Long Trip Home

We are officially living the longest Saturday ever....

This morning (Saturday) we checked out of our hotel at 11:00am; we had some time to kill before we could head to the airport. It was a rainy day in Tokyo so we just hung out at the hotel and played some cards for a few hours. We also ventured out for one final Japanese meal at the local curry house.

At 2:00ish we took the train to Tokyo station and then got on the Narita Express train to the airport. It was about a 45 minute train ride out of the city. We were at the airport around 3:30pm and our flight was not until 7:15pm....we hung out for a little before checking in and venturing into the terminal.

We flew Singapore Airlines to LAX. Singapore Airlines was a lot like Turkish Airlines; such a much better experience than United was on our way out there! Honestly, I don't know why people fly any American Airlines outside of the US. They are miserable. Singapore Airlines had individual tv's and lots of new movies to choose from. Needless to say we were entertained to say the least.

Our 9 hour 'overnight' flight got us into LAX on Saturday at 1:00pm. Yup, that is correct, it is still Saturday! (Hence our longest Saturday ever!) We are currently sitting in the crappy airport waiting for our 11:45pm flight to Boston. We have a really long layover, and LAX does not have much of anything in terms of restaurants or entertainment. It is definitely one of the worst airports we have been in and its annoying to be stuck here for so long.

The final leg of our trip is almost over. It was a great two and a half weeks, capped off by one final long day of travel. It is crazy to think that by the time we finally arrive in Boston tomorrow morning, we will have taken two overnight Saturday night flights!

Bags are packed!

Tokyo Day 3

Last night in Asia!

It is hard to believe the trip has come to an end. Although we were disappointed by the fact that we could not hike Fuji, we tried to make the best of a rainy day. We started off by sleeping in a bit before heading to Shibuya Crossing, a famous spot for the number of people crossing the road. Although we were there at one of the least busiest moments of the day, there were still a number of people walking around. We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and sat in their second story as we people watched (see the photo below).

We then continued on to do some shopping, and to check out different parts of the city. We had a nice lunch at a Irish restaurant before heading back to our hotel. Andy was a bit confused about the fact that he had spent so much money before he realized that he had about $15 in change(see photo below)!

We finished off the evening by attending a Tokyo Giants game. Although they were sold out, we had bought standing room only tickets yesterday. People were lined up at the gates 3 hrs before game time. We grabbed a burger nearby, but it was clear the pregame dinner/beers was not the norm for the area. We entered the game about an hour early and realized that people had saved spots for standing only tickets. Even though we were not going to be able to stand in one of the better spots, we still found decent spots to stand for the game. We enjoyed the atmosphere as the Giants pushed ahead 4-1 over their Dragon counterparts. We aren't sure if we became more accustomed to the atmosphere of the Asian stadiums or if our expectations were really high for this 'sold out' game, but the fans were not quite as loud as we expected. In the end, the game was exciting and we enjoyed our time at Tokyo's most famous ballpark.

Tomorrow we will check out of our hotel and then relax a bit before heading to the airport for our 7pm flight home. It's crazy to think we will be flying out at 7pm Tokyo time, arriving in LA at 2:00pm LA time on Saturday and then reaching Boston at 8am on Sunday!

"The Crossing"

So much change....

Giants v. Dragons - Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Day 2

Today was a lazy day for us. We started the day slowly, venturing down the street in our glasses to pick up some breakfast, and then hung out in the room for a bit longer before starting the day. Our first stop was the Tokyo Dome, where we picked up some standing room only tickets for Friday night's sold out Giants game. We are really excited for a packed stadium and what the atmosphere will be like as all the games we have been at haven't been close to being sold out.

After getting the tickets we ventured about 15 minutes on the JR line to another part of the city where we explored a city park and garden. In the park we found a table and played some cards, then grabbed some lunch at a local place on our walk to the garden where we read for awhile before heading back to the hotel. It was a cloudy and muggy day and on our way back we stopped for some FroYo. Andy decided to put one of the choices into his bowl, it looked like an eyeball! We didn't know what it was, and still don't. Andy tasted the gooey inside but and even he wasn't daring enough to try the outside in the end. (See photo below!) At the hotel later in the afternoon we sat outside playing Rummy, Brit was able to pull within 30 points of Andy but unfortunately he had regained his lead significantly when we stopped.

We enjoyed dinner at a burger joint where country music was blaring and Time Magazine covers were on the walls. We felt right at home!

