More South Korea

Inside a palace building

The ceiling in the palace

Apparently they were short people!

Folk Museum

One day we took a tour to the Demilitarized Zone. This is a memorial of the war.

Freedom Bridge

South Korean Military Guard

Every year South Koreans come to this place and leave food and gifts for their families and ancestors in North Korea.

South Korean Guard and me!

South Korea

Over Thanksgiving Break we decided to venture to Seoul South Korea. We flew from Aomori (about a 1 1/2 hour drive from here) straight to Seoul. Going from our slow paced rural Misawa to a huge fast paced city was a little bit of a change for us. On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel, I felt like we were going so fast. We drive pretty slow in Japan and they drive very fast and pretty crazy in Seoul!! It was really fun to see a new city!! From our hotel we were able to walk to a street with lots of shops. They even had a Starbucks which was pretty exciting. From our hotel we were also about to pick up a city tour bus and the subway very easily. We saw most of the tourist places and most of the markets in our three days there. We certainly packed a lot in! We had a really great time!! Here are some pictures of our adventure . . .

The entrance to an old Korean Village

Some Japanese tourists and I dressing up like Korean's

Do I look Korean??

The inside of a mall - this is what all the outdoor markets looked like too.

Gyeongbokgung Palace dating back to the 1300's.

Guard

This guard has funny ears!

I don't think he was as excited as I was!

Incredible artwork

Look at that detail on the ceiling!

Hirosaki Castle

We went to the Hirosaki Castle for the Chrysanthemum Festival. The Hirosaki Castle is one of the only castles in Northern Japan. It was built in the 1600's as a five story castle but in the 1800's it  burnt down. So they rebuilt the castle but this time with only three stories. 

We visited on a beautiful fall day. It was a really nice park to walk around in and enjoy the day! Our favorite part was the little kids who performed. The drums that they play are called Taiko drums. We have seen several different Taiko drummer performances but this was the cutest so far!

 

Taiko Drummers

Cute little kids on a field trip!

Hirosaki Castle!

This was the little mascot. He was all over the place.

Chrysanthemums!

Chrysanthemum Kimono anyone?

"Manji"is Hirosaki's symbol and it was used well before Hitler used this symbol.The symbol actually means peace & harmony.

Watch out below!

Shinto Shrine

We had a fun day!

Hirosaki was celebrating it's 400th birthday - built in 1611!

Pretty flowers!