We ventured to Pike Place Market our first full day in Seattle. We fell in love with the place and easily spent an entire day there. I've got to say, Seattle really does make the best coffee. We went to five different coffee shops throughout our stay and every cappuccino I had was delicious. Sweet, rich, and aromatic. The baristas have really perfected the art of lovely, lush foam. Oh, the foam! I was blown away. It was so thick and velvety and creamy. I'm crying right now because I can't get anything like that here in So Cal.

 I'm all for road trips - to a certain extent. I've never attempted a cross-country drive before. I do have that on my bucket list, however! A couple of years ago, we took a week off from work and drove east to Colorado. It was about a 14-15 hour drive. The landscape was rather drab and dreary. Last year (it was only a few days before the new year, really, so it fairly recent!), we drove up north to Seattle, WA. Oh, the drive was beautiful. Despite it being an 18 hour drive, I could watch the landscape for hours and never tire of it. Anyhow, we loved all the vista points we passed. I don't recall what this one was called but I loved it so much! Stay tuned. There will be more to come...!

 And so we come to the end of my adventures in Japan. This visual diary meant a lot to me. I had always meant to document my stay there while I was actually there, but I never did get around to it. I wish I had done it then, but it's better late than never. In that time, I made many friends and came to know the beautiful country of Japan. Those four months flew by so fast. I still wanted to see my newfound friends and be weird and silly with them. I still wanted to visit my favorite ramen and sushi restaurants. I still wanted to travel. I could have easily stayed a year. It was not enough.

 Inside this beautiful multi-story mall with its lovely white Christmas tree was a most delicious restaurant that serves a very interesting dish called ochazuke, which quickly became my favorite dish to eat. To this day I still crave it but there is nothing like it here in So Cal - at least as far as I know.

 Ochazuke is typically a meal consisting of a bowl of rice with whatever toppings that are part of that set and a hot pot of tea which you pour over the rice. It's almost like a soup and quite filling. And it's so yummy! I could eat it all day and never tire of it. It was especially nice during the cold winter season. My buddies took me here because they knew how much I love to eat it. They were always so sweet and thoughtful.

 After all this time, I forgot to mention that each of us EAP students were assigned to a group of buddies based on compatibility. We all loved this buddy system because it helped integrate us into the Japanese society. We became good friends with our buddies, who would take us to places we wanted to visit or eat. Pretty much they were like friends we would have back at home with whom we would simply hang out with. Understandably, most were juggling part-time jobs while attending college, and could not always join us on all our excursions. Here you see me with two of my buddies at Nogeyama Zoo.

 Thanksgiving is not a traditional holiday for the Japanese, but they are aware that we Americans celebrate it. Many of us during our stay experienced bouts of homesickness as the holiday season drew near. We began to miss our family and friends back home and the special foods that are cooked and served during that time. My Japanese language sensei invited us over to her house to bring a piece of home to us. I thought that was such a nice gesture. As you can see, there was even an oven roasted turkey!

 As touristy as we could be decked out with cameras of all types, here we were on our walk to the ferry boat that would take us to Miyajima Island, renown for the deer populating the island. This was part of our trip to Hiroshima, which I had somehow forgotten to include. Oops!

 On our last day at the ryokan in Hakone, we hauled ourselves up early out of bed to enjoy one last bath in the onsen. The first time we went into the onsen, we giggled like little girls out of nervousness because as you already know, one must go in butt-naked! I remember it being unbearably hot at first. It's so relaxing. It's too bad that we're not supposed to stay in longer than 10-15 minutes at a time or else we'd faint. But it feels so nice that you don't want to leave. I'd bathe in one every day if I could. Anyway, we strolled through this beautiful garden. The maple trees had already shed their lustrous green and blessed us with their vibrant crimson leaves. I think maple trees are so beautiful and elegant.

 Our visit to Hakone felt like a relaxing vacation. We stayed two nights at a beautiful ryoken (unfortunately, I can't recall the name anymore) with a traditional tatami flooring and onsen, which is a hot spring. Bathing in an onsen had always been my dream when I was younger. I knew it was hot but I didn't realize it was that hot until I stepped foot in it. I'm not sure why we decided on Hakone but I'm glad we did. We ventured out to Owakudani, Hakone known for being a volcanic mountain and its sulfuric pools.

 We awoke before the sun showed its face this prospective day. Yes, we were tired and bleary eyed during the ride to the amusement park, but as we drew near our destination, an excitement built up in all of us and spread like an infectious disease. Suddenly, we were babbling and fidgeting in our seats as children do when they can barely contain themselves. And at last, we were there, eyes glittering and bright and smiles stretched across our faces. At last, we had arrived at Tokyo DisneySea.

