My Vacation in Tokyo

After the semester, I traveled around a little bit (both in and out of Korea) and the first place I went to was Japan.  I stayed in Chiba mostly but I was so close to Tokyo that I was always in Tokyo.  Japan and Korea are similar countries.  However, there are major differences that you will notice if you ever go to Japan on vacation (since it is affordable enough to visit for a vacation).

How long does it take to get there and how much is the flight?

Japan is fairly close.  From Incheon International Airport, it takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes to fly into Tokyo (more specifically, Narita Intrnational Airport).  Tickets range in prices but the average price for a round trip ticket for about a week should be between 200-300 dollars (US currency).

What are the differences between Japan and Korea?

Based on my experience, the streets look cleaner, newer and everything looks more organized.  It is a lot quieter there and people are a lot more helpful.  Everyone is very welcoming and nice.  For those of you who want to practice language skills you have learned, in Japan they let you get as far as you can before speaking English.  I went to a lot of places and spoke only in Japanese; however there was an instance where I was speaking Japanese to a point where I couldn't explain myself any further and the woman I was talking to responded in English.  In Korea that doesn't happen too often.  usually while trying to pay, we'll be spoken to in English.  Also, Japanese people work a lot more so the streets are always empty (except during rush hour to and from work).  In Korea the streets are always full of people and music is always playing.

Here is a normal crosswalk in Tokyo.

This is a bus stop.  At first I thought it was a rest area...

In Japan, a lot of people prefer to ride a bike as their main form of transportation and therefore,you will see a lot of these kinds of bicycle garages around.

At the sunshine mall in downtown Tokyo is the main Pokemon center for Tokyo.  It's pretty big and has a lot more stuff than the Pokemon center in Seoul.  

To the right after walking in, you will see the big mewtwo statue here.  You can't touch it but you can get close enough to take pictures with it.

After leaving the store, right outside the exit is the pokemon arcade.  It had already closed for the day when I saw it (the malls in Japan usually close at 8pm)

Throughout the Sunshine Mall there were set ups like this celebrating the release of Pokemon Sun and Moon.  If there wasn't a set up, there was a poster cut out of a pokemon with its name on it.

Outside of restaurants, you will see very realistic looking plates and bowls off food showing you what your meal will look like.  Believe it or not, every meal I had in Japan, looked IDENTICAL to the display in the window.

Another thing I did was go to Disneyland (not Disney Sea) and it was so much cheaper than the Disneylands in America.  However, it was a little smaller too but still just as fun.  

Here I am with Mickey.  After entering the park, there is a really long walkway and inside the arch along the walkway outside a Disney store is this poster with Mickey and all his stats and info. 

Here I am on my way back to the airport to return to Seoul.  My Time in Japan was not bad.  It could have been a better trip (it rained a lot and there was a big earthquake) but I would definitely return for another vacation.  Behind me is an average Japanese neighborhood.  Japanese homes are a lot more spacious than korean homes and a lot more western too which was kind of nice in a way.