This is the way some of our trips evolve... We were going to going to the Philippines in December 2024. Well, as long as we're going to that part of the world, let's take a cruise from Tokyo to Manila! And... on the way to Tokyo, as long as we're in that part of the world, let's stop in South Korea and Hokkaido/Sapporo on the way to Tokyo.
Below is the map showing where we took photos on the first leg of that adventure, starting in South Korea and Hokkaido/Sapporo. Click the picture below to see an interactive map. Click any of the pins in the interactive map to see when and where the picture was taken and a link. Click that link to go to the picture in the blog post below.
Click one of the pictures below to see more pictures for that day.
November 12 to 18 - South Korea
This inflatable Seoul City mascot was in the Cheonggye Plaza, the first stop for our day long private tour in Seoul. The plaza commemorates the restoration of the Cheonggyecheon Stream which was once an elevated highway. Click the picture below to see a photo album with more pictures of the plaza and our day tour in Seoul.
Gyeongbokgung is a former royal palace. Established in 1395, it was the first royal palace of the Joseon dynasty
Bukchon Yukgyeong is a famous, scenic photo spot in Seoul's Bukchon Hanok Village, offering an iconic, elevated view of traditional Joseon-era hanok rooftops against the modern Namsan Tower skyline.
Jogye Temple is the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The building dates back to the late 14th century and became the order's chief temple in 1936.
This day we visited the DMZ dividing North and South Korea. We also entered some of the underground tunnels built by North Korea to infiltrate South Korea. In many cases we were limited in what where we could take pictures. Below is a picture of the last "Last Train Out" is a rusted, bullet-riddled steam locomotive on display at Imjingak Park, near the Bridge of Freedom in South Korea.
This day we went took a high speed train to Gyeongju to meet a tour guide for a private tour. Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD), which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean peninsula at its height between the 7th and 9th centuries, for close to one thousand years, where it was known as Seorabeol. ,
Cheonmachong Tomb, excavated in 1973, has a height of 12.7 meters and a diameter of 50 meters and is the largest tomb in Korea,
From mid-September to early November, dreamy fields of pink muhly grass spring up all over South Korea.
This day we went on a small group tour to Seoraksan National Park and the Naksansa Temple. This was a small group tour with a long drive to and from.
One of the strange parts of this tour was running into a group also on the tour who met at the company I used to work for and knew my former boss. They get together every six years or so and do a group tour. This years happened to be to Seoul.
November 19 to 21 - Hakkaido, Sapporo
Next we headed for Sapporo Japan on the Island of Hakkaido, the northern most main island of Japan. We arrived just in time to enjoy the snow and miss the snow which a few days later fell on Seoul. It actually was a bit of a chore walking on the icy streets of Sapporo. Luckily our day tour guide helped us find some spikes to put over our shoes to help with traction.
Having your mall embedded in your underground transport station sure makes it easy to go shopping and visit restaurants. We'd seen this in Tokyo but in Sapporo where snow can make above ground travel difficult, it made even more sense and seemed to be even larger.
Hokkaido day tour.
Noboribetsu Jigokudani Valley has a damatic crater with boiling sulfuric hot springs and volcanic steam plumes.
November 23 - Mount Fuji Tour
We'd heard that you only have about a 30% chance of seeing Mount Fuji due to its usual cloud cover. That sounds about right since this was my third trip here and the first time I'd seen it so clear.
Click one of the pictures above to see more pictures for that day.
