Flight to Japan + Train to Busan

Japan

In mid-November, I took my first trip outside of Korea with four other friends. I have always wanted to visit Japan and before leaving Hawai'i, I made it a goal to go to Japan during my exchange, but I never thought I would actually be able to after the ARC struggles. Korea was my first international exposure outside of Oahu, so going to Japan was a somewhat weird and surreal experience. We stayed for about a week and we created an itinerary from morning to night on all the days; even though we weren't able to do every single thing on it, we still got to experience a lot.

Some of the things we did:

🍵 Cafes & Food

• Hekkerun Coffee & pudding

• Taukishima Monja Jugoya

• Baskin Robins: Hello Kitty Collab

• Suzukien Asakusa

• Ichiran

🛍️ Activities & Shopping

• Disney Tokyo Sea

• teamLab Planets

• Your Name Stairs

• Senso-ji

• Don Quijote

• Sunshine City Mall

• Pokemon Center

• Kiddy Land, Sanrio World, GU, Uniqlo

After being in Korea for about 3 months at this point, it was so weird trying to adjust to a new and unfamiliar place. The transportation system was confusing to learn and we had some unreliable experiences with the bus; in addition, unlike Korea's T-Money or Climate Card, transfers are not free, so our transportation costs added to a lot. We stayed in Tokyo for a majority of the trip, but we also took a day trip to Kamakura, which is about 2 hours away from where we were staying. Unlike Tokyo, Kamakura has a lot of sightseeing, such as Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (a shrine), Hokokuji Bamboo Forest, and Shichirigahama Beach.

Individually, my friends and I did a lot of shopping; I didn't expect to shop as much as I did, so it was a struggle trying to pack it all in a smaller-sized luggage. It felt like I shopped more in my week in Japan than my 3 months in Korea. I hope to get the opportunity to go back to Japan and explore more of what it has to offer.

Busan

Right after we came back from Japan, I took another trip to Busan. It was actually a crazy experience to go on back-to-back trips. My friend booked my train ticket on the Korail website and Busan is about a 3 hour ride from Seoul.

Some of the things we did:

🦀 Cafes & Food

• Mipojip Haeundae Main Branch

• BIFF Street

• Miffy Cafe

🏞️ Activities & Shopping

• Busan X the Sky

• Haeundae Blue Line Park

• Cheongsapo Daridol Observatory

• Skyline Luge Busan

• Haeundae Beach

• Gwangalli Sup Zone

• Igidae Cliff Nature Madang

• Oryukdo Skywalk

• Gamcheon Culture Village

• Songdo Marine Cable Car Songdo Sky Park

• Huinnyeoul Culture Village

As you can tell, we did a lot of sightseeing in Busan and it was a nice getaway from Seoul. Many of the scenic places forced us to hike some inclines and stairs, which I unfortunately had to suffer through. To add on, because of how many hills there are, the bus goes up, down, and turn crazily, so make sure to hang on for your life. I particularly liked the Skyline Luge, Miffy Cafe, and Igidae Cliff Nature Madang (despite the hiking).

Tips

• When planning a trip, make sure to check if it conflicts with course schedules (projects, presentations, exams and assignments).

• Bookmark/save places you wanna go to so you can plan accordingly.

Notes

While in Japan and Busan, and after I came back to Korea, I kept thinking of how unreal these experiences are and how we are casually, not so casually, going to all these places and doing everything that we can. With there being a month left of my study abroad, I come to think how these are once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I may never be able to do again; I start to appreciate these moments more, and treasuring the time I have left here.