I’ll say it again. Asia is awesome.

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to go to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to art direct a company photoshoot for our internal stock site at FamilySearch. I was there for three weeks. I saw some pretty amazing sights, met some truly wonderful people, and tried some very interesting food. It will be an experience I will remember for a life-time.

Thought I would share some of my favorite images from the trip.

JAPAN

Tokyo
First meal in Japan. Played it safe with some tempura shrimp and rice.

Tokyo
Gonpachi, a.k.a. the “Kill Bill” restaurant. We were told that this was the place that inspired the restaurant at the end of Kill Bill Vol. 1. Totally had the same vibe, minus all the killing and stuff.

Tokyo
Subways are packed.

Tokyo
Subway info graphics. So funny.

Tokyo
Sunset on the way back to our hotel.

Tokyo
Street near Meguro.

Tokyo
Waterlilies at a park outside of Tokyo.

Tokyo
Shrine + bamboo garden.

Tokyo
Shibuya. Crazy how many people cross this intersection.

Tokyo
Tokyo Tower.

Kamakura

Fujisawa Beach
Mt Fuji. All the way in the back.

TAIWAN

Taipei
This was a side street right behind our hotel.

Hsinchu Area
Mangrove forest by the sea.

Taipei
I have no idea what these were called, but they were good. They are some sort of onion pancake. You added a little scramble eggs, cheese, Thai basil and some secret soy sauce or something. So good.

Taipei
King Mango. Probably my most favorite thing I ate on the entire trip. Taiwan shaved iced with fresh mangos. The shaved ice was sweet and had a snow-like texture. Had one every night I was there. Perfect way to end the day.

Taoyuan
Concert hall.

Taoyuan
Got to ride the High Speed Rail (HSR) almost everyday. Amazing. This thing goes 170+ mph without breaking a sweat. It was so smooth. Wish we had these in America.

Xinbei City

Xinbei City

Xinbei City

Taipei
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul
On our way to lunch. Had the most amazing Indian food that day. Go figure.

Guri
Buildings like this everywhere.

Incheon
Opium poppies.

Gyeonggi-do
It wouldn’t be a visit to South Korea without experiencing Korean BBQ. 

Gyeonggi-do
On the way back to our hotel.

Gyeonggi-do
This was a quarry that was converted into a park.

Gyeongbok Palace
Amazing.

Gyeongbok Palace
All the details.

Gyeongbok Palace
Ceiling patterns. All done by hand.

Seoul
I was curious.

Seoul
More apartments.

Seoul
South Korean Parliament. This was a five-minute walk from our hotel.

Seoul
Homeward bound.