We were back in the room in the evening in time to continue to binge watch Madmen. We started the first season at the start of our trip and are currently halfway through season 2!

Tomorrow is our last full day, it is supposed to be rainy but we are planning on another relaxing day wandering around the city.

Tokyo Day 1

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY! We have just watched our third baseball game of the trip, this evening we made our way out to the Seibu Dome to watch the Seibu Lions. This completes our mission to watch the Wizard of Oz, as we saw the Doosan Bears, the Hanshin Tigers, and Seibu Lions. It was no easy task getting to the Dome, as we changed rail lines three different times and traveled for close to two hours. The good news was that it was a well played game, and the fans were really into it since it was so close. We saw a man get gunned down at the plate, another caught stealing, and a failed suicide squeeze (way too much overcoaching going on). While we enjoyed the game, Andy also met the girl of his dreams - see the picture below. If only all girls carried mini-kegs on their backs!

On our travels back to the hotel after the game we couldn't help but notice how many people there were getting on to each train and walking through each station. It was so busy and crowded and did not feel like 10pm on a Wednesday night. Even with how many people there were, we somehow managed on one of our trains to be on a car that was basically empty. Made for a funny picture as it isn't really something you ever see in Japan!

This was our evening ordeal, since we spent most of the day traveling to Tokyo. We awoke early to watch the US lose to Belgium, fell asleep for a few more hours, and then took a 3 hour train ride. When we arrived in Tokyo, we stopped in at a Curry House to get some chicken and curry. Hard to believe, but it seems Brit is actually starting to enjoy some Asian cuisine.

We have settled in at our final destination, and it is nice to be in an actual bed in a hotel (not on a futon cushion). It is sad we are winding down with our final few days in Japan. Unfortunately, it looks like rain the next few nights and it does not seem like we will be able to climb Fuji. Life over adventure again....

Seibu Dome

The Beer Girl

Express Train back to Tokyo

Kyoto/Nara

This morning we awoke around 6am and briefly checked to see if the soccer coverage was on tv. It certainly was, and after a brief check and shut off of the television we went back to sleep. Andy woke up just before 7 and caught the extra time of the Germany/Algeria game, which proved to be pretty exciting. More importantly, he now knows the US game will definitely be on at 5 am tomorrow, slightly better than the 1am coverage when we were in Takachiho. We started our day for real around 8 am with unbelievably tasty pancakes and a cool iced coffee at our local Ko-Hi-Kan..... it is an amazing breakfast chain, which might be the only on in all of Japan. They certainly have us won over!

After our breakfast, we returned to the hostel to rent bikes and set off on an adventure. We biked five miles up to the Ginkakuji Shrine, and then followed a nice path to the Nanzani Temple. We then battled heat, traffic, and pedestrians as we made our way to the shopping center of town. Needless to say, it was not worth the battle or the embarrassing sweat soaked shirts. Temperatures reached 33 celcius today, which for you westerners means in the 90s. It felt even hotter in the sun, especially when biking up hill. As much as Andy wanted to stop for a beer at any local store, it just didn't seem appropriate.

We returned to our hostile early in the afternoon, and grabbed a few sandwiches before catching a train to Nara. Upon arriving, we trekked a couple miles in the brutal sun before noticing the taxi cabs offering rides for under $10... but we were able to break up the walk when Andy noticed a giant arcade with a Mario Kart game on the ground floor. We quickly dived in and fought off the kids that wanted to play and faced off against each other. With Brit sporting Yoshi and Andy choosing Mario (no Wario choice!) our battle ensued and we quickly won the admiration of Japanese people everywhere. With a 1-2 finish (Andy won of course), we expected a free second race, but it didn't happen so we continued on and arrived at Daibutsuden, or the Todaji Temple. Beyond avoiding the friendly deer harassing us and various student tour groups, we took in the ginormous Buddha sitting before us. In awe, we circled the very large man and appropriately saw the sights in silence. He was by far the biggest Buddha we have ever seen. We caught a taxi on the walk back to the station instead of making the hike this time, and we celebrated the five minute ride over the sweaty hour walk.

Following the hour ride back, we stopped by Osaka for a bit of shopping before heading on to Kyoto. We swung into the same English pub for some spicy waffle fries, fish and chips, and chicken and chips. It was not a daring night of eating, but it was a needed return to the western world. Hopefully, we will return to our daring ways in Tokyo. We will be off on a train to the capital city at 10:45 tomorrow morning.

