For our final night dinner, Keiko’s parents invited us to join them at a local sushi restaurant. As you can see from the pictures, the fish is very fresh … and at this establishment, priced according to the color plate it is served on off a conveyor belt. Great fun …. and great sushi at an unbeatable price. The photo of my niece, Mai, provides amble testimony to the evening’s dinning success!

While in Kyoto on Monday March 8, Keiko and I visited her aunt Akemi. She had prepared sushi for us to eat …. and insisted we should be able to consume the offering presented for five people! We did our best and finished the meal for breakfast on Tuesday morning. It was quite a treat.

We are off for our final day in Tokyo (Wednesday, March 10). I will post additional photos from Seoul and commentary on our journey to Kyoto later in the day.

Am I in Maine!!!????

We arrived back from Kyoto last night in a snowstorm! Snow, hail, high winds, rain …. unbelievable for Tokyo in March. Since homes are not built for this type of weather, sleeping was like camping out.

A productive day in Seoul exploring cultural sites and other venues for a possible UMaine Business School MBA student trip. Developed valuable insights and useful information for planning purposes through a detailed reconnaissance mission and in meetings with Korean contacts. We will finish the exercise tomorrow before departing for Japan and our final week of vacation. Looking forward to our return to Kyoto.

After a busy day of meetings, Keiko and I took the time this evening to tour one of Seoul’s primary shopping districst and scout out another local place to eat.

On tonight’s radar was a dumpling restaurant of some fame in the bustling Myengdong district and we were not disappointed. With only four menu items (2 dumpling dishes and 2 noodle items), the service was fast and simple. With local crowds lined up for tables, it was not a place to idle after dinner. The food was most enjoyable and ice water was the only beverage available … a very welcomed drink if you overindulged in the Korean hot sauces.

Tomorrow will be spent on a further scouting mission for the potential MBA trip (with some private and public sector meetings; hotel visits, and related items) and then off to the Namdaemum Market and Itaewon shopping area – obvious must see sites for the MBA trip.

Tomorrow’s dinning adventure is in the process of negotiation. Actually, I would like to head back to the barbeque alley!