This was the trip that was meant to be and partly what never was. We were all booked and organised to travel to Japan for the Olympics in 2020 and then to go to Seoul. But of course that never happened with the COVID-19 pandemic. I still feel so much for Japan who still put on an amazing, delayed Olympics, but it would have been so amazing to have the world there and it would have been the best organised (and catered!) Olympics.
So a few years later and when Japan had opened for travel, this was the same trip – minus of course the Olympics – that we had intended to do in 2020. There was the addition of a few nights in Bangkok on the way back as we flew with Thai Airways. Internationals flights were expensive with not many direct flight options from Melbourne to Tokyo – they were booking up quickly and the direct flights were a lot more expensive – and after much research Thai Airways was the best option for cost and flight availability. Plus it meant a couple of nights on the way back in Bangkok – a city whose bustle I love.
This was our second trip to Japan – a place I could keep coming back to and find something different every time, including in Tokyo. I love everything about it in particular the food. It’s the Japanese sensibility and care and precision that goes into everything. I love – particularly with food – that the Japanese will take something including from other countries and say we can make this better and they do.
We left Melbourne on 7 April on our Thai Airway flight with a few hours stopover at Bangkok International Airport – Suvarnabhumi Airport. Had a slight altercation with security over a bottle of cologne purchased at Melbourne Airport. We had to go through security at Bangkok Airport event though we were in transit and were able to purchase the cologne in Melbourne and they said it was Ok to take through Bangkok, security said we couldn’t because it wasn’t in a bag. Did this need to be a sealed bag, no we were told just a plastic bag?? The man next in line to us had a bottle of alcohol in an unsealed plastic bag and was able to take it through. Strange, yes, and we didn’t get the cologne back.
Make sure you check anything you are purchasing in duty free when you are flying through Bangkok, even if in transit, and to be safe get a sealed bag.
We arrived early morning at Haneda Airport and confronted the HUGE line at customs – the line which appeared to be never ending. As we had heard, with the opening up of border to international tourists – not on a tour as was the interim step – people from all over the world had decide to travel o Japan. As we found all over our trip, Japan was the place to go for international tourists. We were thinking this is going to take hours but in typical Japanese efficiency a queue this long – which would have taken hours anywhere else – we got through in just over an hour.
Once getting through customs and collecting bags, there were then more lines mainly for the JR rail pass authorisation which was long, long line. I had looked this up though and you can get passes authorised at several large trains stations in Tokyo – a good tip to remember – After an overnight flights which I rarely sleep on and a long wait at customs, we just needed to get to our AirBNB and have some rest. So we got a Pasmo card which can also be used on all rail and also in shops and other locations, so is very handy to get. Pasmo can also be used across Japan. I’d recommend getting one as is useful to use along with your JR pass – it means between the two you can get around Japan on nearly all rail networks.
We were staying in Yoyogi so caught the train from the airport to Shinagawa and changed there for the local line to Yoyogi. Shinagawa is one of the stations were you can validate a JR pass but again the lien was long, so decide to do this another day as the Pasmo pass would get us through for a couple of days. It was a short walk from Yoyogi station to our apartment – one of those great Japanese apartments that is small, but well appointed and has everything you need including, as is in most Japanese apartments, a bath and a washing machine!
Yoyogi is a lovely area – lots of places to eat, a couple of great markets, close to the train, walking distance to Yoyogi Park and Harajuku and very quiet. Tonight for dinner we went to a place not far from our apartment called Ootoya – which is described as having Japanese comfort food https://www.ootoya.com. We had been to an Ootoya on our last trip as they are found across Japan and it was great having one near us – we ended up going here twice as they also have menus in English – which we found a couple of places in our area didn’t.
The next day we set off for Yoyogi Park. It was an easy 10 minute (if that) walk to Yoyogi Park which is a gorgeous green oasis near the bustling areas of Harajuku and Shibuya, and with the beautiful Meiji Jengu Shrine. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and being a Sunday full or visitors and locals. We paid an entry fee to go into the Meiji Jingu Inner Garden and it was absolutely worth it. The gardens were gorgeous with a small grove of Sakura (cherry blossoms) that were in full bloom so worth it for that alone. We had been to Yoyogi Park on our last visit but not at the time of year when the Sakura are in bloom so it was worth it to see that – even though it is a tourist attraction, we did notice locals also posed in front of the trees in bloom, which popped up in different part of the city and other cities we visited.
