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~ This Was My Bachata in Fukuoka

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Tag Archives: Final Fantasy

36 Hours in Seoul

26 Friday Feb 2010

Posted by scalesoflibra in Rollin' outside Japan

≈ 1 Comment

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Distant Worlds, Final Fantasy, Seoul

Three weeks ago, I hopped on a plane headed for Seoul.  My main objective: to see Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy. If I didn’t live within range of Kim Jong-Il’s missiles so close to Korea, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of flying internationally for what amounted to two and a half hours of geeking out. But I live 20 minutes from the airport, and Seoul’s just an hour and 20 minutes away so…yeah.  Besides, the piece “J-E-N-O-V-A” had just been added to the repertoire, so how could I miss out? ^o^;

I left Fukuoka Friday night. By the time I got into Incheon International Airport, it was around 10:30PM.  I saw the signs in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese pointing towards the airport railway that I could use to get to the city after transferring to the subway but…honestly I have a large fear of getting lost. The taxi stand was right in front of me too, so I gave in to fear and laziness and took one.  According to the guidebook I’d bought (which, granted, was two years old, but I didn’t think it could be too off) a taxi from the airport to downtown should run around 45 USD. But man, did I ever get the foreigner shaft! The taxi had a sign that said “highway toll not included.” By the time we pulled up to the hotel, the meter read 87,000 won (around 75 USD). Then the guy points to the sign and gives me a bill for 120,000 won (about 105 USD)! Whaaaa?!? A $30 highway toll?! I don’t know, but that seems a bit much to me.

Anyway, I checked into the two-star Friend Hotel around midnight.   The room had heated floors, which was really nice.  For the first time, I didn’t take my own shampoo and conditioner, because even cheap hotels always had some, but not this one! Later I noticed small holes in the sheets and odd stains that looked like baked-in dirt on one of the towels. It really wasn’t all that big a deal, but I think if I ever go to Seoul again I’ll go for a three-star hotel. There was a map in the dresser that turned out to be very convenient.

I had picked that hotel not only because it was cheap, but because it was the closest one to the concert venue, the Seoul Arts Center. Saturday morning I got up at 8AM to be able to get to the box office right when it opened, in hopes of getting a VIP ticket—meaning, a chance to meet composer Nobuo Uematsu and conductor Arnie Roth!

On the way there, I walked by this cool overpass.

Unfortunately, VIP tickets were already sold out. T_T But since I’d gone willing to get one of those, I went for the next best thing: a box seat. At 77,000 won (67 USD) it’s the cheapest box seat I will probably ever get.  Well, it was the first time I’d sat in a box seat!

I had about 5 hours before show time, so I went to the palace all the tourists go to: Gyeonbokgung. At this point I needed to get on the subway. As everyone had told me, Seoul’s subway system is excellent.  It lives up to the hype.  There were signs in English, and the ticket dispensers also had full English.

I already put many of my favorite photos from the palace in the video in the post below this one, so I’ll add different photos here.

This lies past the second threshold.

So colorful!

These next two sculptures are across from each other, lining a small waterway. The waterway was dry, there was only a small bit of snow in it.  While I labeled these sculptures as “gargoyles,” I’m not sure that’s exactly what they are.

When it was getting close to show time, I made a quick tour of nearby Samcheondong-gil, which, according to my guidebook, was supposed to be a lesser known but just as good “tourist alley” like Insadong-gil.  Don’t know if things changed that much since the book was published, but I didn’t see what the big deal was.  Well, I didn’t go down any side streets.

As I was walking down Samcheongdong-gil, I saw what I thought was a store selling action figures.  I’ve a friend who likes comic books, so I thought I’d go in and see if they had anything interesting.  When I walked in, I saw that it was wall-to-wall toys, some shelves replete with multiple copies of the same figure outside of its packaging.  The woman at the register said something to me in Korean, I said I didn’t understand, and she said “Ticket.” I said, “Do I need a ticket?” She said, “Yes.” So I left.  I thought, maybe it’s a special collectibles store where you need an appointment or something to see the merchandise.

Then, I rushed back to the Seoul Arts Center and got there just in time.  It turned out I was sitting on the same side as Nobuo Uematsu!  So, I was able to see him during the whole concert.  Well, I couldn’t see him when he went up into the choir to sing along during “One-Winged Angel,” all I could see was his bright orange do-ragged head bobbing next to the far singers of the choir. Overall, the concert was good. Not as good as it would’ve been had it been a more experienced orchestra, but it was their first night performing those pieces, and for me, still well worth the trip. The new arrangement of “J-E-N-O-V-A” was excellent! When the CD Distant Worlds 2 comes out later this year, I will be sure to get it! It’s going to have all the pieces that have been added to the concert tour since the first Distant Worlds album was released.

After the concert, I stopped at a conbini to pick up a sandwich.  Breakfast had been a bulgogi sandwich and chai latté from Starbucks.  Partly from lack of time, and partly from fear of running out of money since that taxi ride from the airport took out 105 USD from the start, I didn’t really eat meals while in Korea. ^^; I rested up at the hotel, then set out for Insadong-gil to buy omiyage.

