Geisha

During & after WW ll, Japanese prostitutes called themselves geishas and a misunderstanding spread throughout USA & the world, prompting the Hollywood film Memoirs of a Geisha. Geisha aka geiko & apprentice aka maiko developed under Samurai period 300 years ago. During Samurai period, entertainers trained to learn traditional Japanese art: dance, sing, play instruments, calligraphy but most importantly conversation. In old days, rooms without electricity, lit up white powdered face and party only 90 minutes based on 2 incense burning. Today, very rare for Japanese to attend exclusive geisha party. Today, 300 geishas living in Kyoto, highest in Japan.

Torii Gates of Mt Inari

Mt Inari is sacred mountain in Kyoto famous for shrine, network of trails, thousands of red Torii gates and statues of foxes. Why is fox guardian of shrine? Shrines grow rice. Rats eat rice. Fox eat rat. Famous for thousands of golden red Torii gates donated by businesses seeking prosperity, paying up to $200,000. Open 24/7.

Kyoto Central Train Station

Architectural wonder! 1997 Japanese architect, Hiroshi Hara won global contest to build his vision of futuristic avant-guard train station. Initially controversial in this traditional, historic city of Kyoto. Today architectural wonder embraced by all & enhanced by light shows & stunning views of city & Kyoto tower.

Sumo wrestling (Tokyo)

Sumo wrestlers, in traditional garb arrived at sumo stadium for meet,  parents trailing behind. Small stadium always sold out & patrons sit on thin floor cushions. When crowd roused they throw cushions at stage. Actual wrestling lasts 7 seconds. The ring is small made of dirt from river. Wrestler loses if lands on ground, steps out of ring or hair touches ground. Ok to slap but not punch. Winner wins money but there is no betting in Japan.

Bonsai (Tokyo)

Originally from China but adopted in Japan. Means potted plants. Like geisha, sumo wrestling & taiko drumming, only small niche of elder Japanese interested. Very expensive to purchase. Recently, ancient white pine bonsai sold for $1.3 million, still awaiting to be picked up.

Tokyo

Finally got up the nerve to use bidet, directions in Japanese. Problem was couldn’t figure out how to stop the flow of warm water until I used Google translate! Again, train travel more daunting than Seoul. I downloaded Suica payment card but still so many trains, lines, exits. English translation is fleeting on boards. 

70% of Japan mountainous, 68% forests (1 Finland, 2 Sweden). History & symbolism at ancient Asakusa pagodas coupled with modern architecture of Tokyo merging old & new. For instance only small niche, older generation, still interested in bonsai & sumo wrestling.

Accessibility

Compared to the US with far few people, Tokyo is well maintained and accessible. On either side of stairways there is a narrow ramp for bike and strollers. Every street has a raised yellow tactile/auditory signal & braille at intersection for the blind. More than 1 million/day use train station for travel & commute but they stand in single file line to enter. Every public bathroom is well maintained: has a bidet, toilet paper & hand hygiene. Some even have music of water! City hotels are small, but well appointed, often self check-in. And many restaurants are cashless, Apple Pay everywhere. Walking across a city intersection is orderly and enter single file on trains. On the street bicycles replace motorbikes. Although both countries export EV vehicles, they have not arrived in South Korea or Japan but you see some E bikes. The shopping in Seoul, South Korea is on the street markets, underground & malls, whereas in Tokyo, there are malls for electronics, clothes, foods, restaurants. Each mall has a smoking, nursing room and always a food court. You can seriously get lost or do some damage shopping. 

Tour

Once again, I don’t like the OAT tour excursions  I didn’t care to meet a sumo wrestler behind a laptop and a Taiko drummer playing like a 5 year old. Bonsai was of no interest. But I still appreciate the tour & find some element interesting. I like the fellow tourists & when I’m on my own, I walk 8 miles & have a great time!

Hakone

The mountainous town of Hakone is a day trip from Tokyo. Hakone is famous for its volcano that erupted 10 yrs ago and warm springs. From Tokyo we took bullet train, funicular, gondola to reach the town. The volcano is surrounded by black dead trees from gases & famous for hard boiled black shelled egg, boiled for 1 hour in hot springs. Local belief eating egg adds 7 years to life. I ate one.