We walked through the park to Harajuku and wandered the back stress, alleys and shops – always finding something interesting. We walked along the famous Cat Street and went to the shop Cream Soda which retains some of the 50’s culture which was a famous part of the Harajuku.
We had lunch at one of the many great food courts/markets that are a part of most Japanese shopping centres – this one was on the border of Harujuku and Shibuya and was open air, multi-level with all style of eateries – from restaurants to casual eating. We ended up at one of those casual eateries that serve beer with snacks or street style food having gyoza, takoyaki (octopus balls) and fried potatoes with anchovy and garlic (delicious!).
After an afternoon rest at our apartment, we headed back to Shibuya to do some shopping and again see that organised chaos that is the scramble crossing – it’s a forever amazing and entertaining sites seeing the transition from no people crossing to hundreds of people crossing, which is why it is much photographed. For dinner we went up to the top floors of one of the shopping complexes with there eateries – tonight eating at a fantastic tempura eatery. The tip we read and were told about on our last trip is that just about all of the shopping complexes or department stores in Japan (and as it turned out Seoul) will have the amazing food halls on the lower levels and then you go up to the top levels for the eateries. It is a great place to eat – it’s both locals and tourists – and you can find a great variety. You can then head down after dinner to the food hall to get dessert to take back – which we did tonight – from one of the many amazing cake, pastry etc dessert counters – sometimes it’s hard to decide what to get.
The next morning we went back to Shinagawa to validate our JR rail passes and to book tickets for our train trip to Kanazawa – the line was much, much shorter. We then set off for Ginza, an area we didn’t visit on our last trip. Ginza is known for its expensive shops and there were some absolutely gorgeous shops, including beautiful Japanese paper and food stores and the Uniqlo Flagship Store which was a work of art in itself.
We had lunch at a café in the Mitsukoshi shopping complex called Minori Café – it was a very cool and lovely place where they did set lunches – I had the crumbed oysters and my husband the wagyu beef.
After some shopping and window shopping, we went back to the superb food hall in Mitskoshi to take back some delicious things for dinner. After dinner at our apartment we ventured to Ebisu to go to one of the now becoming well known listening bars in Tokyo. I had read in particular about Bar Martha and when looking at the reviews people either loved it and said it was one of the best bars in the world or didn’t get it – the concept being you go to listen to music, not talk, and drinks whiskey. Listening bars are now opening in other parts of the world including in my home city Melbourne. Ebisu has many interesting bars so you could try any of them, but we wanted to visit a listening bar and Bar Martha.
We were told how it worked upon entering but the owner was very friendly and it wasn’t nearly as strict as people mad out as some people were talking, but staff didn’t talk except to take orders, but it was very friendly. My husband is an audiophile so appreciated the amazing and precise set-up and the owner actually came and asked him about his interest given the care he was taking in observing everything. The only downside is that smoking is allowed in bars and some for people like me with asthma and being used to smoke free bars in Australia, this can be a problem, but it’s definitely worth checking out on a visit to Japan particularly if you love music, vinyl and audio. Bar Martha was very classy – true Japanese style – with a long wooden bar and small booths, large vintage speakers, a wall of vinyl, and low warm lighting. They played a great mix of jazz, funk, soul and funk/rap. Photos aren’t allowed so it won’t appear on any Instagram accounts, which is kind of nice.
Tuesday’s main outing was to TeamLab Planets, down by Tokyo Bay. We had breakfast at Shokunin a lovely and one of the many different and fantastic bread shops that are found throughout Japan – great places for breakfast or lunch. The train trip to the Tokyo Bay area is a worthwhile outing in itself – we went to Shimbasi and then took the above ground line which takes you out to Tokyo Bay through the outer areas of Tokyo.