It is hard to believe it is down to three nights. We have plans to go to a Seibu Lions game...and if weather permits a trip to the top of Mt. Fuji. As of now it is about 50/50 for the climb, but we are hopeful things will clear up for us!

Mario Kart at an arcade in Nara

Todaji Temple

Kyoto

Today we walked a grueling 9 miles exploring the city of Kyoto. We survived exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation in pursuit of the Golden Pavilion. It was worth it, but needless to say we are exhausted!

We started the day by taking the local JR train to the western part of the city. From there, we started our walking journey. We saw a few different sites during our explorations, including our first stop at the Nijojo Castle. This magnificent castle was surrounded by a moat on all sides. We thought it was impressive before we walked inside, but once within the walls we realized just how vast it truly was. Next, we walked a few miles to the Kinkakuji Temple (the Golden Pavillion - see photo below). The outside of the temple was gold foil, it was beautiful and unlike anything we had ever seen before. Needless to say, it made the lengthy walk seem worthwhile! We finished our long voyage by visiting the Ryoanji Temple and seeing a large stone zen garden. It claimed to be the most famous stone garden in the world, which is not hard to believe considering the fact we had never heard of a stone garden. After we limped our way to a new JR station for the short ride back to our stop.

Upon our return to our 'neighborhood' we sat down at a British restaurant and had a filling meal. Brit ate pizza for the 5,000th time. After our meal we shopped a little, in one of the large department stores we came across a tv section that was playing yesterdays Sox/Yankees game, and Andy couldn't help but to stop and watch for a bit! We then returned to the hostel to relax and watch Bones in Japanese!

Kinkakuji Temple

Watching the Sox vs. Yanks

Travel to Kyoto & Tigers game

Today we slept in a bit and then ventured to the train station to wait for the JR train to Kyoto. We were not able to get two assigned seats together so we lined up on the train platform early to get seats in the unassigned car. We shouldered our way onto the car and found two seats together. A short hour and a half ride and we were in Osaka. We then took a local train to Kyoto. We found our hostel and dropped our bags off before venturing back out to try and catch a 2pm baseball game in Osaka.

After getting some detailed train directions from our hostel we got back on the train and navigated our way to Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Osaka to see the Hanshin Tigers play the Chunichi Dragons. It took us about an hour to get there and we arrived at the park a little after 2pm. The stadium was more like a MLB stadium than the Korean park, all concessions were inside and you couldn't just go in and out like in South Korea. There were tshirts and sausages being sold as we approached, and if not for the fact that we had run out of cash we would have probably had some. The fans were in to it, with organized cheers, but the energy and level of the cheers was not the same as in Seoul. We stuck around til the 7th inning to see if they had any special 7th inning stretch activity and boy were we glad we did! Almost every single person in the entire stadium blew up a balloon in the top of the 7th and once the 3rd out was made there was a quick cheer and all the balloons were released straight up in the air. (See pictures below)

We finished the night searching for an atm so we would have cash. Although seemingly a simple task if you find an ATM, it is not true here. You find ATMs with no English, or ATMs that only accept international cards from China. We finally located a 7-11 (they all have international ATMs - english!), and then we ended with a meal and ice cream near our hostel. The next two days we plan to explore Kyoto, Osaka and Nara. It is hard to believe we have just 6 nights left on the trip!

Hiroshima

Yesterday we safely drove from Takachiho back to Kumamoto and then took a 2 hour train ride to Hiroshima. Along the way, Andy tried a 'coffee' drink we think, and we satisfied our hunger with local convenience store breakfasts. We were settled in our hostel by 4pm, so we decided to spend a few hours exploring the city.

We got on the 'hop on hop off' bus and took it to see the A-Bomb dome & Peace Park. The site was pretty powerful. The picture below shows a view of one of the sculptures in the peace park, and through the middle of the sculpture you can see the A-Bomb Dome. The first atomic bomb exploded right above that dome and they have preserved the building in the shape that it was after the bombing. After walking through the peace park, we explored the Museum. It told of Japan's growing power and attack on Pearl Harbor. It also told an interesting story of how America used the atomic bomb to justify the money spent on researching it and to end the war before Russia could get troops it the area. It was interesting to read the history from a different point of view. Overall, all of the area we were exploring had been decimated by the bomb in 1945, and it is crazy to think about the impact it had on today's life in Hiroshima.

