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Korean Lazover

Friday Mar 19, 2004

No thats not a tzpo...Itás a Korean Kezboard. For some reason the y is the z and vica versa....its verz irritating to saz the least, but free nonetheless....

Okay, where were we? Ah yes, the roadtrip to Nag. The first Saturday, Sachiko and I packed our bags for a trip to the North. Unable to read the signs, struggling with the driving on the opposite side of the road, unable to satisfy our American appetites with Japanese portions, and finding it difficult to speak with the locals, this trip proved to be quite challenging. After some effort we were able to track down a local burger chain. This chain is designed as though it were American, but have you ever heard of Mos Burger? Neither had I. Nonetheless, better serivce you will never receive. The deepest and most appreciative of bows including a full staff in unison bow upon our entry and exit. Yeah, at a fast food chain. Plus it tasted healthy and was awesome. Mos Burger, please come to the states. They would not let us leave empty handed either, they gave us strawberry plants to take home. Crazy.

Then we finally found our way to the ferry to take us towards the final leg of the drive to Nag. We had just missed the previous boat and had an hour to kill or so. Ice cream seemed a logical choice. Ladies and gentlemen. If ever you buy a frozen treat that looks a little too frozen, let it thaw, PLEASE! I went right for it and my upper lip immediately stuck to it. In panic I pulled it away and the results were not pretty. I think its almost healed now, a full week later.

Though the moments leading up to the ferryride were not my best in Japan, getting out of the car and relaxing on this beautiful ride was just what the doctor ordered. I will post photos as soon as I get back to the states.

A few more hours of driving after we docked and we had arrived at the city most famous for being a victim of the atomic bomb. Sachiko was more excited about the starbucks though. I think I was too. We found our way to the ryoken (Japanese style hotel) about as smoothly as we had driven that entire day, but we found our way nonetheless. Waiting for us was, I kid you not, a 7 course meal. But since it was already 9 or so at night it was all served at once. It was in a beautiful old Japanese room with sliding paper doors and tatami mat flooring. Obviously no shoes allowed, and you sat upon pillows. Now I am not a big fan of fish and it turns out the people of Japan really seem to like it. I think it was probably in 4 of the 7 dishes, but one was a plate of fried chicken stacked practically to the ceiling. So I was all taken care of!

After dinner we retired to our paper door room with a private patio and futon (floor beds). The place was very quaint and had a traditional and family feel to it. Incredibly comfortable and beautiful. I of course do not have the maturity for that, so I put on the robe they gave us and instead of tying the belt around my waist, I soon had a Ninja headband. The room became my dojo for at least the next 3 minutes before jetlag set in and I passed out.

Flight time...Still to come...the squatter, secret jews and baseball, bedtime at 6pm, the Castle, the tunnel game, thank goodness for highways, Kag in the sunlight, volcanic bath, MONKEYS, starvation, more Kareoke, nightlife, Jeremy drives in Japan, did I mention monkeys? Oh and of course Pachinko.

Time to fly. See you soon. Lates Korea.