Planets was on my must see list for Japan – I had seen a Teamlab exhibit in Melbourne and they have now become rightly famous for their visual art and making art like this accessible. I read some criticism of Planets saying there’s too many people, it’s like a theme park etc but I love it’s immersive experience, that you do this with lots of people as a shared experience and I have no issue with something like this which does make art accessible and fun.
We had booked a time entry ticket – which I’d recommend doing so you don’t take the risk of having to wait hours or miss out entirely – and even though again there were lots of people it moved with typical Japanese efficiency. It was a magical experience and totally immersive – walking through water; climbing over a floor made of something like bean bags; mirrored floors and walls where you couldn’t tell where the visuals began or ended; a room with floor to ceiling length crystals; and the hanging orchid garden. Any visit to Japan must include a TeamLab site!
We decided to go to Shinjuku for lunch and ate at a popular (judging by the line) spicy noodle place, and then checked out the shops before going back to the apartment. We decide to eat locally but found mist places were booked or didn’t have an English menu, so went back to Ootoya which was lovely.
On our last day in Tokyo we went to an outer area called Shimokitazawa which has become well known as a more ‘bohemian’ area with vintage clothing and record stores. It was a fantastic, laid back area to wander – lots of street art, lovely little houses and gardens, cool shops and lots of nice places to eat and buy cakes.
Tonight we had dinner locally at a little Italian place called Bistria right near the apartment – many food writers and chefs talk about having the best Italian they’ve ever had in Japan and this place was great. It was nice to go somewhere small and local. As before, each dinning experience in Tokyo was great!
Today we left Tokyo for Kanazawa and then heading straight to Kaga Onsen one of the onsen towns in this area. The train left right on time – 10.24am to be precise – and took about 2 hours to Kanazawa, and then the local train to Kaga Onsen took about 30 minutes. We were treating ourselves to one night at a very upmarket and fancy onsen called Beniya Mukayu – another one of the excellent recommended and listed hotels on the reliable Mr and Mrs Smith.
Beniya Makayu was seriously gorgeous – one of the most beautiful and classy places we have stayed. The lobby was very muted neutral tones with huge class windows to see the stunning green, mossy gardens. I had booked a Japanese tatami room which was very modern and classy with a lovely balcony to look out over the gardens and our very own private outdoor onsen.
We spent the afternoon relaxing and making the most of this beautiful place. Late afternoon we put on the traditional robes – which were also beautiful and everyone wore – and did a private tea ceremony with the owners. Dinner at Beniya Makayu was fine dining with a number of small, perfectly cooked and portioned dishes – simply stunning, as were the views from the dining room. Very refined and featuring seafood. We ate at 6pm and donner was staggered over different times to accommodate guest numbers. After this amazing dinner we had booked an hour massage and then came back to the room for an onsen and retired to our futons that had been laid out on the tatami. What an experience and day!
The next day after a lovely breakfast in the stunning dining room and another dip in the onsen, we bid farewell to this beautiful place and the shuttle took us to Kagaonsen station to take the 30 minute trip to Kanazawa. We were staying in Kanazawa for 3 nights. I booked the Hyatt Centric which was located in the train station precinct, so just a few minutes to walk from the train to the hotel.
This area is a great place to stay if you are travelling from elsewhere and going on from Kanazawa. It’s really easy to get to the main attractions; there are several shopping complexes with – as per usual – great eateries; and there is more shopping and eating in the train station itself. The Hyatt Centric was excellent – lovely rooms, great service, a very nice hotel restaurant, and a great bar on the top floor with views of the city. I had upgraded as we were in Kanazawa at the time of my husband’s significant birthday, and they had left a card and present for my husband.
We arrived before check-in time so left our bags and went out for some sight-seeing. There are specific sight-seeing loop buses that go to different parts of the city, and the local bus also generally does a loop round trip which ends up back at the train station.
The main attraction in Kanazawa is the UNESCO listed and world renowned gardens – Kenrokuen Gardens. There were a lot of tourists here but arriving mid-afternoon was quite a good time and while there were a lot of people, it didn’t feel crowed at all. We got off the loop bus and went to Minami-cho Oyama Jinja Shrine, which you walk through to get to Kanazawa Castle and then on to Kenrokuen Garden. The gardens were stunning, so meticulous in the detail of how they were kept and maintained and there were even a number of Sakura in blossom.
