After picking blueberries we went to the ostrich farm. Not only can you feed the ostriches, but there are lots of other animals you can pet and hold and play with.
Holding the chicks
Feeding the rabbits and guinea pigs
Melina loves pony rides
She was so tired after a long day of blueberry eating and animal touching
Blueberry picking again, this time I drove up with just Suzuna and Melina. It is amazing just how many blueberries my daughter can consume!
A short trip with the family to Jeju Island in Korea.
Jeju Photos
Arrival followed by Korean BBQ:
We planned to eat as much good Korean food as we could while we were there.
Korean History Theme Park:
Interesting little park with various exhibitions that show how Korea was from the 1960’s until today.
Manjanggul Cave [UNESCO World Heritage]:
An amazing lava tunnel that is one of the longest in the world.
Maze and Cat Park:
Quick stop to run through the maze and pet the cats.
Haenyeo Museum:
Learning about the culture and history of traditional Jeju female divers.
Sunrise at Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak [UNESCO World Heritage]:
We got up early to hike to the top of the peak for the sunrise. It only took about 30 minutes to get to the top, and the sunrise and seeing the crater was a nice relaxing experience.
Udo Island:
A ferrry ride to an even smaller island from the island we were visiting. We rode the hop-on-off bus around the island to see some of the nice cliffs, beaches, culture, and also ride horses.
Hiking Mt. Halla [UNESCO World Heritage]:
I got up early the next day, said goodbye to the family, and headed to the top of Mt. Halla which is the tallest mountain in South Korea. It was not a difficult hike, but it was a long hike. It took about 4 hours to get to the top. The change in scenery as I was hiking up was great. Unfortunately, Jeju had not had any rain for a while so the lake and crater were completely dry. I took a different course on the way down and got to see both sides of the mountain.
Natural Recreation Forest:
As I was hiking the mountain Suzuna and Melina took a trip to the Natural Recreation Forest near the base of the mountain for their own nature time.
Seogwipo Food Market:
Dinner that night was various Korean food items while walking around market.
World Seashell Museum:
We had a quick stop at a seashell museum, which also had some nice art pieces made out of seashells, before heading out west.
Alive Museum Jeju:
Another quick stop at a trick art mesuem that we thought Melina would enjoy.. we were wrong.
Submarine Tour:
Melina did however love the submarine tour. We got to go on an actual submarine, dive down and see lots of fish.
Yongmeori Coast:
We hiked around the small peninsula, that looks like a dragon head, to look at rock the formations.
Osulloc Tea Museum:
A widely known tea plantation in Korea. We bought some tea, looked at the tea fields, and sampled their green tea ice cream and roll cakes.
Glass Castle:
Lots of different themed exhibitions made out of glass.
Black Pork Korean BBQ:
Our last night we went to black pork street and ate some very delicious black pork BBQ.
Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market:
Our last morning we toured the nearby traditional market. No Pictures.
Jeju Folklore and Natural History Museum:
It starting raining as soon as we got to the museum. No pictures.
Noodle Street - Korean Ramen:
Different than Japanese ramen, but still very good.
Jeju Mokgwana (Former Jeju Government Office):
Our last stop for a bit more culture, and to feed the fish in the pond, before heading to the airport.
See all the pictures here:
Jeju Photos
After the Insect World we decided to go visit lake Haruna. Unlike last time, the weather was great and we were able to take the ropeway to the top of the mountain. Melina and Suzuna also got a horse ride and then we played in the lake a little. However, like last time we made it down to Ikaho onsen for a nice soak before heading home.
Melina wanted to go further into the lake by herself. I let her… she fell in and got all wet.
Our second day in Gunma after the festival was spent doing some sightseeing. Our first stop was Gunma Insect World. There were lots of different insect and a large forest area to explore, but the main attraction was the butterfly house. There were all the different kinds of butterflies that one could find in Japan, and Melina even got to release a new butterfly. We also made a caterpillar our of pipe cleaners and took a small hike.
