Things To Do In Japan & Korea?

Satsui Ryu said:
Just bumming around Tokyo is fun in itself. Catch a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome. Its fun to find the little differences between a Japanese and American game.

I've been to Seoul and maybe it was ignorance, but outside of partying I didn't really find much to do there. Its not the most tourist friendly place.
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I agree. They have a weird culture in clubs. PR in clubs will invite single ladies to sit in male tables for free drinks in order to hook them up.
That plus eating different foods in Korea is enjoyable.

Tons of seafood;
Alaskan king crab
There is also a species of crab that are palm size that cost 10,000 won which is extremely sweet. Very recommendable. I'm unsure of the name though. Seems to be available in almost every seafood stall, those that have an actual stall, not street vendors. You can see them easily in aquarium for display. They are pale red in color while alive.

Ginseng abalone chicken soup - it's okay I guess
Korean BBQ with glass noodles - pretty good, eat this with their Soju. Soju might depends on personal taste though, it's pretty sweet imo, but my females frown tried it when I said it was sweet and stared at me and said "you call this sweet?" and left the whole bottle to me. ^^
Bibimbap - I hated it in my own country, but it was tasty over there in Korea.

Try visiting their supermarket as well. I tried a few cup instant noodle and was pretty good. You will likely see tons of different vegetables you never seen.

I'm not sure where you are visiting, but if you wake up early in the morning, take a scroll down their wet market as well. Nothing much, but it's refreshing to say the least. Same thing, different fruits and veggie to see.
 
Do you like banging whooooores? If you're heading there then you might as well get weird with it.
 
Do you speak any Japanese Regular Joe? If not, how do you plan to get around? I want to go to Japan, but not knowing the language i don't see how i'd even get around.
 
I recommend a couple vastly different areas depending on your time schedule and interest.

For country/rural/mountainside cities Kyoto or Nara are safe bets.

For business/metropolitan cities Osaka or Tokyo are always fun.
 
if you will be in Seoul i recommend visiting the War Memorial of Korea. it is located in Yongsan-dong. i really wasn't that excited to see it, but im really thankful i did. i learned a lot, and parts of it especially the Statue of Brothers were very moving.

one of the many photos i took there:
statueofbrothers.jpg~original
also, i highly recommend taking a short bus trip (~1 hr iirc) to Suwon. there is a Historic Folk Village there that is worth visiting imo.

one of the many photos i took there:
suwonfolkvillage.jpg~original

Seoul Tower in Namsan is a must see also imho; gives great perspective as to the sheer size of Seoul.

i found the subway system in Seoul to be easy, cheap, and efficient. try to avoid it during "rush hour" though if at all possible.
 
IDK why anyone would go to Korea as a tourist. Other than the JSA-DMZ tour, there's not much to do that's all that unique since almost everything was wiped out during the war 60 years ago.

There's a shit ton of day trip type stuff to do if you already live in Korea, but none of that's worth a plane trip IMO.
 
Doughbelly said:
IDK why anyone would go to Korea as a tourist. Other than the JSA-DMZ tour, there's not much to do that's all that unique since almost everything was wiped out during the war 60 years ago.

There's a shit ton of day trip type stuff to do if you already live in Korea, but none of that's worth a plane trip IMO.
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Yes, I'm trying to convince my GF that visiting Korea isn't particularly interesting.

As for TS, I've only been to Osaka/Kyoto/Nara in Japan but anything that a tourist website like Japan-Guide recommends there is worth it.

Kyoto was my favorite, because of the history there and the slower pace. Nara is also very nice in the same regard.

I will say that if you visit Kansai, you need to make a plan of what to do every day. It's not a good place to just wing it all the time because a lot of sites close at 5 pm or might be under renovation. Also, getting around is a bit of a pain at times, even without the language barrier and the spotty wi-fi access. Coming from Taipei, where the metro and trains are very easy to navigate, Kansai's are convoluted.
 
fightingrabbit said:
Do you speak any Japanese Regular Joe? If not, how do you plan to get around? I want to go to Japan, but not knowing the language i don't see how i'd even get around.
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I can count from 1 - 10, say hello and thank you, and call out moves and ref calls from Judo. That's it.
 
Space said:
Yes, I'm trying to convince my GF that visiting Korea isn't particularly interesting.
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http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/visit/50-beautiful-places-visit-korea-873093

Individually, there are a LOT of pretty places in Korea. Take it from me, to say the least, I've been around the planet a few times. Some of these places are breathtaking. They're definitely worth your time, whether you want it for your own or to share it with someone. But like I said, I don't think they're worth boarding a plane over.

Kilamanjaro. The American Southwest (Grand Canyon, National Parks in Utah). New York City. Venice. The Serengeti or the Maasai Mara. The Maldives. Paris. Angkor Wat. Egypt. The Forbidden City. And the list goes on. You should see these places before you die. Your life will have poorer for not having experienced it.

But Korea? You're actually not missing out on much. When you step out of frame in those pretty pictures, you run right into some ugly concrete buildings. You step out of frame in Kenya, you might just run into a giraffe.

I suppose if you're Asian, Jeju island is about as close as it gets to being in Hawaii.
 
I went to Tokyo and Kyoto over the New Year. It was great. The sushi is great but for me those little tiny ramen shops were where it's at. Kyoto is awesome to see a bit of old Japan. A lot of shrines and also if you are lucky you can see some geishas. We stayed in a ryokan which is like a traditional style hotel. The people are awesome and super nice. We got by with a few phrases in Japanese pretty easily. If you want to see "weird japan" go to a maid cafe.
 
Doughbelly said:
Kilamanjaro. The American Southwest (Grand Canyon, National Parks in Utah). New York City. Venice. The Serengeti or the Maasai Mara. The Maldives. Paris. Angkor Wat. Egypt. The Forbidden City. And the list goes on. You should see these places before you die. Your life will have poorer for not having experienced it.
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I've already been to Kilimanjaro, NYC, Venice, Ngorongoro and Manyara (close enough to Serengeti and Maasai Mara), Paris, Angkor Wat, etc.

Now it's time for Japan and Korea.

;)
 
Regular Joe said:
I would love to.

Any suggestions?
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sumo tournaments are held every two months in different cities around japan.

there is a tournament in January (Tokyo), March (Osaka), May (Tokyo), July (Nagoya), September (Tokyo), and November (Fukuoka). if you're going to be there at the right time and in the right place, i'd definitely recommend it.

and if you're there in between tournaments, there may be an exhibition tournament near you, although i'm not sure of their schedules.
 
Just sit in the airport and listen to them page people over the intercom system....

Hours of fun right there.
 
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