A moment of silence for the last meal I will have in Japan for a long time. All praise the mighty teriyaki chicken and egg sandwich and the best little onigiris of all time. I am still so disappointed in Aussie 7/11’s we had Onigiri’s for a little while and then they discontinued them and it broke my heart.
Seeing photos of Japanese 7/11’s is so upsetting. They are so superior to ours in Aus in every single way. In Australia they are just petrol stations with frozen coke machines and Krispy Kreme’s.
At the airport I was admiring the kawaii packaging on absolutely everything including this egg face mask.
I don’t know what I need to be ready for but I am. Look at that grin.
Grape flavoured anything in Japan is my absolute favourite. So annoyed at myself for not buying a box of these grape Kit Kats to try.
My baby matching Calpak suitcases always pushing the weight limits. I just got under for this flight and I was so happy considering all the souvenirs I had brought from around Japan.
I lied, I got more Onigiri for the flight. My favourite flavours are spicy salmon roe and tuna.
Obsessed with how cute these suitcases are, even if they do weigh a little extra. They have survived a lot of flights since I bought them at Urban Outfitters in New York.
Even the flight to Seoul from Osaka was Kawaii. This was my first time flying with this airline and it was so sweet. It was only a 2 hour flight so pretty much the equivalent of flying Sydney to Melbourne.
I checked into the Artview Hotel near the Chungmuro Subway Station. I don’t have any photos from when I checked in but this was the view of the sunset from my room. Lani and Blake were checking in the same day but while I waited for them I went to explore the local area
Artview Hotel
I spent a while wandering the area near our hotel. I can’t believe how many people were out and about at night. I felt really safe here. Lots of university students and people who had just finished work and were just out getting food and enjoying the city. It was a nice change from the Sydney Night Life where everything closes at like 8pm.
This was a first, Italasian fusion cuisine.
I ended up coming back to Tiger Sugar for a brown sugar milk bubble tea. It was so packed when I first walked past so I knew it was going to be good.
This was a really random clothing market just out in the street. I think it might have been a special event type of market.
I found a shake shack and had to try it. The last shake shack burger I had was in the states so I was pretty curious what it would be like here. I have to say, I was not disappointed. This burger was absolutely delicious and of course I got a shake on the side which I could barely finish it was all so filling.
I love that everywhere shows you the food that you will be getting. I must say I was very curious about this whole chicken meal. Maybe it’s a spatchcock I am not sure but that’s wild just having a whole chicken to yourself.
My first Korean convenience store experience did not disappoint. It was a bit in need of a restock but I couldn’t really complain for it being late at night.
These were my Korean convenience store obsession, kimbap also known as Korean Sushi. It was so good and came in so many flavours. I think one of the main differences is that there is usually pickled radish and kimchi in these which I absolutely love.
My Dog here is called Cesar.
So many eateries are open late which is so convenient because Lani and Blake didn’t arrive until late and we were still able to enjoy our first Korean BBQ. This one was quite cheap and we got so many meats and sides, unfortunately I cannot recall the name but the photo above is what the front of the store looks like.
The aftermath
Night view from my hotel window.
The next morning we all headed to the Myeongdong area which was only 15min by bus. The public transport in Seoul is really easy to navigate and pretty affordable.
In this area there is a big outdoor market full of everything from art, souvenirs, toys, and of course every type of food imaginable.
Lani and Blake being asked to get photos with the locals. How cute are their outfits!
Strawberries on a stick!
Each of these stalls had usually one person working and cooking the meals and they were all different types of food. I wish I knew the names of all these foods but they looked and smelled amazing.
There was such an amazing mixture of sweet and savoury to choose from as well.
We stopped into this place to try our first cheese tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). They were out of this world good and I am still jealous for not ordering it myself. I ordered the hot stone pot bibimbap, Lani ordered the cheese tteokbokki and Blake got fried rice with chicken I believe. Probably should have taken a photo before we were halfway through our meals but we were just so hungry after seeing all that food outside.
We quickly discovered that tteokbokki is everywhere and I was in heaven. I wish it was more common in Sydney. It’s so hard to find here and I love it so much.
I love the aesthetic of Seoul, it’s similar to Osaka but there is a different vibe.
There are a lot of activity places you can visit here. For example this was an archery place and we also came across laser tag, gun ranges and escape rooms.
This was our next stop, the Lotte Young Plaza Myeongdong-dong. Think Westfield and Don Quijote in Dontonbori combined. It’s a huge indoor mall with everything from fashion, toys, beauty, candy and food.
Gachapon Capsule Machines are a big thing here too.
The hair dye selection here is unmatched.
The dog outfits are so adorable here.
A whole section for karaoke microphones.
This was at innisfree, it was a really random simulation VR type thing that I am still not sure what the point of it was.
When we popped back outside there was a protest taking place.
Sweet potatoes hit so different in Japan, highly recommend trying this out. I tastes the best in the snow or during winter in general.
We stopped by at a chicken wing place that gave all of us horrible food poisoning and I am still salty about it.
The smallest bathroom cubicle. That night when we eventually got a bit better from the food we headed out to a random show that we had pre-booked from a friends recommendation. Situated in Myeongdong The Nanta show is a live show with chefs that are cooking and performing acrobatics at the same time. It is very random but it was enjoyable. It won't make or break your trip but it was an interesting activity to do. I think this would be better suited if you looking for something family friendly. You can find more info about this show here.
No comments:
Post a Comment