Tokyo - Days 2 & 3

The second day of my vacation in Tokyo involved a lot of wandering around and a lot of relaxing! 

Since the Skytree was so close to my hotel, I headed there first. Little did I know that it would be packed with people!! I didn't realize that it had just opened a few months before, so it was swarming with people. That being said, I didn't go up to the top, but I did enjoy walking around the area and looking up at the giant beast! 

Then, I headed towards to the river, where I got a nice picture of lanterns hanging along the river. 

From the other side of the river, I was able to get a nice view of the Skytree and the Asahi buildings. Asahi is a Japanese beer that had headquarters in Tokyo. From my understanding, the gold building is supposed to look like a mug of beer. 

Next, I hopped on a boat and headed up the river to the other side of Tokyo. It was about a 40 minute ride and the views were really spectacular!

My final stop on the second day was an onsen, otherwise known as a bathhouse. The bathhouse I went to, Oodeo Onsen Monogatari, was amazing!! It is definitely set up for tourists and people to spend hours there. I actually ended up spending 4 hours there! For a big part of the bathhouse, you are wearing a kimino looking gown and it's coed. In the coed areas, there are foot baths, eating areas, and shopping stalls. The gender separated areas include the bath areas and relaxation rooms. It was incredible! I definitely recommend it!

Day two started with a trip to Shibuya, which was made popular in the movie "Lost in Translation". My first stop was the Sony Building. There, I played with all sorts of gadgets. I mostly stuck with the cameras, but it was fun seeing all the different things!

Outside the subway station, I said hello to Hachiko. If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it. It's such an amazing story of loyalty.

And I walked through Shibuya Crossing, which is said to be the Times Square of Tokyo. There were loads of people!

Later, I headed to the market and caught a picture of some ladies in kimonos...so pretty!

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at a cat cafe. The owner spoke English really well and was really friendly. In the cafe, she had 17 cats that were waiting to be adopted. I really admired her commitment to the cats. Apparently, Japan has a big problem with strays, but she was helping as best she could. It was a nice stop!

These guys were everywhere around the tourist ares. The pull the carts with 1-2 people around the city. I was mesmorized! I can't imagine doing that....especially in the awful heat!

This street art caught my eye!

And finally, a nice sunset from my hotel window...a lovely day to end the day!

Tokyo - Day 1

For my first week of summer vacation (out of two weeks), I headed to Tokyo for 5 days. Since coming to Korea, I've always wanted to go to Tokyo, and I thought it was finally the time. This was my last vacation period before I return home in October, so I figured I better go before it was too late!

Let me tell you about my first day through pictures!

 When booking my flight, I chose to go with Air Busan. This is a budget carrier in Korea that only flies to a few selected locations, and lucky, Tokyo is one of them. The total price for my flight was about $250 USD. Of course, at check-in, I asked for an exit aisle seat. I was given one and happily entered the aircraft. To my surprise, no one was sitting next to me (you know, in America, the exit rows are like gold!). On my two hour flight, we were given a nice lunch. I was really pleased with the service and flight, and I definitely recommend anyone to fly with them!

From there airport, there are tons of ways to go, but I decided to use the cheapest option (surprise!) which was the 'slow' train from Narita airport to Ueno station. Since my hotel was near Ueno station, it was quite convienent for me! The price for a one-way ticket was 1000 Yen, which is around $14 USD. The train stopped at a lot of stations on the way, but the ride was fine and I was kept cool by the fans on the ceiling!

My hotel (Palace Japan) was near the Minami-Senju train/subway stop, so it was really easy to get around. There was also a nice view of the Tokyo Sky Tree from the hotel, which you can see in the picture. I didn't get any pictures of the actual hotel, but it was really nice and new! I enjoyed my stay there!

After checking in, I went for a walk around the hotel's area. It was dusk and there was a really nice view of the Tokyo Sky Tree. The Sky Tree is huge...and it really sticks out in the city. It's definitely very noticable.

The following pictures are from Senso-ji Temple, which was about a 30-minute walk from my hotel. It is a really nice temple with a really beautiful pagoda, which I love!

On the way back to the hotel, I took a picture of the Sky Tree from the same spot as before. My camera isn't too good for night pictures, but you can get the jist!

The rest of the night I spent looking over the mountain of material that I got from the Tourist Information center at the airport. My tip for anyone that is traveling...ALWAYS stop by the tourist information center. The book I had was about 2 years old, but the information center always has up-to-date information. The lady there was able to tell me so many things that I could NOT have learned in my book, so it was well worth the 10 minutes it took when I landed! Remember that next time you travel! :)

More to come!

Island Camp - Saryang Island

A few weeks ago, I headed to a nearby island, Saryang-do, for a 3-day island camp. I worked a similar camp last year, so this year I was much more prepared and knew what to expect. One thing about teaching in Korea is definitely having flexibility. And if you've known me long, you know I am not usually the most flexible person. This job has definitely taught me to be more flexible and go with the flow more!

I was in charge of teaching the fifth and sixth graders at Saryang Elementary School, and they were wonderful! Because of some renovations at the elementary school, our class was held in the middle school English classroom. 

I tried to make the camp more project-based than the normal class times. The kids came to camp for 7-8 hours a day, so it was my mission to ensure they had a fun time and enjoyed studying English with a foreign teacher (which they normally don't have). 

My favorite project that I do at all of my camps is the egg drop project. It's such a fun time for the kids and lets them incorporate English and science together. 

First, the students got into group and planned their 'egg capsule' for about 10 minutes. 

Then I gave them about 35-40 minutes to build their egg capsule. Each group had the exact same materials, which included a piece of cardboard, a meter of tape, a meter of toilet paper, 2 balloons, a meter of yarn, and of course, an egg. 

After the time was up, each group showed off their egg capsule and we prepared for the drop!

Then, we headed outside with half of the student two-stories above and the other students on the ground to retrieve the eggs. 

Shockingly, NONE of the eggs survived! I couldn't believe it! I've done this project numerous times and about half of the eggs survive, but this time, none of them survived! It was disappointing, but the student still had a really fun time and enjoyed the project!

Another day, I taught the students how to play 'frisbee soccer', so we headed outside to play. The boys really enjoyed the game, but the girls were a bit hot and bored. I guess you can't please everyone!

On the final day of the camp, I set up a 'prize store' to let the students 'cash in' the dollars they had earned during the camp. The students earned the 'dollars' by winning games or showing good effort and other various ways. The student could then use their 'dollars' to buy different supplies in the store. 

Finally, our last project was to give a presentation about their island. It was a bit difficult for some of them, but my co-teacher and I tried to help when needed. They ended up doing a nice job and showing really good effort. 

Overall, the camp was a great success, and I was really pleased with the outcome. I think the students had a nice time and had fun learning English, which was the goal!