We caught the local bus back to the train station and had a drink at the hotel top floor bar to watch the sun set over Kanazawa. Dinner was at a nearby shopping complex with great top floor eateries. We went to a small tempura place Tempura Kikuya – another delicious meal.
The next day was my husband’s birthday. After breakfast we took the loop bus to the Higashi Chaya district – which was once the geisha district. A number of areas in Kanazawa still had their wooden buildings intact as it was one of the few cities not fire bombed during World War II. The area had been beautifully preserved and there were beautiful little gardens tucked away in different places. There were again a lot of tourists but walking a bit out of the main area you could find lovely quite spots and gardens including a walk up a small hill which had great views of the area and city. We walked to the main markets – Omi-Cho Market, which is known for it many excellent sashimi restaurants. We picked one which was crowded and had an amazing lunch.
It was raining so we went for a short walk around the area and then caught the bus back to the hotel. We did a little bit of shopping – it’s hard not to in Japan – and had a lovely afternoon tea at the hotel.
I had done much research about where to have dinner in Japan as it was my husband’s birthday and had found Plat Home. The owner and chef had worked at a number of major restaurants and had returned to his home city of Kanazawa to open his own restaurant. It was a rainy evening, but a short walk from our hotel to the restaurant. It was a special dining experience. Plat Home is small and seats about 30 people. We sat at the counter where the chef’s cook in the open kitchen – two chefs and two people serving. We got talking to one of the chefs as he asked where we were from and he had been to Melbourne and loved the food and coffee. He asked how we found Plat Home and I said I did some research and this place looked the best – he said to my husband, your wife’s a genius. Bookings for Plat Home need to be made via their Facebook page and if you want to go, would absolutely recommend booking. A number of people turned up the night we went and it was booked out – the restaurant is only small and very popular with locals also. They are also on Instagram @plat_home
Sunday was a travel day to travel by train to Osaka. We got booked our tickets and bought some snacks at the train station and got the exactly on time train to Osaka at 11.47am. The trip to Osaka took about 2 and a half hours. We got off at one of the main stations in Osaka – Shin-Osaka – and caught a local train to Shinsaibashi where our hotel was. We got a little lost finding the hotel only to figure out it was literally 5 minutes from where we got out at the trains station – Google maps you strike again! We have realised Google maps takes you on a route that a car would even if you are walking so it gives you the most circuitous not direct walking route. We were staying at the Hotel the Flag which was very well rated on Tripadviser. It was an excellent hotel – great location, access to communal washing machines, and well appointed rooms and bathrooms. The buffet breakfast was also very good.
Late afternoon we walked along part of the long covered shopping areas that Osaka is famous for, and followed it to Namba and Dotonburi which is famous for eating and food areas, and lots of people and lights! A canal weaves through the area and there are shops and restaurants and people all along there as well. We walked just off from Namba which has the quite cobblestoned streets with little tucked away restaurants and picked a little place where we had okonomiyaki and yaki soba, and a beer.
Osaka has a totally different feel to any other Japanese city we have been too. It is bold, brash and edgy, in a good way. The people, food, lights and shopping is never ending and its loud and alive. Being a Melbournian, I described it like Melbourne to Sydney. Tokyo or Kyoto are the more physically beautiful cities – like Sydney – but Osaka has an energy – like Melbourne. It’s also the food!!
Our first full day in Osaka we did some sightseeing heading off for Osaka Castle. The Castle is surrounded by large and beautiful gardens and parks with lots of cafes, restaurants and food stalls dotted about, so lots of choice of places to eat and snack. The Castle is worth visiting for the fantastic panoramic views of Osaka from the top. The various levels are also very interesting about the history of the city and surrounds.
Late afternoon we headed out to Temmabashi to join a food tour. I normally would name the tour company and who our guide was but I’m choosing not to this time as we had a major issue with the tour. Our guide was very good and we went to some interesting eateries, including a very local one which was great, and there was a lot of food and alcohol – so very generous. However, there is a complex and politically charged history between Australia and Japan when it comes to whaling. Australian Government’s of different politics have fought against whaling for years and it has been banned in Australia for many, many years. The hunting of whales by Japan stated as being for scientific purposes has been argued against and debunked as false, particularly as it is known much of the whale that is hunted is used for eating whale meat.
