is for ryokou, or the Japanese word for a travel-related Journey. One of the nicest things about being in Japan is its close proximity to other countries. NJ and I have been lucky enough to be able to visit a couple of them during school breaks (our yearly bonuses from work), though it isn’t uncommon to hear students talking about recent trips to Guam, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, or India, as well.
Taipei and Seoul were both fun cities with plenty to do, tons to eat, and (in Taipei in particular,) a bunch of really cool places to go. A miniatures museum, honey toast cafes at every turn, exquisite palaces, and a calla lily festival were some of the hallmarks of these trips, though honestly, the museums are what I adored the most.
Taipei is a city I would absolutely love to travel to again. The people were friendly, the spaces were wide and open and clean; the food was fantastic. While Seoul’s food was to die for, I was pretty disappointed by the unending clouds of Chinese yellow dust, and the smell of sewage all over the city.
In the end, my travels gave me some new appreciations of Japan… and a multicultural stomach. Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to do more traveling through some other continents once I’m situated in Vancouver.
Images hosted on Flickr.
Ariel Hudnall 
45 responses to “J is for 旅行”
Love the photos!
It will be hard to leave Asia I am guessing, though Canada will at least have more familiarity – especially the language. 🙂
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Yes, that’s going to be one of the big benefits. English speaking work, friends, bookstores (!), entertainment, etc.
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Ooh, dim sum – yum 🙂 Is that a cloud leopard? Such a lovely kitty. What is the significance of all the padlocks?
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
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They’re padlocks put on a special chainlink fence by couples are are trying to “lock” their love for each other, so they won’t be separated. 🙂
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Are those locks from a lock tree that newlyweds go to? Love your photos. Again.
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No, they’re actually from a tower in Seoul where couple go to leave their locks in the hope that they won’t break up. 🙂 There were almost a thousand of them on the chainlink fence overlooking the city.
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Today’s favourite – the red painted ceiling!
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That was an old palace in Seoul! I couldn’t believe it was free to go in and see! It was so colorful. 🙂 My pictures really don’t do it justice.
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I think having the possibility to taste different food is one of the joys of getting in contact with different cultures.
I’ll just say that when I lived in Dublin, I shared my room with a Pakistani gilr and a Chinese girl who, just like me, loved cooking. I’ll let you imagine by yourself what we did inside that kitchen 😉
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Woah~! You must have had fusion food out the whazoo! How fun! I’ve never tried Pakistani food… what kind of food is it?
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Very spicy as you may imagine, but I love spicy food. It uses a lot of vegetables and a lot of different souces.
You can’t imagine. Sometimes one of us would cook and the others would do the clean up, sometimes each one of us would cook something.
We did have lots of fun 🙂
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Wow! Journey across Japan with such beautiful places is indeed priceless. Those padlocks, the ceiling, the graffiti are just awesome shots. You’re a great photographer too Alex!
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I just point and click! The camera does all the work. ^^; But, thank you! I was really partial to the graffiti myself. 🙂 It just looked really cool.
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Wonderful photos – the food looks deelish! and that colorful ceiling is eye-popping. My daughter worked in South Korea for a year and had a wonderful time touring that country for a month before she came home.
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The food was amazing~ so, so good. That must have been really amazing for your daughter! I’m hoping one day I’ll have another chance to work abroad for a time. 🙂
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I could live in the place with the colorful ceiling (unless it’s a shrine XD ). Traveling is the best part! And food is the second best 🙂
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary – Epics from A to Z
MopDog – 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
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I was young when we lived in Japan, so I don’t remember much. I would definitely like to visit it again as an adult.
Amazing photos!
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What adventures you’ve had. I’m such a coward about trying new foods. You inspire me.
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Lovely pics. Great set of padlocks. Here people are starting to put padlocks on a bridge for the same type of thing. Very early days but hopefully it will catch on as it makes for a fantastic pic 🙂
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Some are trying to import that padlock tradition into Dublin, Alex, on a beloved old pedestrian toll bridge called the Ha’penny Bridge in the city centre. It’s a nice idea, but it’s destroying the bloody bridge, so there’s a lot of people peeved that a monument of the city is having its metalwork mangled by teenagers who fall out of love the following week!! But that’s my curmudgeonly sentiment for the day. I love your photos, they’re gorgeous.
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Beautiful photographs. It looks incredible. I like the sound of a Calla Lily festival! (I think you guys need to come visit the UK 😉 )
TD Harvey
A to Z participant
http://www.tdharveyauthor.com
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You need to be careful posting such evocative musings, I’ll be heading out to visit quicker than you thought. Another great post and more superb pics.
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So glad I found your blog, Alex. Your photos are exceptional and your exposure to the Japanese culture and language really cool. I forwarded your link to my daughter who got to spend a few weeks last summer in Tokyo, also teaching preschoolers. She will enjoy this, I’m sure. See you on Monday with letter K.
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I wanna rub that kitty’s belly. It would be worth losing a hand, I swear.
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Each day I want to visit that little bit more! The photos are wonderful, as always. Every spare penny I get from now on will go in to my holiday fund!
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I love the intricacy of those carvings. Buildings here are just so boring compared to those! We need to work more at surrounding ourselves with beauty in our physical environment.
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It looks so good!
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Wow, I didn’t think about how close those other countries are. What a great opportunity to explore.
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I agree with Liz. You’ve had some awesome opportunities to see and learn more about the world, Alex. Normally I’d say I’m jealous, since I haven’t done much travelling myself… But instead, it’s inspiring me more and more to one day take that leap. Once I get a couple other priorities in order first, though. 🙂
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As everyone’s already said — great photos as usual! I’m catching up on blog reading, and reading three in a row makes me feel like I just traveled a little bit. I’m already missing Japan for you! Your writings and images show just how much you’ve loved it there and made the most of the experience.
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I love calla lilies! “Journey” is a good topic for sure 🙂
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Japan is a fantastic place to be to start with but I can see it would also be a great jumping off point for lots of countries. Beautiful pictures!
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Honey toast cafe? Umm, I want one next door. And with all the delectable sounding foods you’ve come across on your travels, I’d suffer leaving that part the most. Being surrounded by exotic dishes I could never pass on, I would surely end up being a building with feet. But I’ve seen pics of you on your bike. I’m guessing you and NJ have no issues with keeping it all off.
And many thanks for the lovely words on my post today, Alex. You have such an eloquent way of putting your thoughts into tender form. They meant a lot. Cheers
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Vivid and exciting images! Loved the experience of this visit.
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What a beautiful blog you have, Alex, and what delicious photographs–and not just the food ones. You give definition to the phrase “eye candy.” Thank you for sharing your images and your travels with us.
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Beautiful photos! I love the kitty 😀 Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving nice comments 🙂
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian
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A multicultural stomach in more than one sense of the word. 🙂
Besides the exposure to different sights & smells, I can imagine the different tastes your palate was subjected to!
Great photos as per usual!
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It’s very cool that you got the chance to do that.
I went and checked for a copy of Shogun. They had the rest of the series but not that one.
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Maybe you could try Abebooks. They usually have any book for very reasonable prices. 🙂
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I’ve never heard of them. Is that an online place?
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Amazon has it at a decent price, in actuality; I just thought I’d try this local place, first.
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Yeah, they’re the world’s largest used book store. I’ve been able to find out of print, signed, first editions, etc. it’s fantastic. 🙂
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Oh, well, I will have to check them out.
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Great photos! You have an eye for the unusual – and the unusual approach.
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