Let's Try Korean Shaved Ice in Japan!

I went to Shinokubo with Mizuki, one of the study abroad students like me from last year. We visited a café named `Homibing’, which is also as well as the name of the food. This café is located near Shinokubo Station, and it takes just one minute from Shinokubo Station to the café.

Homibing is like shaved ice in Japan, but do you remember `sulbing’ which I introduced in this blog? First, I would like to explain the differences between sulbing and homibing. Sulbing's main concept is 'Korean traditional desserts', so they usually use Korean traditional ingredients like 'injeolmi' which is Korean traditional rice cake and so on. But other universal ingredients like fruits or cheese are also used to provide various options to customers. Sulbing shops opened their stores prior to homibing, so by them, the trend of Korean dessert market started to be changed a lot. Homibing brought Taiwan style into Korea and adjusted it to Korean's taste. They layer ice flakes which resemble noodles with various toppings like fruits, jelly, and so on.


We tried taro potato homibing (￥1,200) which is a limited time menu. As you see in the photo, it includes some cakes and milk pudding. Also, the cherries on the top look very pretty. It was very delicious even though we ate this shaved ice in December. We also ordered a café latte which costs ￥500. There was some whipped cream on the top. To be honest, it was too sweet to drink with the shaved ice.


There are many kinds of homibing in the café. According to the web site, mango homibing (￥1,300) is the most popular there. Although it is the most expensive homibing in the café, the milk pudding and fresh mango make people happy. Not only homibing, but also sweet pizza and toast are famous in this café.



The clerks of the café were mostly Korean, but they can speak Japanese fluently, so you do not need to worry about communication. Overall, by eating this shaved ice,I felt as if I were in Korea again.


If you are interested in this café, you can follow it on Twitter. The website gives you some information about their new menu.

Homibing (1号店　新大久保）
Address:2-3-20, Hyakuninchocho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to 169-0073
URL: https://twitter.com/homibing_japan

Feel Korean Culture in Japan

Have you ever been to Shinokubo? There is a Korea Town, and it has a great deal of shops and restaurants which are related to Korean culture. It takes only two minutes by train from Shinjuku Station.  I recommend that you visit there at least once because you will feel as if you are in Korea. This time, I will introduce the Korean cuisine’s restaurant where I want you to go.

Last Sunday, I went to Shinokubo with Chaeyoung and Miji, who are exchange students from Korea. They said that they really miss Korean cuisine, so I decided to go to a restaurant which serves samgyeopsal (삼겹살). Samgyeopsal consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat. It is cooked on a grill at the diner’s table like yakiniku. According to the website, samgyeopsal is loved by 85% of Koreans. Also, Miji said her favorite food is samgyeopsal.

There are many places to eat samgyeopsal, and I found the most popular place in Shinokubo by net surfing. The name of the restaurant is `Tonchang’(とんちゃん). In Shinokubo, there are two restaurants which is called `Ton-chang’. One of the restaurants is the head store, but it’s too small and crowded with the customers. So, we went to the other restaurant on the day.

In my opinion, the branch location is more convenient than the head store in terms of distance from the station and the capacity. Actually, both restaurants are close to Shinokubo Station. You can set to either restaurants in five minutes. If anything, the head store is located in a bit further away. Next, the capacity is the most important aspect to prove that the head store is inconvenient. As I told before, this chain restaurant is the most popular in Shinokubo, and the head store does not have the capacity for many visitors. Unlike the head store, the other restaurant has many seats. However, when we went there, we had to wait in line because the restaurant was very crowded with people. After fifteen minutes, we could enter the restaurant. I think if I had been in line at the head store, I could not have entered in fifteen minutes.
 
In the restaurant, we ordered the samgyeopsal set and rice. The set includes various kinds of pickles, kimchi, and cut lettuce. The samgyeopsal set costs 980 yen, and the rice costs 200 yen. First of all, the staff served many kinds of pickles and kimchi for us. While we were eating these, the staff started grilling pork. For Japanese people, it is kind of strange that the staff grills pork at each table, isn’t it? Finally, the staff cut all pork with a pair of scissors to let us eat easily. The act of cutting porks with a pair of scissor is a bit eccentric for me. I found a cultural difference between Korea and Japan through the experience of eating samgyeopsal.

Tonchang Shinokubo Annex (とんちゃん 新大久保別館)

URL: http://www.tonchang.com/
Address: 2-1-4, Hyakunincho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Lotte World ~ A World of Fantasy and Adventure ~

I would like to introduce an amusement park, where you can enjoy spending time there even rainy days. Lotte World is known for having the largest indoor theme park in the world. The indoor amusement park is called `Adventure’. And, the outdoor amusement park is called `Magic Island’. I think Lotte World is similar to Tokyo Disneyland in terms of the appearance of the castle.

 

 

First, I’ll give you general information about Lotte World. Lotte World is open from 9:30 am to 10:00 pm on weekdays, and the hours of operation on weekends are from 9:30am to 11:00pm. The admission ticket prices differ from age groups. An admission ticket for adults (18 years and over) costs 36,000 won, and an
admission ticket for youths (13-17years) costs 32,000 won. In admission ticket for a child cost 29,000 won. It is much cheaper than Disneyland and DisneySea, isn’t it?

