October 7, 2026: Final Dinner and Morning in Seoul

PIG OUT ON SUSHI… Last night in Seoul

We figured that since we didn’t get to Japan on this trip, as planned, our last meal here in Seoul should be the consolation prize.. And a prize it was! We went for an “omakase” meal (meaning everything is selected by the chef, who explains each dish as he makes or as you get it.) We sat at the 10-seat sushi counter (we were the only ones there as it was the last reservation of the evening and it was a weekday night) at Sushi Sora Mapo.

Funny thing, the taxi driver (it was about 15 minutes from the hotel) stopped the car at a very non-descript location at a tall building, sort of near the service entrance. That didn’t seem right so I immediately checked my Naver app… and indeed it was a one minute walk from there. But by the time I did that and was ready to emerge from the taxi he had moved around the corner to the front of the building but there wasn’t any place to stop. So he moved on to the next corner and we thanked him and got out to walk the half block or so. We got to the location, but could not find the restaurant. Lots of first floor and second floor retail and restaurants, but not Sushi Sora.

We then noticed a group of three middle-aged men in suits and figured they might know where the restaurant was and they might know English. One guy took my phone with the Naver app showing the location and walked up and down the walkway between two buildings. Everytime he thought he had it he would point and then realize it was wrong and he’d start all over again. Then we all went out to the street again and he paced back and forth… and then I suggested we phone the restaurant. But he was adamant he could find it. So he switched to his phone with the Naver map app in Korean… and both of us felt we were standing right at the location, but no restaurant.

Then the aha! moment– the restaurant was on the lower level–down an escalator where you find more shops and restaurants. Sure enough Sushi Sora folks were waiting for us. I used my translator app to suggest they get a sign on the street level, but they laughed.

But the meal was worth the effort. I won’t describe in detail, but the meal consisted of (in order):

• Some kind of egg dish with spices and. mushroom bits
• Halibut
• Halibut fin
• Mackeral
• Eggplant and Uni
• Monkfish liver (I think) served on a rice cracker with something pickled
• Fried Monkfish
• Sea Bream
• Tuna
• Uni
• Raw Shrimp served quite differenly than I’ve every had it
• Tuna Belly
• A simple miso soup
• Yellowtail with garlic
• Mackeral in some kind of nori roll
• Eel
• Tuna roll
• Soup with rice and small pieces of salmon and after checking that we liked thihngs spicy, added some kind of very spicy pepper
• A choice for each of us to repeat any one item… (except uni)… I chose the tuna belly; Mike chose yellowtail
• Some kind of sweet egg mousse-like thing
• Ended with homemade blueberry ice-cream

To accompany all of this we had a local beer.. and ofcourse tea (a very nice smoky tea)

We rolled out of the restaurant and into a taxi to finish packing.

This morning, we had a simple breakfast and needed to go back to that Target-like store underground, to get luggage tags, since Mike is checking his luggage including his carry bag and we realized the carry bag didn’t have a tag. So we climbed those nasty steps up and down. I suggested Mike stay on the street, but he went down and up and survived. He insisted he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life with a stair phobia.

We’re headed to the airport. See you all stateside. Mike has a Monday appointment with the surgeon although he is waitlisted for an appointment on Friday. And then we’ll know a lot more about dates and recovery and whether or not we can make the Switzerland/Algeria trip in late December. (And we are hoping to recreate the Japan trip in the spring.) Keeping our fingers crossed.

Here are the nasty steps that led to Mike’s “demise”… which as you can see have lots of caution signs.

Oh.. one more Korea observation. No matter where we were–in the downtown, in Hongdae, near the university, in the metal fabrication zone, in the funky neighborhoods… near the hospital in the working class neighborhoods.. all of the cars we see appear to be new, and if they are not new they are kept in immaculate and shiny new shape. Certainly doesn’t look like Oakland or Berkeley or San Francisco or NY. I don’t even think we’ve seem a car or a taxi with a single dent. And no potholes.. and sidewalks in very good shape, except for some rare situations in the metal fabrication zone (but not terrible). So how do they do that? Taxis are all brand new or so it seems and immaculate inside. And they are either white or silver. Come to think of it, nearly all cars are white, black or silver.

And I’m still marveling at the fact that there can be so much retail everywhere… on street level, on the floor below, and on the second floors.. of just about every building on main streets, small streets, alleys, and more. Yes, 10 million people, but NY has 8 million and they cannot sustain that kind of retail infrastructure even on just one level, with vacant storefronts galore. And there are probably 5 coffee shops on every street (in populated areas…. Peets watch out!)

OK.. That’s a wrap. Until the next trip.