On our tour and at our first stop, there was a mystery meat and our guide wouldn’t’ say what it was. It did say it’s nothing unusual and it’s from the ocean. I am always very mindful about not being insensitive on food tours as we all have different things considered acceptable and not, so I tried the meat, as did others. After we had tried it our guide told us it was whale meat. I want to emphasise I am absolutely fine with whatever people eat and there are culturally aspects to it, however whaling is such a strong issue for Australians and New Zealanders and it means more than just trying something to eat. The claimed history of Japanese eating whae meat is also problematic, as is the case with some other nations hunting for food other endangered species. I was also a politician for a party that has been one of the strongest opponents of whaling so it has quiet a bit of meaning to me. In hindsight maybe I should have said now and some would say I’m to blame – fair enough – but it actually didn’t; cross my mind that a reputable company would do something like this.
I wrote to the company emphasising it was note a criticism of the guide, but that the company should absolutely tell people if what meat is served, particularly to Australians, as it has meaning for Australians. The owner of the company argued with me and quoted back false information about the whales hunted not being endangered or threatened and that it’s was for science – a hard argument to make when you are serving whale meat to people. He also blamed the guide which was not appropriate and as I had been very sure to state it wasn’t an issue with the guide – the company should have a policy of informing people. The owner continued to argue with me about the issue and that anyone form Australia should have a problem with eating whale meat, or any other person for that matter.
Again, as I have said and said in other blogs, I always eat was it given to me on tours or at places in other countries as we all have different levels of acceptability and we shouldn’t judge. This is something though that carries other histories and feeling with it – as many issue do – and companies should be aware of that.
The next day we did some more exploring of the Namba and Dotonburi area and went to part of the long covered shopping arcade Sennichimae Doguyasuji that is dedicated to kitchenware and cookware. There were so many amazing things and it’s time like these you did wish you travelled with a bigger bag, but we did buy some nice small things – including a beautiful Japanese knife.
We then went on to Kuromon Market, one of the main markets in Osaka which services fantastic fresh seafood, particularly lobster and crab, cooked on hibachi. There were many stalls and they all looked good, so we picked one, pulled up a plastic stool and got a plate of sensational seafood. We also stopped along the way at other stall and had grilled scallops in their shell.
Walking back – even though I was full- I had to get takoyaki from the famous vendor Takoyaki Wanaka, which are found throughout Osaka. Dinner tonight was at a lovely local place for tempura.
On our last full day in Osaka, we explored a different part of the city where many of the galleries were located. We had intended to go to Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine but it was a bit complicated getting there – we came across other tourists also finding it difficult to work out how to get there – so after rebooting with some morning tea at Dean and Deluca back at Shinsaibashi, we caught the train to Nakanoshima, the main business district, where a number of museums are located.
We ended up going to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, a new and very modern building and gallery. There was a very nice café in the gallery Musee Karato where we had lunch, and then went to explore the collection. The museum was excellent and there were two main exhibitions and we went to one called Emerging from the Urban Landscape which was an exhibition of paintings by the Japanese artist Saeki Yuzo who painted during the late 1920’s and early 1930’s primarily in Paris and France. He had a short life and was a prolific artist, dying young on his own in France. It was a large and very beautiful collection.
This is also where my first Ship’s cat statue by Kenji Yanobe. In the area outside the main building is a giant Ship’s Cat by this contemporary artist. The area where the museum stands was the site of warehouses where ships travelled from during the Edo period, and the Ship’s Cat was designed as ship’s cats were carried on ships during the Age of Exploration as the ship’s protector. There is also another piece for Yanobe in the building which is called AR Giant Torayan – a giant metallic robotic looking baby with a smaller baby seeming to pilot the robot. Cats are a feature of his work and if you follow him on Instagram, there are regular posts on where cats pop up on all other parts of Japan.