Today we relaxed in the morning, allowing ourselves to sleep in and started our day after 9am. We took the train to the Miyajima Ferry, then took the 10 minute ride to Miyajima Island. There we interacted with and petted the local wild animals(Deer!), and we witnessed a traditional Japanese wedding party go by us. After leaving the island, we spent some time shopping and found one of the many nice Italian restaurants to eat lunch. The Japanese seem to pride themselves on their chefs that are trained in Italy. Done exploring early in the afternoon, we returned to our hostel to do a load of laundry on the roof. It was a nice evening, so we sat outside enjoying beverages and playing cards. When the laundry finished, we had some dinner at a local joint that supported the Hiroshima Carp and retired early for the night knowing we have a trip to Kyoto tomorrow. We are hoping to catch a 2pm baseball game in Osaka (10 minute train ride from Kyoto). Hopefully we make it!

Hiroshima Peace Park

Takachiho

We woke up early to head to Mt. Aso. As we approached the mountain on the steep and windy hill, we realized that the wind and rain might play a factor in how far our hike went. After parking we began our trek to the top of the volcano, ignoring the loudspeaker repeating 'we advise you not to climb to the top if you have heart problems or asthma.' Besides the rain, fog, and wind we were also concerned by the lack of people. Not only were we the only westerners on this part of the mountain, but we were also the only people. After hiking about an hour, we decided to rethink our plan. Considering the fact that the parking lot was just about out of range at 10 am and yet there no cars besides our little blue one, it seemed like perhaps something was off that we did not read on the sign filled Japanese writing as we headed up. Making a choice of life over adventure (much to Andy's disappointment), we rounded back down the mountain, returned to the car, and ventured to the far more touristy parking area. From here we walked safely with other visitors to the crater's edge. The power of the volcano could be felt along the edge, and the fear of lava spewing was not completely erased by the emergency shelters and men in hazmat suits along the path. Safely returning to our car after a few pictures and breaths of sulfur, we began our ride to Takachiho Gorge in Takachiho.

The ride took us about an hour and a half through the hills, farm country, and absolute middle of nowhere Japan. It was refreshing to be out of the city, even for a couple days before we head to Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. We were barely able to navigate our way to our inn (or bed and breakfast?), since there was no English around. We quietly crept into the entrance and hesitantly stood there awkwardly while we waited for someone to notice. No one did. We decided to head to the Gorge instead. Walking around in the rain, we took in the beautiful gorge that was created years ago by lava from Mt. Aso. Following our walk, we returned to the inn and tried again. This time someone came out to say hi and reassured us that we were in the right place. After unpacking and taking a quick nap, we went out to eat at a Japanese version of Denny's. It was solid food, and the pictures on the menu made it so that even Brit was willing to order a meal. The most entertaining part was the fact that a table of older women stared at us as we entered, and then openly stared out the window at us as we left and got into the car. I'm not sure they see many westerners in this part of the country.

Post-dinner, we went to a show at the local Takachiho Temple. This was a performance by locals known as Takachiho Yokagura. This was a folk dance to give thanks and pray for the rich and plentiful harvest. We were the only westerners in the entire building, and therefore the only ones to have no idea what the head of the dance said to start the night. At one point, Izanami (the goddess) came out to dance with Andy to make Izanagi (the god) jealous. Izanagi quickly came over, hit Andy twice, and took back the goddess... all to the great delight of the rest of the crowd.

Today really offered us a unique experience in Japan, and it was great getting to a more rural area of the country.

Travel day to Japan!

With a full day of travel ahead of us, we were up and out early this am on our way from Busan, South Korea to Kumamoto, Japan.

We started the day at 6:00am with a 45 min subway ride to the international ferry terminal. Next up was a 3 hour ferry ride from Busan to Fukuoka, Japan. Once arriving in Japan, the first thing on our list was to find an ATM. Unfortunately, the only ATM in the Fukuoka International Ferry terminal did not have an English option so we had to ask the information booth where to find one. We ended up walking for about 10 minutes with our big packs to find a convenience store with an ATM that we could understand. After withdrawing the Japanese Yen, we bought some ice cream for our hot walk back to the Ferry terminal. I enjoyed a green tea ice cream sandwich, it was different but tasty!