 

Next, I will write about the attractions which I tried. Actually, I was afraid of the attractions like Gyro Drop and Bungee because the facilities of Lotte World were insecure many years ago. I guess the attractions of Magic Island are much scarier than Tokyo Disneyland. I tried only Swing Tree outside. I  also enjoyed Dynamic Theater, Wild Valley, Wild Wing, Dream Boots, and Jungle Adventure inside. Even though the attractions I tried were for kids, I enjoyed and felt as if I were a kid. After I tried Swing Tree, I saw a woman who got motion sickness. If you try the attraction, please consider your condition. Also, if you have acrophobia, I really recommend you not to try any attractions outside.

 

Finally, let me introduce a trick art museum, where you can take amazing photos. There are a great deal of pictures and illustrations, and you can take photos with the trick arts. Actually, for me, the most interesting thing in Lotte World is taking pictures with trick arts. Not only in Lotte World, but also anywhere in Korea, you can find places to take pictures with trick arts.

 

In conclusion, I guess the people who do not prefer scary attractions like a roller coaster should not go to Magic Island. If the attractions outside look dangerous and may make you think that you do not want to try them, you can try the attractions inside. If you get bored with the attractions, you can go to the trick arts museum to take many pictures with trick arts. I think Lotte World is a good place to visit at a reasonable cost. Why don’t you go there if you visit Korea?

Lotte World

Address: 240, Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul
URL:  http://www.lotteworld.com/gate.html

진달래꽃 ~ My Review of A Sad Korean Poem ~

Speaking of Korean culture, Japanese people get interested in K-POP year by year. I take Korean literature classes this year and learned that most Korean people love poems. When I heard that at first, I couldn't believe it and asked that to my Korean friends. Even though they said they like poems not too much, they exactly know the poems I learned in class. I don't have a positive image of Japanese poems, so I thought Korean poems were boring like Japanese poems. As I read some Korean poems, my image of Korean poems changed. Today, I would like to introduce a poem which is named "진달래꽃" .

First, I’ll give you some information about this poem. The word ”진달래꽃” means azaleas in English. This poem was written by Kim Sowol (김소월) in 1925, and he wrote it when he was a teenager. Even though he was called a "genius poet” after he published the poem, he committed suicide due to financial problems when he was 32 years old. I think the theme of this poem is lost love, so it is a kind of sad poem.

             진달래꽃                                            Azaleas
 

나 보기가 역겨워 가실 때에는 말없이 고이 보내 드리오리다. 영변(寧邊)에 약산(藥山) 진달래꽃 아름 따다 가실 길에 뿌리오리다. 가시는 걸음 걸음 놓인 그 꽃을 사뿐히 즈려 밟고 가시옵소서. 나 보기가 역겨워 가실 때에는 죽어도 아니 눈물 흘리오리다.		You're sick and tired of me. When you go I'll bid you goodbye without saying a word. I'll gather azaleas on Yak Mountain, The burning azaleas of Yongbyon, And strew them in your path. Tread gently, please, Step by step, softly, On the flowers of dedication. You're sick and tired of me. When you leave I'll not weep though I die.
		—Translated by Peter H. Lee

What do you think about this poem? My presumption is the person speaking is addressing her lover before breaking up in this poem. My bielief is that the person talking in the poem does not want to break up with the lover in spite of having to let the lover go. I found a contradiction in paragraph 3. The paragraph frankly says trample softly, but it is impossible to trample softly.  The contradiction shows us the feeling that the person does not want to break up with his or her girlfriend against her will. Finally, the person says she will not cry even if he dies. However, I think the person will cry because the contradiction I showed refers to opposite thing. In my opinion, the person pretends to have emotions strongly. I am usually uninterested in sad poem or lyrics like this poem, but I feel how much the person loves his or her lover.

Although this poem was published in 1925, most Korean people know this poem because they have to learn this poem in high school. Even now, some singers add this poem to their songs.

안녕하세요 ~Let`s Study Korean~

How many Korean greetings do you know? Before entering any country, we should at least know a little about the culture and language of the country. I did not know any Korean words and could not understand any Hangul before going to Canada. In Canada, I learned some Korean words from my Korean friends. I would like to introduce Korean greetings.

First, I will explain a very useful greeting. I guess a lot of people know안녕하세요? (annyeong haseyo). It means “Hello” in English, and no matter what the time is, you can say this word unlike Japanese. You can also say 안녕하십니까? ( Annyounghashimnikka). If you greet senior or your boss, you have to use this. It is more formal than안녕하세요?.

Next, the phrase which means “thank you” is고마워요 (komawoyo). You can say this word whoever is in a close relationship with yoyu like friends or family members. If you want to say “thank you” in Korean, you have to say감사합니다 (gamsahabnida). It is more polite than 고마워요.

 Also, if you want to introduce yourself, you can say 저는 xxx 입니다 (jeo-neun xxx-imnida). In my case, for example, 저는 미오 입니다 (jeo-neun Mio-imnida). 저 means “I” generally, and입니다 has the meaning of “am”. Literally, the phrase means I (name) am. You can find that the English grammar structure is totally different from the Korean grammar structure. However, learning Korean might not be stressful for Japanese because the Korean grammar structure is similar to the Japanese grammar structure.