North Korea is the most dangerous border in world. The Demilitarized Zone aka DMZ runs along the 38th parallel resulting from peace agreement from the Korean War. Actually DMZ is not demilitarized but heavily fortified by checkpoints, army base, soldiers, land mines, blockades, toll gates and barbed wire everywhere. Under the DMZ, tunnels were built by North Koreans for invasion, and discovered 1978 by South Koreans. A defector previously surveyor reported the tunnel large enough to move 30,000 troops/hour showing their intention to infiltrate. Currently, about 10 million visitors visit the DMZ. Our passports checked twice & no pictures or video. There is an observatory to see the landscape of North Korea, a 0.4 mile walk inside tunnel and crossing of the unification bridge.

The Unification bridge crosses South Korea to the DMZ. Interesting fact- Founder of Hyundai Chung Ju-yung donated money to build the Unification bridge. He was born a poor farmers son in N Korea. He stole Dads cow, sold it & used the money to defect into South Korea. In South Korea, he made his money by an auto repair for US military before founding Hyundai. He donated money to build the Unification bridge at the DMZ. Once bridge opened, he took 1000 cows across bridge to honor his Father whose cow he stole.

Korean War (1948-1953) is known as the lost war. Like the Vietnam war, both were a draw but unlike the Vietnam War, Korean War was not televised. 300,000 Chinese troops without weapons, invaded North Korea because UN troops pushed North Korean forces to China border, which posed a threat to China’s security. Like the Vietnam war, Americans sent ground troops & heavily bombed Korea. My Dad was a musician entertaining the troops with Bob Hope during the Korean War. CORRECTION-When Dad was there, there was no 38 parallel. He played for the troops in capital of North Korea all the way up to the Chinese border. When the Chinese sent troops in, the Americans were pushed all the way back to the 38th parallel.

In addition to gender inequality, single Mothers, dog eating, discrimination against defectors….the issue of Unification (between N & S. Korea) continues. Majority of Koreans consider North Korea as a separate country that they hear on the news. Whereas the older generation envision a Korea a single, sovereign state. North Korea could contribute natural resources: rare earth elements (used in combustion) and add a population of 25 million.

The North Koreans are indoctrinated to worship President Lin but neglect poverty and hunger of its people. Indoctrination, propaganda, censorship in North Korea continues today. They say weapons are hidden inside tunnels in mountains. South Korea monitor how the mountains have severe deforestation. There was 34,000 defectors but that number has dwindled of recent. Still North Korea sends balloons dumping trash into South Korea. In retaliation the South Korea soldiers at the DMZ blast K-pop and loud message to say “Life is better in South Korea. If you want to defect, we will take care of you.” A north Korean soldier at border contemplated defecting for 3 years but took only 3 hours to successfully cross the border.

PS Dog breeding & eating was abolished by impeached President & wife who were dog lovers.

Our OAT tour started in Seoul, South Korea with our exemplary 40 year old guide, Pam Kim who was born in Seoul, immigrated at 14 with her family to Toronto, Canada. She remained thru college and recently returned to Seoul as a professional tour guide. Night & day compared to our Vietnam guide. We are traveling with 5 others: Marcia retired high school guidance counselor who’s married to Burt, a retired attorney. They are traveling with their sister, a creative writing professor from Chicago. They are Jewish, 70 years old and well traveled. The other 2 women are older from Walnut Creek, churchgoers, well traveled on their 24th OAT tour.

We are staying in a lovely high rise hotel in the Myeondong location, close to subway, night markets and cable car to Seoul tower. No views from room but that’s OAT Tours. On our 1st day our tour passed a large protest. Protests common in Seoul, protected by police (battons, stun guns only) & sanctioned by government. In 2024 President Yoon declared martial law for no reason other than to compromise democracy. It was not only a local but global crisis. As recent as 2025, Yoon was impeached, later arrested, indicted & imprisoned citing treason. Wife received many designer items as bribes by Unification Church aka Moonies, interestingly, the founder from S Korea.

