Chopsticks, cocktails, and conferences: an introduction to Tokyo and Seoul
Kon'nichiwa! / Annyeonghaseyo! / Greetings!
I'm recently back from a nine-day trip to Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. What a whirlwind, but what a blast! I was there for a traveling conference (one day in each city) and to also visit clients in their offices in each city. I had one day to explore Tokyo and just one evening to explore Seoul. Needless to say, I only got a glimpse of both cities, but I sure liked what I saw.
I learned a lot about my clients and about the markets in both places, and I really appreciated the quick exposure that I had to the culture and beauty of both countries. Here are some photos from the trip:
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| Hello, Japan! |
Tokyo, Japan
I arrived in Japan on a Saturday evening, after a successful 10-hour flight spent watching spy movies and even enjoying a free dram of Single Malt Scotch - international travel is so classy these days! ;)
After catching the express train from the Narita airport into the Shinjuku neighborhood, I found my way to the hotel I was staying in that night (with much effort and turned-around-ed-ness). First impression of Tokyo: The '80s are alive and well! "Blade Runner" and "The Fifth Element" are real, and they are Tokyo - there are lights and screens and music and sounds everywhere you turn, and on all the buildings. Wow!
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| The '80s are alive and "The Fifth Element" is real in Tokyo. |
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| So many screens! So many LED lights! |
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| First meal in Tokyo! |
After food, I made my way down the street, around the corner, and up three floors in a sketchy, small elevator and knocked on the door of Zoetrope Shot Bar - a tiny, tiny bar (in what seemed to be a modified closet, it was so small) that served only whiskey (and mostly Japanese whiskey, at that), and where old, silent films were being projected onto the back wall of the bar. It was awesome. There was only room for about a dozen people total, and I managed to snag a bar seat and stay long enough to enjoy some roasted, in-shell almonds (so good!) and a dram of a randomly-chosen Japanese whiskey. Not a bad way to start the trip! But, after one glass, I was hit with exhaustion and made my way home. Definitely going to go back to this place for more whiskey tasting the next time I'm in Tokyo!
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| Whiskey, whiskey everywhere, and only one dram drank. |
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| Japan loves drink vending machines- they were *everywhere*!! |
The cool things about my hotel room the first night? 1) It was a tiny pod room (think about 45 ft. sq.), and 2) I could see Godzilla from my window!! :)
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| GODZILLA! |
Meiji Shrine
Sunday was my day to explore, and it was a full, but overcast, day of activity. After a lovely 9 hours of sleep, I was up, ready, and out the door by about 9am. I had to drop my bags off at the conference hotel, and then I began to meander. My first target was the Meiji Shrine, a 1920s-vintage shrine to a former emperor and his wife. It was beautiful! The grounds were huge, and it was quite pleasant to walk among the forest in the middle of a huge, international city. A lovely urban escape, and a beautiful site. I even got in on part of a traditional Japanese wedding!
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| Post-ceremony wedding procession - super cool! |
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| You could write your wishes on these wooden panels and hang them up around the sacred tree. It was beautiful! |
Next stop was a metro ride away - my first attempt at the metro, and it was good that I practiced. I got to know the metro VERY WELL on Monday for work. It's a bit confusing, but I figured if I could handle the Paris Métro like a champ, I could certainly take on Tokyo. Great success!
Anyway, I made my way to the Tsukiji Fish Market - the largest fish market in Japan - and wandered through the crowded streets in search of fine people watching and fresh sashimi. I succeeded in finding both, thankfully. What a lunch!
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| All raw and (mostly) all delicious. |
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| Yay, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and fresh seafood!! |
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| A random, beautiful Buddhist temple along my walk. |
Another metro trip later, I made my way to the Shinjuku Gardens, where I saw the first buds of cherry trees and walked through a beautiful green house. The grass was all dead and wintery, but this park was still gorgeous - and huge! I can only imagine how lovely the garden is in the late spring (and how packed!).