Our last dinner tonight in Osaka was at one of the many great looking little local eating places along the covered shopping area – this one specialised in wood fired hibachi cooked salmon. Delicious!
These are photos of the various meals from across Japan – it is the best eating desination anywhere!
The next day was a travel day flying from Osaka to Seoul. We caught the subway to Kansai Airport and flew Korean Air to Seoul. Worth mentioning is the Korean Air inflight safety video which has an intro by Black Pink and then the safety is a song and dance spectacular from BTS – it was pretty great and made everyone pay attention! In Seoul we were staying in the in the Hongdae area, where there is one of the main universities, and there was a subway line which went directly from the airport to the area.
The subway stations in Seoul are like another underground city! Shops, food, people and signs leading you to one line, station or another. Coming above ground when we got to Hongdae we were immediately hit by the energy and craziness (but in a good way) of Seoul. It was like Japan energy times 100 and even more of the lights, high tech, shops, food and people, people everywhere – out and about, eating, drinking. I loved it straight away! The energy is palpable.
We were staying at the Ryse Autograph Collection – great location and short walk to a couple of subway stations. The hotel was very nice – great rooms and bathrooms with amazing views over the area and beyond. The only downside was that the roof top bar was being renovated and it looked fantastic in the photos. Another reason to return to Seoul!
That evening we explored the Hongdae area. It’s a great area for a first time stay in Seoul. That was the one thing with working out where to stay in Seoul is that it is such a huge city with a whole range of hotel options and areas to stay, that it was hard to know where to pick. Hongdae was great as it was a happening, lively area being close to a university. There were lots of affordable eating options and markets and shops in the evening around the streets, so plenty to look at and discover.
We at one of the many hotpot restaurants. Our first day rookie error – we ordered enough food for about 6 people – two hotpots and sides when we only needed one. We also ordered soju – which is an acquired taste – and not just little bit but two bottles. Live and learn!
The next day we picked up a metro transport card which you can get at convenience stores. We did all our travel via the metro or subway and if you plan to do the same, definitely get one as you often have to change between lines and being South Korea everything is automated and techy, so much easier then getting individual tickets. This is also particularly when you are still working out where to go. We set off for the Gwanghumun area, which is where to go to visit the Royal Palace. We went there to go to Kyobo Book Centre, which is one of the largest bookstores in Seoul with a large English language section, plus a coffee shop (Starbucks) and all sort of other things to look at. It also has a fantastic coloured light installation in the entrance area.
The rest of the day was a food tour with Gastro Tour Seoul with Veronica Kang, the founder of the company. There are a number of tours with the company but we did the tour of Namdaemun Market and Myeongdong. We met at the a multilevel, labyrinth like, huge Seoul Station – we got very lost and eventually a local – whose Dad had been to Australia – helped us and we were able to find the meeting point. A point to note here – we found people in Seoul incredibly friendly, chatty and good fun.
On the tour there was our guide Veronica, the two of us and a family – wife, husband and two kids – from the US. They were lovely people and the kids were great – tasting all the food and more.
The tour was excellent – Veronica was amazing – a great mix of different types of food including markets, food halls, restaurants, street food, and cafes along with history of the area. There was so much food!!! The stops on the tour included a stall at Namdaemun market – tofu soup, sesame noodles and vegetable bim bim bap; amazing hot, sugared pancakes; a walk through different parts of the market; a fried chicken place; a Chinese restaurant; a department complex food hall; a walk through a street food market; and the last stop at a gelato place using Korean ingredients. As I said so much food!
After eating so much, we weren’t overly hungry so went for an evening wander around the many shops in the Hongdae area and went back alter to the excellent bar at our hotel Tokki Bar for some delicious snacks and a cocktail. Looking at the website now it appears to have closed – what a shame.
The next day was a full day of sightseeing and shopping. First off we went back to Gwanghuman to visit the Royal Palace, Gyeongbokung. There was a very amusing if not slightly bizarre sight of large numbers of visitors, including foreigners, in traditional clothing, both men and women. This included men walking around with fake swords. We couldn’t quite work out where people were getting dressed in these costumes, and we only saw this sight at the palace. Interesting! There palace and gardens were lovely, once you got away from the many costumed tourists, so it’s worth exploring a bit beyond the crowds to see the beautiful gardens and ornate colourful buildings.