Once we returned to the ferry terminal we had to catch a bus to Hakata Station. We were able to figure out where we needed to get off, and the driver helped us pay for the fare. The smallest Japanese bill is 1000, which is essentially like a $10 bill. Needless to say, it took us a little to figure out all the coins that were worth about $5, $1, $.50, $.10, $.05 and $.01!

Once at Hakata Station, we turned in our Japan Rail Vouchers for a pass and booked tickets to get us to Kumamoto. We thought we had enough time when we booked seats on a train that left in 15 minutes, but we unfortunately had not thought about how we didn't know where we would find the train. After showing a few people our ticket stubs, we were pointed in the right direction and were able to find the track that our train was departing from. We were running up the stairs, our train departing in minutes and we saw the train on the track. We ran onto the train and found someone in our seat. Thankfully, we asked the man and he told us we were on the wrong train! Another train was departing from the same track just 3 minutes before our train was scheduled to leave. Seemed crazy to us to think that our train wasn't even there yet, but thankfully the man spoke some English and told us the right information and we were able to jump off before the train started. Total deja-vu moment to a similar experience we had in Paris! Anyway, we took a mental note that we needed to look closely at train numbers because trains in Japan do not sit in the station very long! Once we were safely on our correct train we had about a 45 minute train ride to Kumamoto.

In Kumamoto our next adventure started. We left the train station and walked across the street to the rental car office. We had booked a rental car (with English GPS) to drive to a more remote southern part of Japan. Our trip has been mainly centered around cities and we wanted to do more outdoors stuff. After some brief communication with our rental company, we were shown to our car. We spent a few minutes working with the company to make sure that we were all set to get to our hostel and once we were sure we were ok, we were off!

We soon realized that while the GPS reads all turns in English, the GPS will talk to you about other route options (we are assuming that is what its saying) in Japanese. Also, all roads on the GPS are written in Japanese (even though there is some English on the street signs!) and the distance is in Kilometers. So while the GPS is in English, it is still hard to understand! With all those details to overcome, we also had to get used to driving on the left side of the road! We did pretty well navigating our way out of Kumamoto city, just one missed turn but the GPS rerouted us and we were able to figure out where to turn to get back on track. I did the driving and Andy was giving me constant reminders to stay on the left when turning, it is really difficult to make turns while attempting to read signs and stay on the correct side of the road!

After about an hour and 15 minute drive out of the city we successfully arrived at our hostel, Aso Backpackers hostel. The hostel is really nice and Andy was able to find a good meal for dinner. (I stuck to the peanut butter and nutella sandwich. I have a feeling I will be having quite a few of these in the next week!)

Tomorrow we are exploring Mt. Aso (a volcano), and then heading further south to Takachiho Gorge. We are excited to be outside for the day!

Busan

Today we spent the entire day touring "Dynamic" Busan. They always say that word, just as Hartford continues to be the rising star of the northeast... and yet neither appear to ever be true.

We started the day with a Dunkins iced Americana coffee (yes there are Dunkins everywhere here! Way more than in any of the cities off of the East Coast of the US). We figured out the local bus system and took it to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. We made the lengthy train and bus ride out in the beating sun, and Andy barely survived the radiating heat as we hiked our way to the shore. It was different than the other temples we have visited because it was located on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. We enjoyed a 10:30am ice cream, since there was no way Andy was making the hike out without it.

For lunch we spent a little time exploring the world's largest department store, Shinsegae Department Store. We took a look at the driving range on the 14th floor and a skating rink on the 4th. Although we entertained the idea of being the two white kids racing around the rink, we decided not to lace them up this time. It kind of seemed like a large mall, except that you couldn't escape the stores because they flowed into the hallways. There were all the brands you could imagine, from Armani to Gap to Nike.

After the mall, we took a tour on the double decker bus of the city. Once again we were disappointed that they falsely advertised about an open top bus! The bus driver weaved between pedestrians and cars alike, as he moved us between spots with impressive speed. We worried his aggressive driving style would result in an accident, but thankfully no matter how many times we braced ourselves for an immediate crash we never had one. We ended our ride at the Jagalchi Fish Market which had all kinds of sea animals. It felt more like we were at an aquarium (filled with dead animals) than it did a market. From huge eels to octopus to sting rays we were fascinated by the endless options, and yet chose not to go near any of them... surprise surprise.