 Here at last we come to the final leg of the three-part Kyoto post. Our destination this time was Arashiyama. There was much to see here and we were short on time. And, oh, it was so overwhelmingly beautiful. Historical buildings in preserved architecture line the streets of one way. Oi River stretches gently across the landscape where riverboats hug the edges of civilization. With the sun already past noon, we grew increasingly aware of the passage of time. How I ached to spend a little longer here.

 So much has happened to me in the past week that I'm finding it difficult settle down. But first, let me begin by saying that I had a wonderful time in Texas (I will talk more of Kansas in later posts). We stayed with my cousin and her husband in Uptown, which was a beautiful part of the city. I absolutely love the architecture. Lots of brick and stone walls and unique looking eateries. My cousin took us around to Klyde Warren Park, which was built above a freeway. I thought that was pretty neat. It was about a 10 minute walk from her apartment. I, myself, don't really consider it a park. It's certainly beautiful with a lovely landscape, but I'm used to the ones with tons of trees and fields of grass that look more "natural".

 With Kinkaku-ji Temple being one of the most popular among tourists, it was no surprise that I would dedicate an entire post to it. This one left a deep and lasting impression on me. It was enormous with various paths one can traverse, but all equally beautiful. I recall I would have loved to visit Ginkaku-ji Temple as well but we were short on time.

 Hello, and welcome to the second installment of my stay in Kyoto. First up is the Heian Shrine, home to Japan's largest torii gate. Look, you can even see it all way from a distance in the street. I love the stark contrast between the gate and contemporary society with its sea of cars and clean pavement. Upon crossing the gate, one is thrust back into another era, with the shrines architecture kept in tact by preservation. While everyone else seemed to be in motion or their body language suggested a more relaxed mood, I noticed this little boy, who had a profound effect on me. You hardly notice him at first but then suddenly, you see him there standing so poised and regal in his hakama, bearing a kind of maturity a child his age rarely possesses.

 Having now completed the recap on South Korea, I now take you on another three-part series. This time to the refined city of Kyoto with its beautiful shrines and temples. Of course, it would not be complete without pictures of the delectable fare interspersed throughout our visit. I believe we stayed in Kyoto for one weekend, but it's all very fuzzy now so I can't be sure. It was definitely not long enough to all the wonders Kyoto had to offer. We managed a few and they were all so very enchanting. I would dearly love to come back again.

 Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you the third and last leg of our stay in South Korea. This large domed arena is part of the famous amusement park known as Lotte World. I had no idea it was on the Guinness World Record for being the largest indoor amusement park. It really was incredible though. I thought it was amazing how so much could fit inside a building. Not only that, it consisted of about four levels. My only regret was that I was so tired from the trip that I walked around like a zombie the entire day. Have no doubt, deep inside the recesses of my energy reserves, I was screaming with excitement.

 First and foremost, we began our second day in South Korea with a big, hearty meal consisting of soondubu jigae, which is a delicious spicy tofu soup. I especially love eating this in the winter. It warms you right up! I don't remember who but one of us ordered a spicy pork dish. And as it when one goes traveling, obligatory photographic documentation of the things we noshed on shall consume this post in its entirety.

In this week's throwback post, I will be writing a three-part series of our trip to South Korea. In November, we received an entire week from our studies to do whatever we wish. Of course, many of us decided to travel. My group consisted of three other girls. I don't recall any of us being familiar with the Korean language so I was bit nervous. We stayed at a really cheap hostel. I had never stayed in one before and the only hostel I ever heard of was the movie, which I don't recommend anyone ever watching. We were lost for a little while trying to find it. It was very clean and simple inside. I wasn't expecting much but we did find a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter inside the mini fridge!

We discovered this beautiful river beneath the bridge. We did not explore the entire length. It extends for quite some distance! I would have loved to have something like this where I live. With the drought we're having, the only riverbed near my house is dry as a well. I wouldn't really call it a river either.

Oh, delicious bibimbap! It's such a riot of color that it made it really fun to eat. It looked so pretty that I felt a little guilty destroying its loveliness by mixing it all up.

Oh, gosh. The journey to N Seoul Tower was quite a trip. We had no idea if our taxi driver understood where we wanted to go. We were taken and round and round for such a long time that we wondered if he was just taking advantage of us. Or that he might take us somewhere and do the unimaginable! Eventually, much to our relief, we reached our destination. I don't remember how much we paid. I was just glad we finally got off. The walk up to the tower was breathtaking - literally and figuratively. It was all uphill for at least a mile, but the autumnal leaves of the maple trees were so beautiful it made the walk more bearable.

N Seoul Tower had more features inside of it than Tokyo Tower. And like Tokyo Tower, it looked to be a popular date spot for couples. I thought the wall of what seemed like love notes was pretty cute. There were even trees of hearts and padlocks outside that reminded me of the famous Love Lock bridge in Paris that no longer exists. It's too bad. I had wanted to see it. Understandably, the strain of so many padlocks put the bridge at risk of breaking and causing harm.