More interesting than the Gyeongbokung Palace tour, free for seniors, built in 1395 was walking thru historic Bukchon Hanok village. 900 well preserved homes house 6100 residents down quaint narrow streets with views of the city. Homes built tongue & groove (no nails) have large antiquated wooden doors with modern touches, a RING. Our lunch was delicious chicken soup at famous local Michelin restaurant. Our dinner also local & authentic barbecued pork, cooked at our table. Guide Pam offered us tastes of rice wine & 50% alcohol shots! Great 1st day!

Consumerism is thriving in this capital. Underground shopping, night markets, boutiques along the boulevard. The biggest industry seems to be make up and skin care.

Even though South Korea has the lowest birth rate in world, the number of people is astonishing, 50 million to be exact. The queue for popular eating spots, made popular by social media are hours long. Still crossing the street is organized until you reach a busy intersection that does not accommodate pedestrians aka crosswalk. One must walk city blocks or get lost in the underground before emerging triumphantly in the daylight!

The fashion in this capital city of South Korea is stylin cute to elegant chic. Due to the summer warmth, the colors are subdued, white, gray and black, many tennis shoes and waterproof boots, and always the proverbial umbrella or hat again to protect against the sun. I don’t know the demographic but based on how few places to sit in the city I’d say it’s a young country. The number of American companies is staggering; Kinko’s Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, McDonald’s, 7/11. Tom Cruise is on only English tv station.

My 2nd day I opted out of the tour to the farm to make chilie paste. Instead I walked 10 miles around the neighborhood, first to Shinsegae, a high end popular mall. The basement had foods similar to Harrods in London. And walked to the Four Seasons hotel where Barbe stayed. At night took cable car to Seoul tower to revel in city lights.

Embarked on a 6 hr drive from Hanoi to Ha Long town for 2 nights & a private cruise on Ha Long bay, to relax amidst towering limestones islands, explore caves and a swim. That is if they get the engine working….Notably in July of this year, a tour boat sunk from bad weather with 39 mostly Vietnamese from Hanoi died & received only $950 USD compensation.

Before reaching Ha Long Bay we stopped to meet a character that raises snakes: pythons, rat snake. He, like a family in Old Quarter of Hanoi make their own moonshine. Only this guy puts the dead snake coiled into the clear jar with the moonshine. Sign of masculinity I think.

This tourist town of Ha Long is less desirable than the cruise. The town is over developed but unfinished at the same time, a virtual ghost town! It has an amusement park, roller coaster, water park, cable car, ferris wheel that was either deserted or not working. High rise hotels tower during the day & brightly lit by night but vacant or unfinished. A barrage of unfinished modern 4 story condominiums overlook the bay with a paltry number of construction workers. No convenient store accepts credit cards in this tourist town. It is an enigma. AI notes a shift in Chinese tourism trends, overbuilding and high operating costs contribute to ghost town feel.

There is no such thing as quaint seaside town with 1 million inhabitants in Da Long town. Town is modern, sprawling but they got planning all wrong. The only reason to be here is boat ride to the UNESCO site. Like every other tourist back in Hanoi hotel, I would have stayed in Hanoi & taken day trips to these towns rather than stay 2 nights in a ghost town that doesn’t accommodate tourists! Nevertheless, no regrets traveling to Vietnam.

On the other hand, OAT tours delivered with relaxing boat cruise to Ha Long Bay. We took a slow boat to China with 6 accommodating crew. We explored 1 mile of well lit caves before the crowds of tourists could be seen & heard. We returned to our boat for home made lunch then a swim, ice cream and back to the hotel on our slow boat to China. It was a truly magnificent site, the cave well preserved using pathways but the Bay is inundated with, Chris counted 30 private cruise ships and bay littered, despite the UNESCO site. Tonight we walk to loud techno music, crazy lights, against massive outdoor stage with bikini clad dancing women in cages at the Valley Beach Club. God help us! Tomorrow we fly to Seoul, South Korea.