Dodging disasters in Korea and Japan

[Justinf]

So a great day in Busan, with superb winter sun, and thankfully no signs of any chaos from that morning's assassination attempt!

We make our way back to Busan station, and find an excellent sit-down restaurant upstairs. It's a really good terminal with plenty of shops and restaurants to choose from while you wait for your train.

Then it's the KTX back to Seoul

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Unlike Europe and Japan, the KTX doesn't have a speed display in the cabin. So I pulled out Waze on my phone and clocked it at 293kph. Not too shabby!
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Can you do, and is it worth doing, Busan in a day trip from Seoul?

 

[Black Duck]

There are a lot of lovely places in the south so if possible spend longer and move out of Busan city as well. If you are up for hiring a car, the driving is easy outside cities but a bit manic in the main cities.

 

[offshore171]

Can you do, and is it worth doing, Busan in a day trip from Seoul?

Yes this is what we did. Train service is excellent - fast, comfortable and not outrageously expensive.

However as @Black Duck mentioned, there's so much more to see in Busan and the south in general, that we only scratched the surface.

This was our first trip to Korea and it was relatively short. I guess it was a bit like the typical first Japan trip where people just visit Tokyo and Kyoto.

Next time we will spend a few days in Busan and surrounds, as well as Daegu, Jeju Island and a few other places.

Next post, our day at the DMZ between South and North Korea. Quite a contrast to our sunny day in Busan...

 

[offshore171]

Next morning it's off to see the North Korean DMZ.

This is normally done as a tour run by a local operator, as there are permits and certain restrictions. We used this outfit which gets good reviews on TripAdvisor

Best DMZ Tour from Seoul | NO Forced Shopping - VIP Travel

Our DMZ Half Day tour visits all the main spots inside the Demilitarized Zone giving you a unique Korean experience. NO forced shopping! NOT to be missed!

www.vviptravel.com

They pick you up in a tour bus from downtown Seoul, near city hall.

Highlights are:

The Last Train Out
Freedom Bridge
Observation Centre where you can look out onto North Korea
Explore the 3rd infiltration tunnel


Our guide was excellent and really gave great insights into the subject matter

 

[offshore171]

In contrast to sunny Busan yesterday, today the DMZ is appropriately gloomy and there's even some intermittent snowfall. Very dystopian

The Last Train Out - a heavily damaged locomotive from the Korean War


Freedom Bridge - 12000 prisoners were swapped here in 1953


Observation centre


Got some NK banknotes as a collectible.


No photography was allowed at the Infiltration Tunnel, and we had to pass through several military checkpoints and show passports etc.

It felt like another planet compared to the beachfront at Busan yesterday! Such a contrast.

 

[offshore171]

The guide sent us some of her own photos of the views from the observation area in clearer weather

 

[offshore171]

Today is our flight out to Tokyo Haneda.

HND is operating again after the crash, but one runway is out of action due to crash investigations. Nevertheless everything seems to be running on time.

We flew into Incheon, but our flight out is from Gimpo, Seoul's second airport, which is a little closer to downtown.

The international terminal is quiet, almost peaceful.




Something I haven't encountered before: after checking in the bags, you are asked to watch this screen until you see your bags pass by. If you don't see them, it means they have failed some sort of security check and you need to go back to the counter.


Our flight to Haneda is with JAL. Oneworld uses the Korean Airlines lounge at Gimpo.

 

[offshore171]

It is often said that the busiest air route in the world is Seoul to Jeju island - a place little known outside Korea.

While we waiting for our flight, this is what the Departures board looked like.

Jeju Island flights marked with a red arrow.

 

[offshore171]

JL92 boarding is incredibly efficient, and the plane pushes back from the gate 10mins early

We managed to pick this flight up on points in J, so there's some decent food on offer.




What I wasn't expecting was jaw dropping views of Mt Fuji


As we were coming in to land, some of the wreckage of the Dash 8 was still visible at the end of the runway. Unfortunately my camera focussed on the window frame, but it's that dark blur above the two ANA tail fins.

 

[bPeteb]

Something I haven't encountered before: after checking in the bags, you are asked to watch this screen until you see your bags pass by. If you don't see them, it means they have failed some sort of security check and you need to go back to the counter.

We saw this at one of the airports in China we travelled through a few years ago. Saw some people watch, then race off to a counter nearby.

 

[bPeteb]

What I wasn't expecting was jaw dropping views of Mt Fuji
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Amazing views of Mount Fuji!!

I'll be reading back through your Korean journey as I think we've decided on South Korea for Christmas/New Year this year

 

[offshore171]

Amazing views of Mount Fuji!!

Incredible hey? On 8 trips to Japan, that's the only time I can recall arriving or departing in daylight hours, such is the timing of flights from Australia.

However as this was a midday regional flight from Korea, we were lucky enough to see the landscapes in all its glory.