I had barely started walking up Insadong-gil when I came across another toy store.  I went in, and was taking in the cluttered scene, when the guy at the register said, “Excuse me, excuse me, this is toy museum.  Ticket is one thousand won.” I was thinking, huh? This is a museum? But, one thousand won being just one dollar, I paid the fee.  The “toy museum” consisted of random toys, not special editions or anything, some broken, some covered in layers of dust, crammed ungracefully into every corner on old shelves and dirty showcases.  The guy had said photography was okay, so I realized what a shady operation it was.  You get people to pay a dollar to walk around and look at old toys that are of no particular value, and have a few toy-related things for sale. There were people who were getting a kick out of seeing all the toys, but most of the time I was just like, “what is this bullshit?” I got a small gift for one friend, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Anyway, back to looking for omiyage for the school…

Several JETs had told me that Japanese love Korean seaweed.  They told me not to bother with expensive gift boxes and just go to a supermarket and buy a bunch of the stuff.  Unfortunately, given my lack of time, I didn’t hunt for a supermarket.  The conbini I’d gone into earlier didn’t have any.  So, when I came across a bakery that had rice cakes and other Korean sweets in gift boxes, I just bought all my omiyage for the school at once: a box for kouchou-sensei, boxes of half that value for the two kyoutou-sensei, and a large box for all the teachers.  The boxes were pink and gold, which I didn’t really think about.  When I got back to Japan and gave them to the kyoutous though, they were like, “oooh, it looks like boxes of Valentine’s Day chocolate, hahaha! *wink wink*” I said, “Oh, it’s just that those are the store’s colors,” but in my mind I was like, “okay guys, okay, think what you want.” ^_^;;;

I did end up coming across a 7-Eleven that had seaweed, but as it didn’t come in nice packages (it wasn’t meant to be omiyage, afterall) I just bought a few that I could give to the neighborhood people that are nice to me, but that I don’t really “owe” anything to, such as the Takoyaki Lady.  Perhaps I would’ve been able to find nice gift boxes of Korean seaweed at the airport shops, but I didn’t want to risk having to buy omiyage at the last minute.  Which was a good thing, because…

The day of my flight back to Japan, Sunday, I knew I didn’t have enough money to take a cab, but I didn’t know how long it would take to get there by train.  According to the guidebook, the airport and downtown Seoul were about an hour apart by airport railway and city subway.  I knew I wasn’t staying in downtown Seoul, but I wasn’t that far away, so I estimated it would take an hour and a half and checked out of the hotel accordingly.  The night before, I had looked at what trains I’d need to take in my handy-dandy guidebook’s subway system map.  Me being paranoid as I am, normally, I would’ve quadruple-checked the route in the guidebook, then double-checked it again on the map in the station proper.  But sometimes, unfortunately, I’ll think to myself, “I should stop being so paranoid” and don’t check things the usual 10 million times.  *sigh*

The problem was that my guidebook’s map of the subway system, given that the book wasn’t in full-color, was in 4 shades of orange and 4 shades of grey.  It was a bit difficult to keep the lines separate as it was, so, I didn’t see the short transfer route, and since I unfortunately decided that morning not to be paranoid and didn’t look at the map in the station, I took a route that added 30 minutes of travel time because I had to double back.  I realized this while on the subway train, looking up at the full-color system map over one of the doors. I wonder if the other riders heard my mental facepalming?

After the city subway, I had to transfer to an AREX train.  I thought AREX was only for the airports, so I thought it would be fine.  But no, AREX trains stop at the airports, but also make stops in the boondocks by the airports.  I was so, SO agitated on that train! I kept screaming in my head, “GO FASTER!!” I nearly lost it when I saw that the cars were passing us!

By the time we reached Incheon Airport, I had about 40 minutes before my flight left.  When I checked in, I checked one bag.  The lady told me, “please wait 5 minutes for a bag check,” and pointed to a few rows of chairs.  I was confused, because there was no security checkpoint there.  I thought, maybe someone’s going to come?  So I sit there, worried about missing my flight, and no one came.  I asked a nearby Korean Air guy, and figure out that the lady meant, “please wait 5 minutes while we check your bag, and we’re not gonna tell you anything unless there’s something shady about your luggage, otherwise you can just leave after you’ve sat there for 5 minutes.” Not that I’m a globe-trotter, but sheesh! I’d never been to an airport with that procedure.  Luckily, the rest of the process of going through security was a lot less of a hassle than in American airports, so I went through quickly and got to the gate just 8 minutes after the flight had started boarding. What a close call! So, it was a really good thing that I had already bought the omiyage!

Well, that’s it! My 36 hours in Seoul! ^o^

Weekend in Hakata, Day 1

25 Sunday Oct 2009

Posted by scalesoflibra in Rolling 'round Kyuushuu

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Canal City Hakata, Final Fantasy, Hakata, Sephiroth, Yoshitaka Amano

I’m gonna catch up one day, I …no, I won’t swear cuz being honest, I will perpetually be playing catch-up with this blog.  ^^;

Two weekends ago was a 3-day weekend thanks the national holiday 体育の日 (taiiku no hi), Health and Sports Day. Wikipedia tells me it commemorates the opening of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Anyway, a friend told me about a Yoshitaka Amano (the illustrator for all Final Fantasy titles, and the character designer for many of the early FF’s) exhibit in Hakata.  I dug around the internet and found the event sponsor’s site.  Turned out you could get free Amano goods just for RSVPing on their site! Even better still, Amano himself would be there! So off we set to the Fukuoka Koutsuu Building!

