One of my favorite aspects of living in Korea is the access I now have to other parts of Asia. While I have to say that Japan was never on my bucket list of places to venture off to it turned out to be one of the most fun traveling experiences I’ve had abroad thus far.

Having wonderful friends in town for the week, we wanted to take advantage of a long weekend off of work. And when you live in Korea, Japan really is a weekend getaway. We went into the trip weary hearing that the Japanese locals weren’t entirely welcoming of travelers from the U.S. That said, we honestly weren’t expecting much. Just a new experience with old friends. However, once we arrived we were surprised just how friendly everyone was. Many people spoke English and those who didn’t were very patient as we tried to communicate what we were hoping to buy or find. A couple of locals even approached us when we were clearly lost looking for our weekend accommodations.

After a day of traveling, wandering the city, an incredible bowl of ramen, and time spent overlooking Shibuya Crossing we were ready for a good nights rest and an exciting full day in Japan which would start with  the Tsukiji fish market.