Tokyo, Taiwan, South Korea, Tokyo
Tokyo - April 1 to 2
On April 1, I traveled from Hokkaido, Japan where I was performing for the winter season. One of the cool features of Japan in the spring is the cherry blossom season. It where thousands of trees start blooming flowers and it brings so much beauty to the already beautiful city of Tokyo. I met some friends at the Daikanyama area of Tokyo where the Meguro River runs through this neighborhood.
The cherry blossoms at Daikanyama.
hauling my luggage through the streets of Tokyo.
Taiwan - April 2 to 6
My friend Ashley met me in Tokyo, and on the night of April 2nd we flew to Taiwan together. This was my first time to Taiwan, but she has been before so she planned a lot of this part of the trip. We landed late, so we stayed at a hotel near the airport. The next morning while having breakfast there was a magnitude 7.5 earthquake! I was pretty unfazed by it, but most of the people ran outside. Luckily, no one was hurt where we were, but it was reported that it was the strongest earthquake in 25 years. We had a private driver that drove us to the Yilan area of Taiwan, which is located on the northeast side of the island. One of my favorite stops was the Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm, where they had so many different animals you could pet and feed.
Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm petting a Capybara for the first time.
Ashley twinning with a llama.
The next morning, the driver took us to an amazing morning hike to the 五峰旗瀑布第三層瀑布 waterfall. There were a few different hikes, but we decided to do the hardest one with the most steps, but also the view was spectacular at the end. We also went to the Yehliu Geopark after, which has natural rock formations that seem out of this world. The geopark is right on the coast, so there are beautiful views all around this area.
waterfalls
Yehliu Geopark rock formations.
that evening the driver took us to the main city, Taipei. The next day we got to walk around the city a bit. One of the places I wanted to see was the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This is a huge memorial site and a great place to walk around. They do the changing of the guards inside the memorial every hour on the hour from 9am to 5pm. Later in the afternoon, we met some friends to hike the Xiangshan Trail which leads up a big hill to get a good view of the city. It’s quite steep, but it’s also a pretty short hike.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Hiking the Xiangshan Trail.
Later that evening, my friend Jamie got me a gig to perform at the Ren Bistronomy in the main part of the city. There was a great turnout, and I really enjoy it. here’s a short video of what it was like.
Performing at Ren Bistronomy.
South Korea - April 6 to 10
I haven’t been back to South Korea since my friends wedding in 2019, so I felt like this was a good time to visit. I did so many things that I’m just going to add some photos with descriptions below.
Ashley enjoying a coffee on the streets of Hong-dae.
cherry blossoms at Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Seoul my soul.
a vendor at the Myeong Dong Night Market.
Seoul
I got a haircut. Korea is known to have some of the best hair stylists.
so many tourists at the Bukchon Hanok Village.
with my friend Hank at the Gwanghwamun Square.
kimchee vendor at the Myeong Dong Night Market.
Hank and Ashley waiting to get into Zoo Sindang.
amazed at the Starfield Library.
Tokyo - April 10 to 12
The next evening, Ashley and I had to part our ways. I went back to Tokyo, to reunite with some friends, and also to have two days to recoup before my next adventure. Tokyo is such an amazing place every time I visit I always find something new. This time I visited the National Art Center. I decided to see one of the exhibits called Universal Remote. Here are some photos I took.
