Day 18, October 12, 2026 Reflections about the Trip

Here are some of Doug's thoughts and observations:

These are random, stream of consciousness thoughts about our journey and the two countries we visited.

Both Japan and South Korea are clean, at least in the public spaces places we saw and visited. Between the two, Japan appears slightly cleaner than South Korea. We never saw garbage on the streets of Japan; we definitely saw garbage on the streets of Busan and Seoul. It was obviously bagged and organized for pick up, but it was still on the streets. I don't recall seeing that in Japan.

South Korea’s men’s rooms were not as clean as Japan’s. Not dirty, mind you, but water around sinks, toilet paper pieces on the floor at times, soap dishes not neat. Never saw any of that in Japan. Whether in public spaces (airports, train stations, temples, etc.) or in commercial places (restaurants, shopping centers, etc.), Japan's restrooms were impeccably maintained.

The young people in service roles in Japan seemed more polite than those in South Korea. Patrise was the first to verbalize this, and I agreed, both upon reflection and in subsequent days. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that America maintains a greater military presence in South Korea, than in Japan, combined with the fact that younger generations are more ambivalent about that presence. On the other hand, young people in both countries have definitely been influenced by cultural trends coming out of the United States -- in music, in clothing, in other forms of self expression.

We enjoyed the food throughout the journey, and we tried new dishes we had never had. That is not to say we enjoyed everything we ate; we did not. However, we did enjoy most of it. Meals in Japan were mostly balanced and not overwhelming. Meals in South Korea were HUGE, particularly at lunchtime. When we ordered a basic meat dish, it came with 10-15 accompanying dishes.

We ordered the barbecue (center, under the silver vent); everything else came with it, but we didn't realize that when we ordered. It so happens that this is not at all unusual. Our guides in Busan and in Seoul said the same thing., This is a typical midday, South Korean lunch meal.

Japan and South Korea are both very mountainous. Neither of us expected that. These two countries are about 70% mountains, so there is a lot of uphill when you travel – by bus, bur car, by bike, on foot. Mt. Fuji is impressive and beautiful from a distance. It is so dominant in the landform, that it reminded us of Denali in Alaska. Denali is an Athabascan (indigenous) word the translates to “The Great One.” Mt. Fuji is definitely “the great one” in Japan. We did not see a mountain of similar stature in South Korea. The tallest peak on the Korean peninsula is in North Korea, close to its border with China. Mount Paektu is 9,003 feet high; Mt. Fuji is 12,388 feet high. (To satisfy your curiosity, Denali – “Mt. McKinley” to colonizers – is 20,310 feet.)

Our guides were good for the most part, except for one. As a part of the Gate City Bar Association portion of our trip, the first three days in Tokyo, the tour guide for our Group A was a man named Masa. He was not very good. It was less about his language skills; it was more about his disorganization, his failing to engage us and to describe for us aspects of Japan: its culture, demography, history, geography. When people seated at the front of the bus asked questions, he did not repeat the questions nor his answers. After two, less-than-satisfying days with Masa, we lodged a complaint with the travel agency, All Japan Tours. So on the third day, we were assigned a new guide, Joyce. Joyce was with our Group A throughout the rest of our time in Japan. (Group B had a different guide, Barbra, who apparently was wonderful, and she was with them the entire time in Japan.)

Joyce was incredible. Her language skills were MUCH better, both her speaking and her understanding of the weird nuances of English. (English is apparently one of the more difficult languages to master.) She was great at giving us a lot of information about the country, its history, its geography, its culture and customs. She gave us plenty of advance information about the places we were going to see and made sure we paid attention to the critical aspects of the tour sites we visited. Joyce was with us at the last two days of Tokyo, the trip to Mt. Fuji, the overnight visit to Atami, and the time in Kyoto.

At the end of the trip in Kyoto, we were joined by a new guide, Noe (pronounced “NOH-ay). Noe’s language skills were the best of all the guides we had on the trip in either country. When we asked her how she learned English, she said she learned by watching episodes of Ally McBeal, when she was growing up and watching YouTube videos of the Ellen DeGeneres show. Noe was with us in Osaka and Hiroshima.

Our guide in Busan was Mia Moon. Mia did everything fast. She walked fast, often times leaving us far behind. She couldn’t talk fast, because she could not speak English smoothly. Still, she was always in a hurry, even when “listening” to

I us. Still, she worked hard to make sure we visited several important cultural sites in Busan.

Our last guide was Grace in Seoul. Grace was certainly a better English speaker than Mia. She also worked hard to ensure we visited several historic Korean cultural sites and knew the significance of them. The last place we visited with her was the DMZ.

Both countries have very dense populations in their cities. South Korea seems to have more of those cities than Japan does. Japan’s countryside appears more rural, less developed.

After about eight or nine days of Japanese food, we wanted a taste of American. The closest thing we got was Burger King at the airport in Osaka, while waiting to fly to Busan. That was Day 12.

Joyce, our guide for the second half of Japan group trip

Noe, our guide in Osaka and Hiroshima, with Patrise and Doug

Doug and Patrise with Mia Moon, our guide in Busan

Grace, our guide in Seoul, with Patrise

Here are some of Patrise's thoughts and observations:

I truly enjoyed seeing another part of the world that was much different from what I was used to. It was an old culture, full of traditions and beliefs that celebrated emperors, warrior lords called samurai and Shoguns. It was like we were reliving experiences that happened 3000-4000 years ago. I grew tired of the tour through antiquity. I enjoyed what was actually happening now in the areas that we visited including seeing the protests and learning about current issues. I was taken away with the cost of housing and the unusual ways in which rent was paid all up front in South Korea. This system was totally odd!

I enjoyed the majority of our food experiences. Most of it needed a little more salt, but the meals that we had at gourmet restaurants were delicious. I was moved by the Hiroshima history lesson that was still relevant today. I hope that mankind never repeats that event again! The tragedy did not just impact the lives of people that day, but had ongoing health impacts on entire communities.

I enjoyed the journey in Japan with most of the members in Gate City. We had similar interests and questions about things, like the legal system and human rights. However, I was reminded that people are different and have had different experiences and backgrounds. Some of us were loud Americans, who disrespected the conservative dress and behavior codes of Japan, despite being informed of the differences.

I truly enjoyed traveling by ourselves in Korean because we could alter our schedules to meet our needs and energy levels.

I would encourage anyone interested in another country to visit Japan and South Korea.