I think you do not need to learn Korean before taking a trip there. When I visited Korea, I was impressed by the translation service in public institutions. For instance, in any station, you can hear and read Japanese translation. In my opinion, Myeong-dong (明洞) is the best place for Japanese tourists. In Myeong-dong, I saw a lot of tourists from not only Asia, but also other continents. For this reason, most clerks can speak English. They can even speak Japanese. If you meet Korean people, you can introduce yourself as I explained.

Night View from 63 Building

Last time, I recommended the N Seoul tower to you to see the night view in Seoul. I would like to introduce another night view of Seoul this time.  The Hangang(漢江) river is known as the one of the famous rivers in Korea. When I went there, I found a good place to look out over the night view of Hangang. 

In the daytime, I strolled along the river while enjoying seeing the landscape. There was a park where many people gathered for camping, seeing the view and eating something. Even though it was at the daytime, I was excited at the view of Hangang.

The thing I really want to tell you is about the 63 Building. The 63 Building is the third highest building in Korea. There is a shopping mall with about 90 stores, an IMAX theater and an aquarium in the lower level, so you can take joy in spending your daytime there.

Actually, I did not have time to go to any shops and the aquarium. Instead of that, I went to the 63 Sky Art. If you want to look out over the night view of Hangang, you can go to the 63 Sky Art, where is located on the 60^th floor of the building. It is open from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. Entering the 63 Sky Art costs 13,000 won for people who are over 18. Also, youths (14-18) have to pay 12,000 won, and children and senior tickets cost 11,000 won. Please go to the first floor and ask officials for ticket information if you want to buy a ticket.

The 60^th floor is like a combination of an observatory and a museum, so you can not only see the night view but also enjoy looking at several kinds of art there. Even though there are mainly Korean artworks, some artworks are from all over the world. You can compare Korean culture to any other culture. At the same time, you can see the beautiful scenery of Hangang.

 

After seeing all artworks, you can take a rest while looking out over the nice view from the café of the 60^th floor. The café sells some coffees and frozen shakes. I found a nice romantic place like the N Seoul Tower. As I wrote before, the N Seoul Tower has a place to put padlocks for the couple’s eternal love. Like the N Seoul Tower, the 63 Sky Art has a place to wish for the couple’s eternal love.

In conclusion, I would like to compare and contrast the 63 Sky Art with the N Seoul Tower. Both the 63 Sky Art and the N Seoul Tower have a good atmosphere, and they make people might be comfortable. In my opinion, I recommend the 63 Sky Art more than the N Seoul Tower in terms of the crowdedness. The N Seoul Tower was crowded with too many people even in the shuttle bus. In contrast, there were fewer people in the 63 Sky Art than the N Seoul Tower. I did not feel stressful when I went to the 63 Building. The only problem is the 63 building is far from the central part of the Seoul, so if you stay at a hotel in Seoul, it is inconveniently situated.

63 Building

Adress: 50, 63 Ro Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul
URL:http://www.63.co.kr/home/63CITY/eng/main.do

The Secrets of Korean Skin

Have you ever thought that Korean people have clear and smooth skin? I was wondering why they have such beautiful skin when I was in Canada. One day, my Korean friend gave me two skin care products, and I found what makes their face clean and smooth. Therefore, I would like to introduce one of the ways they keep their faces so attractive.

First of all, I would like to introduce `Green Tea Mineral Mist’. This facial mist can give your dry skin moisture instantly. Besides, it has a nice smell of green tea. The most interesting thing is that you can utilize this mist not only before making up but also after making up. That’s why I always have this mist to spray on my dry face in the afternoon, because my face is likely to be dry at that time.

Another skin care product my friend recommended to me is `Bija Trouble Spot Patch’. This patch is known as `nikibi-patch’ in Japan and is used by both women and men.  I have seen a Korean idol who uses this patch. You can treat and cover problem areas where there are seen pimples . In my case, I could recover from pimple trouble by using the patch soon. 

 

Both of these products are sold at `Innisfree’ which is one of the famous cosmetic product shops in Korea. However, there are no shops to buy the mist and patch I introduced in Japan. You can use an online shop or go to Korea directly! In Korea, there are many Innisfree shops. In famous towns like Myeong-dong (明洞), Hongdae(弘大), Busan (釜山) and so on, you can find the shop. The word `Innisfree’ means a pure island where clean nature and healthy beauty coexist in harmony. All `Innisfree’ products use pure ingredients from Jeju Island. Purchasing skin care or cosmetic products in Korea is much cheaper than in Japan. The brand focuses on `green’ and `Jeju’ to make people all over the world happy. And, the brand is loved by not only Koreans but also Chinese, Japanese and so on.  I saw many `Innisfree' shops when I traveled in Seoul, and the clerk gave me complimentary skin care products. How nice they are! Please go to `Innisfree' if you have a chance to visit Seoul.
 

Innisfree
URL: http://www.innisfreeworld.com/main/index.do