Seoul to Seoul (Hopefully not Couldn't Stand the Weather)

[Noel Mugavin]

Wednesday morning and back to the certification centre to get my stickers. Couple of lovely ladies working the certification centre, little bit of pigeon banter between the 3 of us.
No dramas getting the Chungju Stamp, showed my strava and one of the ladies used one of her master stamps to update the passport


Apologies for the photo quality, little difficult to get the passport completely flat.
Stamps of the courses I gathered along the way.








And my stickers, unfortunately not including the one that was the goal of the trip

 

[Gladstone Tim]

Impressive!!

 

[Noel Mugavin]

As I set out in the morning, had been a bit of rain about



After getting my bike passport sorted, back on the subway and on to Haeundae Beach. Wide boulevard form the subway station to the beach


Market that runs parallel and a few blocks back from the beach

Then to the beach

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Making my way to Blue Line Park



2 forms of transport - a beach train and a sky capsule which both run parallel to the Busan Green Railway which is a coastal walk.

I went with the 2 feet and a heartbeat option









looking back towards Gwangalli Beah

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Couldn't do the whole work as it was blocked due to some repair work being done.


Meandered my way back to the subway and to Seomyeon



Lazy afternoon, then after a bit of dinner found an indoor golf centre close to the hotel so had a hit. Very friendly fella and lady working at the centre, English from the bloke, none from the lady, but both looked after me extremely well.
15 minutes warm up time, plus a round of 18 holes for just under 20, great value

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Next morning and no rain as yet, but certainly no sunshine either

Plan was to head down to Busan Station for a bit of recon for an upcoming KTX experience, as well as checking out Texas Street and Gukje Market
7 stops or so to Busan Station from Seomyeon
Texas Street is directly over the road


Wandered into Busan Station





After a bite to eat headed over the road to Texas Street. By day a small shopping area, with a heavy Russian influence, by night pub and club area, and a known red light district.








Bit of a theme appearing

 

[Noel Mugavin]

You get the idea.
Don't know enough about it to make a pun. Something about sinning and instant redemption





The Russian influence is evident
Took about 30 minutes to walk to Gukje Market

 

[Noel Mugavin]

By the time I got to the market the wind had picked up, the temperature had dropped, and it was a matter of when, not if, that I was going to get a soaking.









Got myself to a subway station and back to the hotel. Not much happened the rest of the day, weather was not nice at all, bit of dinner and a wander,

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Friday and I had a late afternoon/early evening flight to Fukuoka. Weather was not good, so made good use of the 12.00 checkout time.
Ate some time before heading to the airport by having another hit of golf
On the subway and a transfer to light rail which takes you to the front of the International
terminal.
Quick and easy check in with Air Busan and quickly through security.
Not a lot going on within the terminal.










Gimhae is a shared military airport, so no photos allowed.


Plenty of leg room


Out of Busan




Short but rough ride, but got there in 1 piece
Not the one I traveled on

 

[Noel Mugavin]

My ride

On a crowded shuttle bus to the domestic terminal where I was able to get on the subway and the 2 stops to Hakata Station.
Bit of trouble getting the sim working but eventually worked it out, and able to find my Tokyu Stay hotel, which was about an 8 minute walk from Hakata Station



Had a bit of a wander, but a day of doing not much had left me pretty knackered, so was early to bed

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Woke up to rain in Fukuoka on a Saturday morning


View of the shinkansen from the hotel window


First morning in a new city, time for a wander







Something covered up at Hakata Station


Back to the hotel for a change of dry clothes, and more importantly dry socks. Then back to Hakata Station and a local train train to one of the main reasons for traveling to Fukuoka.
Not much patronage on a Saturday morning


Train terminated about 3 stations short of where I wanted to be. About a 10 minute wait until the next one arrived

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Off at Kido Nanzoin-Mae for my visit to Nanzoin Temple





Had been plenty of rain around


Musical bridge








Entrance to the temple

 

[SuePa]

What's the story of the musical bridge ?

 

[Noel Mugavin]

 

[Noel Mugavin]

It's very serene within the temple grounds certainly helped by the location, and also that foreign tour groups have been banned since 2016.



Here is what I had traveled to see - The reclining Buddha, apparently the largest bronze statue in the world.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Another entrance to the temple, used as my exit on this occasion

Back at the station


Kazariyama had been unveiled as part of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa. Smaller floats, called Kakiyama, are carried through the streets as part of the festival. I'd stumble on a few of theses in the next day or 2 in different parts of the city.


They don't photograph very well as they have so much detail in them. Much better to get close ups of different components.


Back to the hotel for another change of socks


Bit of a rest, then back on the feet to walk to Ohari Park








It was a lot longer walk than it looked on maps

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Fukuoka tower in the background


Subway back to the hotel, then out for dinner and a stroll.
Located in Canal City


Nakasu is the seedier part of the city

Nakasu Yatai

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Lines and waiting don't do it for me, so skipped the yatai and grabbed something from a Yoshinoya.
Back to the hotel and bed via Hakata Station

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Sunday morning and a visit to Fukuoka Tower was on the cards. A good 20 - 30 minute walk from the nearest subway station.
Bit of baseball practice along the way.




Nice views from the forecourt






There's nothing inside the tower, it simply exists as a observation tower