Day 28 – October 15 – Tokyo, Japan – Seoul, South Korea

I started the morning by going to the Tsukiji fish market. This is the place where all of the fisherman bring their tuna and other fish to be marketed directly in the wee morning hours. It is pretty incredible to see the insanity of the auction. Although other people told me differently, I listened to the concierge at the hotel who told me not to bring my camera. She said that it WILL get wet and after the inundation that my poor Canon took at Angkor Wat, I have no interest in really seeing it endure another soaking. I just would lose it if my camera broke or took a turn for the worst. So I walked around, hearing people shouting and gesturing and cheering during the fish auction. Afterwards I looked for the stall with the characters the concierge had suggested. There are row after row of stalls of chefs serving the freshly prepared and newly bought fish. Seriously, the sushi is pretty much squirming right there in front of you as you eat it. The sashimi literally melted in my mouth it was so good. I really really enjoyed it. I sat between two old Japanese men who thought it was really funny that I was there.

After the early morning fresh fish breakfast, I returned to the hotel to pack up and leave. I gathered my things, packed the backpack, and headed downstairs. No real reason to call the concierge to send someone to pick up my stuff as my bag weighs more than the staff. Off to the airport cause I am going to Seoul, South Korea.

Upon arriving in Seoul, I get in the car to go to the hotel. My dad had met a senior guy, Jay, from Samsung recently, and when he mentioned that I was traveling Asia at the moment, Jay graciously offered to show me around if I arrived in South Korea. So, I met up with Jay and several of his friends for dinner. It happened to be his brother’s birthday the preceding day, so we celebrated. I had a fantastic time. Since I got to Seoul in the late afternoon, I didn’t get to see much that day, but what I did see was very impressive. The city is massive with bright, gleaming skyscrapers and people everywhere. There were more coffee shops (including the Coffee Bean, YES!) per capita than probably any other place in the world. Very interesting.

We had dinner where we discussed the game of golf, which Jay and his family are very interested in. It was fun to discuss the game, since I haven’t played in a while. For some reason, I didn’t think bringing a golf bag with me was probably the most efficient use of my space or weight allowance on planes. But we talked about the famous match between Hogan, Nelson, Ward and Venturi played at Cypress Point in the 1950s immortalized in a book by Mark Frost. Jay gave the book to me after dinner, which I am really excited about reading. We talked about the world economy, what’s happening, where I was going, what I had seen so far, and how much fun I have had. It was great to spend some time with people in the business world again (I know, did I really just say that?) and talk about random current events. Jay was incredibly nice to me, I had the best time. Tomorrow I’m going to have breakfast with him and tour the Samsung showroom. Should be interesting!