Following our tour, we picked up a little food, took an excellent peace picture, and headed back to Kim's house. While getting the food (and Hite Beer), Andy uttered his first Korean words on the final day of our visit to the country - kamsahamnida, thank you (harder than it looks). We ate a delicious take out meal as Kim prepared some food for him and his wife. We chatted with an Irish man about the heat in Cape Cod before ending the night with an episode of Mad Men. We are up and out early tomorrow in order to catch a ferry to Japan. Tomorrow starts the next adventure!

Andy and Brit

Jalgachi Fish Market

Seoul to Busan

The day began at 4:30 when the alarm went off and we soon heard the cheers from down below. We shuffled into our newly purchased "Reds" shirts and arrived fashionably late to the already ominous Korea v. Algeria soccer game. The crowd was intense even down 3-0, and the streets soon began to shake as it looked as if the country was going to get back into the game when they scored a quick second half goal. Police lined the street as we watched the game, Koreans (thousands) and Americans (2) together as one. Even with our help in cheering and clapping, the Algerians proved to be too much, and we soon headed home to sleep an hour before the US squad took to the field. Getting up for the second time today, this time at 7am, was not easy, but we powered through in support of our fellow countrymen. Tensions were high as we watched on the edge of our seats and held on so dearly to every word the Korean announcers said. Our emotions were a rollercoaster ride as we cheered silently as America scored its second goal, and then quickly moved on after they lost the lead in the final seconds.

Following a morning filled of more soccer than we had ever seen before, we had a nice breakfast at a Korean diner before making our way to the Seoul main train station. The humid city is tough to lug around large backpacks, but we were able to do so while focusing our newly trained eyes on catching the 'twinning' happening around us. Couples dressed as each other still has not gotten old for us, as we continue to laugh, point, and capture pictures of them as often as possible.

After the three hour train ride, we found ourselves in Busan, another large city. We checked into our hostel before heading to check out the town and scour the roads for postcards. We had no luck yet again, but we did end up at the beach. We visited the two most popular beaches, both located on the Sea of Japan. Brit was lucky to have her local geography teacher with her, as she was mistaken about it being the Yellow Sea (she'll always claim she didn't say this, but don't believe her). It turns out she is only the Navigator in the Western World.

We had a nice dinner on the beach as we watched the Diamond Bridge change its beautiful colors and we continued to be fascinated by Korean obsession with selfies, peace signs, and mirrors. Not to be outdone, we took our own selfies and I threw up my own peace signs to fit in. We also witnessed a lovely dinner between a beautiful golden retriever and man. I couldn't help to think that perhaps young Megan was doing the same with my beautiful niece Hadley.

After a long day, we returned to Kim's House to plan our next day and write a blog entry. Now that I'm done, I'll be getting back to reading The Fault in Our Stars. I'll post a book review when I finish, but so far so good.

Andy

Final full day in Seoul

Today was our last full day in Seoul. In the morning, we checked out of our hostel and dropped our bags off at the hotel we would be staying at for our final night in the city. We altered our plans a bit because we wanted to watch the South Korea soccer game early tomorrow (Monday) morning on a big screen with all of the fans in front of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Much like when we watched the finals four years ago with the Eiffel Tower in the view behind the screen, we wanted to experience this scene in Seoul.

After dropping our bags we ventured on a Hop-on, Hop-off, double decker bus tour of the city. At one point we got off and took a cable car up to the top of the hill that overlooks the city. It had some great views.

After the bus tour, we checked into our room in the hotel. From our room we have a perfect view of the 'scene' where we will be watching the game at 4am tomorrow! (See photo below)

We then took the subway to meet Graham to watch a baseball game between the Kia Tigers and Doosan Bears. This scene was amazing. The experience was unlike any other baseball game that we have ever been to (and we have been to a lot!). The crowds were amazing, singing and chanting almost continuously. The cheers were organized by one person, and many of the fans had the big clapper noise makers. It really made the atmosphere of a playoff Red Sox game look kind of pathetic compared to the energy in this stadium for just a normal game! Unfortunately the weather didn't hold out for us and the game was canceled when the pouring rain/thunderstorms/hail came in the 5th inning. (The other thing is they do not wear rain jackets in Korea, EVERYONE has an umbrella - so when the rains came, the amount of umbrellas in the stadium was insane) Another Cushing graduate had met us at the game and he took us after to a food court to eat. We were able to get a good meal (with his help) and then we were back at our hotel by 9pm.

We are calling it an early night. The scene is already crazy outside, the music is loud and there is a ton of people out there already and the game is 6 hours away still! We are hoping to get a little sleep before we head out to watch.