SeoulNicole 서울니콜

At Cheonjiyeon Falls (천지연폭포) I've been fortunate enough to visit Jeju Island twice, once in July of 2012 and again in December of 2013.  Jeju Island  is known as "The Hawaii of Korea" and is a popular vacation destination for Chinese & Japanese tourists, Koreans, and English teachers ^^.  A few articles on Jeju  here , here , and here . In short, Jeju is BEAUTIFUL and can be extremely affordable if you know where to go. View from the room at Hotel Good Inn. Coconut not included ^^. Jeongbang Falls Winter in Jeju, Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) in the distance. Beautiful view from the roof of Hotel Good Inn, Seogwipo Jeju On my first trip to Jeju in 2012, I was traveling alone in late July, one of the hottest weeks of the summer. On the 1 hour plane ride from Incheon to Jeju, the atmosphere on the plane was bubbly and lighthearted. On average, Koreans take the fewest amount of vacation days of all countries in the Asia-Pacific reg...

Since being home (New Jersey) I've taken a bit of a break from K-Pop. I still religiously read Asian Junkie  for my daily Kpop LOLz, but overall I've been more attuned to Western music these past few months. By Western music, I pretty much mean one artist: Hozier. That time Zach Braff told me about Hozier In the summer, my friend and I went to a Q&A session in Union Square with Zach Braff the day his movie ( Wish I Was Here ) came out. The soundtrack features Hozier's Cherry Wine, and he described the way the song was recorded live - not in the traditional sense in that it was recorded at a concert - but recorded outdoors, with sounds of birds chiming in on the track. I also learned that not only was he a Hozier fan, but he loves Game of Thrones. He gave away multiple GOT action figures during the event. Hodor! Hodor? Hodor. Hey bae <3 After weeks of impromptu Hozier dance parties and listening to every performance of his I could find on YouTube, I bi...

When I landed in Tokyo I was totally burned-out. I had just finished my teaching contract in Korea less than 48 hours prior and was also trying to pack up for my trip back to America. I'd love to return to Japan and explore other cities: Osaka and Kyoto particularly. I'd also love to visit Taiji, (the tiny town made infamous for their  dolphin slaughter ) to document the annual dolphin drive. Alas, in April 2014, I had only 5 days in Tokyo, at the Sakura Fleur Aoyama which I discussed in the previous entry. So, what do you do when you're exhausted and alone in Tokyo? Highlights of 5 Days in Tokyo, in pictures: Harajuku : a crowded tweeny cotton-candy wonderland. This storefront was the site of that heinous Avril Lavigne video ::puke:: Why do I even know that? Harajuku Takeshita-dori street lolz nice name. Wandered into this side-street containing tiny, run-down bars near Shibuya.  (* This is not the famous Golden Gai , but a similar area ta...

Sakura Fleur Aoyama Photo  Here Address: 2-14-15 Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0002, Japan I booked my trip through Japanican and everything went smoothly. I only booked a few weeks in advance, as this trip was pretty last minute on my part. I would use Japanican again. This trip, (which I took back in April of this year) marked my first time in Japan and I was also traveling alone. I'm happy to report that I felt super safe in Tokyo and in the hotel. ^^ Why Shibuya? Truthfully, I am not very knowledgable about Japan. The memory of a particular scene from "Lost in Translation" was one of my only data points for deciding where to book in Tokyo....which I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit. SCENE:  [ Scarlett Johansson....silence....blank stare.....white umbrella...raindrops....digital brontosaurus.....] #MostEmotionalPedestrianCrosswalk #whereisbillmurray #somanyfeels As I learned from the director commentary on the Lost in Translation DVD (yeah I love th...