to finish seeing everything.

Here's Phil looking serene in front of the tallest Buddha statue in Korea. The marble floor is where meditators can sit and empty their minds. Phil and I sat for about 5 minutes. Very peaceful.




After quieting our minds as much as possible with a 5-min meditation, we decided to go on a walking tour that one of our books recommended.

Walking makes Julie hungry. No worry, stall lady with yummy goodness to the rescue; we had some pot stickers.




Now all along the walking tour, I was trying to meet up with one of my grad school friends Liz, who happened to be working in Seoul. After a couple hours of missed meetings, dying phones, and general confusion, we finally were able to find each other near Namdaemun market.




After about an hour of shopping, we parted ways with Liz and started walking towards Seoul Tower. This walk was a b1tch! We had to hike up, up, up... what was the guidebook thinking including a fricking tower on a mountain on a walking tour? (We didn't have to walk all the way up, but even the walk to the base of the mountain was very steep.) And to top it all off, when we got to the cable car that would take us to the top , there was a sign...

"The cable car will not be running from March 10th to the 21st. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

...

So we took a taxi.

Dumb tower...



But hey, it was a nice view.



And we got a fun shot with an overhead mirror.



And they had a funky laser show on the tower itself.


It's a nice tower... just don't go when the cable car isn't running. In fact, just take a bus up!



After a long day of walking, it was time to move location and get a good night's rest. On to Busan!

Korean Food - Tteokbokki

Read, bitches.

About Tteokbokki - scroll towards end of post
About Tteokbokki 2

Tip of the Day

How can we do without a tip about chopsticks?


Chopstick taboo #1: Do not pass food from person to person by chopstick.

Chopstick taboo #2: Do not leave chopsticks in rice bowls vertically in the rice.

Both of these are associated with rituals for the dead in Japan.


Chopstick rule #1: Don't lick the tips too much.

Chopstick rule #2: When sharing food with acquaintances, flip your chopsticks and use the other ends to get the food.

Chopstick rule #3: Don't talk or point with your chopsticks.

Chopstick rule #4: If you want to be eco-friendly, carry around your own chopsticks in a case.

Chopstick rule #5: Try not to stab the food with your chopsticks.

Chopstick rule #6: If you don't think you can pick up the food, cut it into smaller pieces. Keep holding the chopsticks the same way, but push down into the food to cut.

Parody on Sushi

I'd say this video is about 30% accurate and 70% ridiculousness. But it'll be fun to reenact it when we go to a sushi place in Japan.