Cassie & I in front of the exhibition hall

Cassie & I in front of the exhibition hall

While I hadn’t been the biggest fan of Amano’s style, I must say I got a new appreciation for his works after seeing them in person rather than in game illustrations and such.  I guess it’s because at a small size, the etherealness of his works (which is one of the things I don’t like, the other being his fabric fetish) is exaggerated.  Another thing I liked was that there were pieces that had these grotesque looking fairies.  I’d never seen something like that in Amano’s work, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Some people got to meet Amano and get an autographed drawing.  I don’t know if they were people who bought a print, or if they paid expressly for the opportunity.  For those that did not have the chance to get his signature, there was a “janken taikai,” or “rock-paper-scissors tournament.”  I was wondering how that would go, given that there were maybe 100 people there.  Turned out, everyone played simultaneously against (Amano’s assistant?) Mariko Suzuki! Unfortunately, neither myself nor my friend won, but 7 or so of the people who won in janken got to meet Amano & get his signature.

While trying to get a good photo of Amano-sensei, I snuck a photo of Amano’s orginal Sephiroth illustration, since it luckily was next to the stage. ^o^

Yoshitaka Amano (the man in the center)

Yoshitaka Amano (the man in the center)

Even with too much fabric and bling, Seph is Seph. ^o^

Even with too much fabric and bling, Seph is Seph. If only I had 668,000 yen to spare…^o^

Supposedly, all JETs develop a “Japan hobby.” I decided that mine would be collecting pretty clear files (plastic things closed on two sides that serve as folders; they don’t really have 2-pocket folders here.  I haven’t seen any at least).  There were different clear files with Amano artwork, but one didn’t get to choose.  I got a black & white one, not sure what it’s supposed to be.  But the fact that it’s a promo item makes it cool.  And the fact that I was able to read the event sponsor’s site and know what to do! (Ironically, while my ability to read Japanese has gotten much better, it feels like my ability to speak is going down! I think it’s because the Japanese class I go to is in plain form, and I’m used to speaking in polite form, so now I’m all mixed up! >_<)

Clockwise from Right: Free Vampire Hunter D poster

Clockwise from Right: Free Vampire Hunter D poster all attendees got; clear file; promotional postcard with Vampire Hunter D artwork.

After the exhibit we went to eat お好み焼き (okonomiyaki), which is fried cabbage with mayonnaise and one’s choice of toppings, sometimes called “Japanese pizza.”  Since we were in Hakata, I took the opportunity to go back to Yodobashi Camera to get my 100,000 yen gift certificate for signing up for internet there.  I have until December 31st to decide what I want to use it on.  I’m thinking either iTunes cards or a good pair of speakers for my computer.  Although I’m also contemplating the Final Fantasy XIII PS 3 bundle. ^o^ Even though I barely have time to play quick games like Dissidia. Oh, how Square-Enix has entrenched itself in my soul! It’s as bad as Apple’s hold on me!

Anyway, at Yodobashi Camera’s instrument section, this young dude sat down at an electric piano and played “The Prelude”! Then he started playing other themes from Final Fantasy.  He had the same bag & poster from the Amano exhibit. The Geeks gather! Reunion!

*ahem*

Then, we went to Hakata Station’s info booth to find our way to Canal City Hakata. We picked up clear files with maps of the Hakata area. Very convenient and a great addition to my clear file collection!

Canal City Hakata is basically a mall with rad architecture.  I think there’s a hotel, too.  Every hour there are water displays along its canals.  There was also this robot randomly rolling around the hallways.  But before I propagate the “Japan is full of mechas” idea, some may be surprised to learn that things like each adult having their own laptop and home internet are NOT the norm in Japan, or at least, not here on Kyuushuu. (So what if they had a scale model Gundam in Tokyo?) I don’t know if this is because everyone has the internet on their phones, or if people don’t like computers, or they think it’s too expensive, or what.

Looking down to a stage area

Looking down to a stage area

All your mall are belong to us!

All your mall are belong to us!

There was a Timberland Store in Canal City, and I was much amused to see the red fleeces and coats that are the “civilian” versions (so to speak) of the City Year uniform.  After that, we went back to my apartment.  But not before I put us on a train going in the wrong direction. ^_^;;;;  Luckily, since I know the stop immediately after Hakata going away from my place is Yoshizuka, we didn’t waste too much time.  Still felt like an idiot though. Oy gevalt…

Notice

As my time on JET has ended and I've said all I wanted to say about it, I will not be adding any new content to this blog. I leave it up for reference. However please keep in mind that the usefulness of this reference may drop as the years go by, because sometimes things change. Anyway, thanks for dropping by! ~September 2014

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