New York Bar, 52nd Floor, Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel
I returned to my hotel in the late afternoon, and lo and behold, what was a 10-minute walk away but the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel and the New York Bar on the 52nd floor- the very bar where a good part of the movie "Lost in Translation" was filmed! I enjoyed the film and if Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson were there, I figured I should check it out. ;) I went just in time for sunset (and to avoid the USD 20 cover charge that applied after 7pm), and the views and the drinks did not disappoint! I took my time, staying for a couple of hours to soak in the views and the ambiance, and enjoyed a French 75 and a dirty Martini (two of my very favorite cocktails), and treated myself to an appetizer of delicious fries (because I love potatoes/carbs and it was the cheapest thing on the food menu). From my seat at a table facing the window, looking eastward over Tokyo, I watched the sun set and light the buildings up peach and purple, and giggled to myself a bit out of sheer disbelief that that moment was real. In Tokyo, for work, watching the sunset from the top of a skyscraper, and enjoying a tasty drink. When in my life did I ever think or expect I'd be there?! What a moment, what a treasure.
Annnnnnnd, Monday and Tuesday were work, work, work, and I spend most of one day on the metro going across town from client meeting to client meeting. Exhausting! But riding the metro with all the daily morning commuters of Tokyo was quite the experience. PACKED doesn't even begin to cover it, but everything was so clean, calm, and orderly!
My first two days in Seoul were work, work, work as well, but I caught a few snaps of the city in between meetings on those days:
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| This spot, with a walking path along a canal, really reminded me of the downtown portion of the Cherry Creek Trail along the Platte River in Denver! Small world! |
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| Legit Green Tea Latte (and a double-chocolate muffin)! Intensely flavored and delicious. |
My flight back to the States was set for late morning on Saturday, and I had Friday late afternoon and evening to wander around and experience a bit of the city for non-business reasons. My first goal that evening? Find authentic Korean bibimbap for dinner!! Bibimbap is my favorite, so I had to have the real deal while in Seoul.
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| Awesome side street, which ultimately led me through a maze to the hole-in-the-wall Korean BBQ place where I had my dinner! |
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| Bibimbap and kimchi and other accoutrements - SO GOOD!! |
The second and final stop of the evening, as it usually is when I visit a new international city, was an awesome, hidden, character-filled bar. In briefly researching the best cocktails in Seoul, I came across several references to the Charles H., a speak-easy, 1930s NYC-inspired bar at the Four Seasons downtown. I made my way to the hotel, walked into the lobby, struggled in vain to find any reference to this mysterious bar, and was quickly found out by a door man. "Can I help you find something?" "Why, yes, I'm looking for the Charles H..." "Ah-ha! Please follow me." Elevator down to the basement, quick walk along a corridor, then the doorman's light rap on an unmarked door, and I was welcomed into the small antechamber of the Charles H. The nice lady took my name and made a quick call in Korean and then another door opened, from whence I was greeted and invited in by another nice lady. She walked me to an entry table and welcomed me and poured me a small, delicate glass of champagne - "Welcome to the Charles H." Welcome, indeed!
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| THAT INTERIOR (real-life jaw droppage = 92%)! |
The décor was stunning, the funky, modern-old jazz was perfect, and the young, Korean bartenders / mixologists were a riot! I had a front-row seat at the bar and happened to be sitting very near a nice older Frenchman, who was also in Seoul for the first time and for work. We chatted away in French while the bartenders chatted us up in broken English, and incredible drinks were enjoyed by all. Another treasure of a memory from foreign lands, that is sure!
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| The awesome cocktail craftsmen of the Charles H. |
And with that, a few hours later I was back in the hotel and packing then sleeping soundly before my return to the USA. Another uneventful and movie-filled 12-hour flight later, I was back in Denver (and happily so, I'll admit - work travel is exhausting!!). Thanks for a great week, Tokyo and Seoul!! I look forward to seeing you again in the relatively near future.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have landed this job and to have room for growth and travel within my position in the company. This is a great industry with great perks, and I'm beyond happy to be constantly learning new skills and enjoying my journey in this field. Here's to careers, travel, my new camera, higher education, and more adventures to come in this great year. Cheers!
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