Hafa Adai! (“Greetings” in Chamorro, the native language of Guam). We’ve been living out of our suitcases ever since we finished work with a trip to South Korea followed by a purely relaxing vacation to Guam. We arrived back in Osaka early Saturday morning with the intention of cleaning our apartment and packing before the big move home on the 14th, but figured sleeping would be a better alternative.
Yesterday, we celebrated one of our last nights in Osaka with Kuni and Tatsu, our Japanese friends. We went to an okonomiyaki (traditional Osakan omelette) restaurant and sampled a schmorgasboard of delicacies and got our last fix of Japanese cuisine. I’m still not sure if I’ll miss the food that much. Contrary to popular belief, the food here isn’t that healthy and the generally bland diet makes the food somewhat unsatisfying. The evening was a great finish to our time in Japan and we will miss them a lot. They are already planning to visit Canada sometime in the near future and of course, we will be just as good to them as they’ve been to us in Japan.
Our time in Guam was absolutely amazing. We departed on the 7th and were welcomed by 30 degree weather and utopian surroundings when we woke up the next morning—azure water, blue skies, and palms for miles—what could be better? I had never really heard of Guam before coming to Japan but later found out it is a very popular tourist destination for both Japanese and Koreans. The best comparison I can think of is visiting Cuba or the Dominican for Canadians—it’s a short flight (only three-and-a-half hours), reasonably priced, and simply blissful. It’s a Micronesian island, which is a U.S. territory and is situated right in the middle of the Pacific (in between Hawaii and Japan) and also has a huge American military base. While we were there, we heard some news that Guam will be receiving about 8,000 more military families from Okinawa within the next few months. One of our cab drivers informed us that Okinawa has actually paid to move the military there.
We stayed at the Fiesta Resort Guam, which was located right on a private beach on Tumon Bay. The hotel was situated right along the main strip of tourist attractions (appropriately named Paradise Island Drive). There wasn’t much to do on the island, other than shop. I am convinced that Guam was made for Japanese and Korean tourists, especially the women, who adore shopping. Scott and I couldn’t get over the countless high-end designer boutiques, including three Coach shops—all within a one minute walk from each other. Kind of crazy! Regardless, all the boutiques got their fair share of business because we saw many tourists toting three or four shopping bags from Prada, Coach, Gucci, and Chloe. As Scott would say, “How many purses does a woman need?!”
We didn’t do too much shopping because the weather was so gorgeous and decided to just bask in the sun all day and read. On the last day, however, we did fit in some shopping because it was a tad rainy. Overall, we had a wonderful time and could easily relax because it wasn’t crowded at all. Golden Week, which is a national holiday in Japan, happens at the end of April and most Japanese will flock to Guam during this time. We’re sort of glad we’ll be out of Japan during this time because from what we’ve heard, the prices to travel are absolutely ridiculous.
Before Guam, we made a short visit to South Korea. We departed the morning after we finished work (on April 1st) and returned on April 5th. Our adventure to Korea was chocked full of sightseeing and shortly after we arrived, we were fortunate enough to be shown around Seoul by our friend, Paul, who is now teaching English there. On our first night there, we met Paul at Hongik University, which is basically like the Queen’s University vicinity of Kingston. It’s where all the young people go at night to hang out, shop, and eat Korea’s delicious kimchi (a spicy side dish consisting of fermented vegetables—usually cabbage).
Our days were action-packed and consisted of pure sightseeing. Naturally, we were both pretty wiped out at the end of the day, but that didn’t stop us from shopping! Our hotel was located right beside the Dongdaemun Market, which is Seoul’s most famous market for 24-hour shopping. You wouldn’t believe the cheap and stylish clothes and shoes you can buy there—I was pretty much in heaven (Scott, not so much). Haha. I had trouble zipping up my small tote bag before we left to go back to Osaka. Scott and I were both pretty impressed at how much ground we covered over the four days we were there. We went to Gyeongbokgung Palace, Myeongdong Cathedral, Deoksugung Palace, and the Namdaemun Market (home of the Namdaemun Gate, the oldest wooden structure in Seoul that burnt down earlier this year). We enjoyed dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant in Itaewon one night (a hub area that’s heavily populated with foreigners) and saw other major areas of the city including Shinchon and Insadong (an artsy and antique district).
One of the highlights of the trip for both of us was our visit to Panmunjom, a village which straddles the border between North Korea and South Korea. It’s actually located in the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) which has split the two countries since the end of the Korean War in 1953. As we made our way up to the North Korean border, we were asked to show out passports twice, sign a release that said Panmunjom “will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action,” and wear a United Nations guest badge on our jackets. We were also strictly advised not to look at the North Korean soldiers or point at them.
As we were approaching North Korea, we found the difference between North and South really startling— especially the landscape—which was littered with coiled barbed wire fences and had barely any vegetation. Our tour guide informed us that the North Koreas chop down trees to use for fuel. As we were standing in the middle of the DMZ, we could observe both the North and South from a distance and noticed the North’s flag post was much higher. Our tour guide explained that after the war, North Korea reconstructed their flag post so that it was intentionally 60 meters higher than South Korea’s. The tour was such an educational and awakening experience and I am really considering a visit to North Korea sometime in the future. Our tour concluded with galbi (traditional Korean barbeque) for lunch and a concert by a North Korean defector.
Shortly after we returned from Korea, a bunch of teachers got together at a bar in Shinsaibashi for a sayonara party and we all had a fabulous time sharing our memories, making new ones, and saying our goodbyes. It’s hard to believe how many fantastic memories and people you can meet in such a short time. We’ll miss everyone a lot.
The month of April is famous for sakura-viewing parties. Luckily, Scott and I were in Osaka just in the nick of time to see them in full bloom. We biked to Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle) last Saturday and then went to Arashiyama (which is near Kyoto) last Sunday for some last-minute sightseeing before we departed for Guam. Besides Arashiyama’s pure beauty, it is also home to a monkey park! The park itself is located on top of Arashiyama Mountain and is about a 20-minute hike on foot. From the top, you can not only see hundreds of monkeys roaming around, but also an entire view of Kyoto. It was a perfect way to capture our final days in Japan.
So, I guess this is our last official blog post. Tomorrow is our final adventure—the dreadfully long plane ride home, but in the end it’s all worth it. We both have mixed feelings about leaving Japan but are excited for what lies ahead and to see all of our friends and family who we’ve missed so much in the past seven months. In the meantime, we have to finish cleaning our apartment and do some last-minute packing. Canada, here we come!
Sayonara!
Jo & Scott
xoxo
P.S. Happy Early Birthday, Jess! Have a good one and see you soon!