I'll be reading back through your Korean journey as I think we've decided on South Korea for Christmas/New Year this year

Based on our experience I would say go for it. We will definitely be back, and will definitely add some more down in and around Busan.

 

[bPeteb]

Incredible hey? On 8 trips to Japan, that's the only time I can recall arriving or departing in daylight hours, such is the timing of flights from Australia.

However as this was a midday regional flight from Korea, we were lucky enough to see the landscapes in all its glory.




Based on our experience I would say go for it. We will definitely be back, and will definitely add some more down in and around Busan.

11 nights booked over Christmas and NYE

 

[offshore171]

We only have a day and a bit in Tokyo for this portion of the trip before we head up to Niigata prefecture for some snow action.

So after landing, at Haneda we check in to the Villa Fontaine right there at the airport. It's connected via a pedestrian concourse full of shops and restaurants.

One of the stores is a confectionary maker, who does demonstrations of their craft


The check-in process at Villa Fontaine is excruciatingly bad, but the room is good. The breakfast spread is excellent, and there's a bunch of other restaurants right outside the hotel.

We then charge up our Suica cards and jump on the Monorail into Tokyo and head to an old favourite - Shibuya - for dinner.

It's like a scene from FF3: Tokyo Drift


Incidentally and very helpfully, the Villa Fontaine has a self service laundromat for guests. I wish more hotels did this. You can even pay by tapping your Suica card.




No visit to Tokyo is complete without exploring a BIC Camera

Streets of Ginza were busy, but still quite a lot of masks in use even outdoors. Japan feels like the last place in the world to emerge from the pandemic.

Next stop Myoko Kogen in Niigata prefecture and our date with a Japanese earthquake

 

[offshore171]

The Oyaki Farm in Nagano is a nice stop on the way to Myoko Kogen

What the hell is an Oyaki? No it's not a wild creature, but rather a traditional street food that is a regional speciality of the Nagano area. A soba wheat bun filled with a savoury filling.

Oyaki - 【郷土料理ものがたり】

In summer, finely chopped eggplant is fried in a little oil and mixed with miso as filling. In winter, pickled leafy vegetables are fried with chopped daikon and mixed with a green onion and miso paste. Traditionally, oyaki were cooked in the irori (fireplace) ashes after being partially dried...

kyoudo-ryouri.com

Then it's on to Myoko where it is snowing heavily.



It snowed all night and continues into the morning for a 24H total of 70cm!


That's a Toyota van under there.



Looking promising.

 

[offshore171]

We then have a couple of days of dreamy conditions at Myoko Kogen.



That's the Sea of Japan coastline in the distance, with the city of Joetsu on the left and Niigata at top right

 

[offshore171]

Then in the early evening on the 9th of Jan, I'm in the staircase at the lodge, and a weird siren goes off. Then a recorded announcement in Japanese. Then it repeats in English. From memory it was something like

"Earthquake Early Warning. Strong Shaking may occur".

Then this message popped up on my phone (and everyone else's).



Then within a few seconds, the earthquake struck. Strong tremors shook the building for maybe 15 seconds.

All of the guests were looking at each other stunned, and asking was that real?

The early warning system clearly works.

The epicentre was in the same area as the one on New Years Day

 

[offshore171]

So by this point we had just missed:

1st Jan New Year's Day Earthquake

Ishikawa quake triggered by faults that were dormant for 4,000 years

Through ground uplift, the total land area of the Noto Peninsula has expanded by 4.4 square kilometers.

www.japantimes.co.jp

2nd Jan Political Assassination Attempt in Busan

South Korea's Oppn leader Lee Jae-myung survives assassination attempt in Busan

South Korea's opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, narrowly survived a vicious assassination attempt in Busan, sustaining a neck injury during a public appearance. The assailant, feigning a request for an autograph, attacked Lee with an 18cm knife, sparking nationwide condemnation. Lee's advocacy...

economictimes.indiatimes.com

2nd Jan Plane Crash at Haneda

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/fire-breaks-out-plane-runway-japans-tokyo-haneda-airport-nhk-2024-01-02/

5th Jan North Korea shelling South Korean territory the day after we visited the DMZ!

North Korea fires artillery shells towards South's border island

South Korea had afterwards issued an evacuation warning to its civilians on the island.

www.bbc.com

And finally we experienced an earthquake.

At this point I was wondering if we would have a Godzilla encounter!

Fortunately there was no major damage in town, other than things like shelves and furniture falling over. Still, quite an experience.

 

[Seat0B]

Loving your TR. Myoko is on our list of resorts to try and your photos look amazing.
We are also thinking of maybe an autumn trip to Korea perhaps in 2025. So your info has been really useful. Thanks for posting!

 

[rbjhan]

Ah Myoko Kogen! I've been twice despite not being a skier at all
Akakura Kanko Hotel is worth all the trouble in the world!