We went back to Gwanghuman station and had a delicious sandwich and drink to refuel, and then went off the explore another part of the city – Appuijong, fancy shopping area next to the equally fancy area of Gangnam. We didn’t actually explore Ganganam – that for another trip – but Appuiejang was definitely a very upmarket area, many expensive cars and restaurants but lovely to explore, including a grouse central park – Dusan Park.
One of the main reason we came here is I wanted to check out Haus Dusan, the flagship store for the renowned South Korean brand of sunglasses and glasses, Gentle Monster. The flagship store has their fragrance brand Tamburins. The store was like an art installation itself with robot installations and a super fancy, high tech cake shop in the basement. It was an obvious Instagram sight – with many people just coming in and taking a phot of themselves there and then leaving. I did get a Tamburins perfume balm, as I had never seen anyone do anything like this.
We walked back through the area and along the way came across Wiggle Wiggle – a slightly psychedelic, colourful store with the setting of an old house, colourful, carton like products and images up winding stairs. It’s very hard to describe! There are several stores across Seoul which all seem to be competing which can only be described as part cartoon, part, confection, part I don’t know what! It’s only something South Korea could come up with and its super fun.
We decided to have an early dinner as there was another great department store complex with what was meant to be a great food hall. This was the Galleria and like in Japan, they are great options as the food is great but affordable. We sat next two a Seoul couple there having an early dinner with their kids and had a nice chat to them – they said this was one of the best food halls in the city so we had picked well. We were probably the only non-South Koreans there so felt we had picked well as well!
Today was our last full day in Seoul and we explored another part of the city – Dongdaemun which is an area packed with great sights, shopping, and food. The main reason to come here was the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park – a spectacular high tech designed building with galleries, exhibitions and a great design shop. It’s worth coming just to see the building and surrounds. The building was used in the movie Her. There are also remains of the original city wall which were uncovered when the sight was developed.
After exploring the sight, we had another great department store food hall lunch close by and then waked up part of the old city walls which were not far from the Design Plaza. They afford great views of the city and also along the way there are some hanook houses which are beautiful. Another sight in this part of the city is the Cheonggyecheon Stream which runs through this area and for 11km through downtown Seoul. It was created as part of an urban renewal project and is a restoration of the stream that had run through Seoul up until the early 1900s and was covered with an elevated highway during the Korean War.
Not far from our hotel was another urban renewal project the Gyeongui Line Forest park – a disused rail line turned into a green space which weaves through housing area and along which there are lots of eating places, cafes and bars. It was a great area to come to early evening with music, buskers and lots of people out enjoying the evening. We had dinner at a craft beer place that had a balcony overlooking the park. It was a great place to spend our last evening in Seoul!
The next day we checked out around 12pm and went back up to the Line – but to the area that runs west which is called Book Street. There are old train carriages that are pop libraries and shops and statues and displays that talk to the history of the area when Japan occupied Seoul and Korea. The area had been known as one for artists and musicians.
We went back to the area where we had been the night before for dinner, and had lunch at a local South Korean canteen type eatery and then a fabulous afternoon tea as a patisserie. We then bid farewell to Seoul and caught the subway to Gimpo International Airport for our flight to Tokyo Haneda. Seoul had been an absolute blast and where we will absolutely come back to and I keep telling anyone I know that they need to travel here. It was such a surprise and what a great city!
And of course the food of Seoul!
Immigration at Haneda was as quick as anything and literally only took minutes – we had been prepared for a wait after our arrival here a few weeks ago. We were staying the night at a Haneda Airport hotel as the flight for Bangkok was the next morning. The Hotel Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport was connected to the terminal we arrived in and was a short walk. I love that in Japanese hotels like this that are so set-up for travellers where they even provide pyjamas.
The next day we are had a mid-morning flight with Thai Airways to Bangkok, arriving at about 3 pm. Once getting through immigration and bag collection – which was pretty quick -nit was getting the taxi and venturing into the Bangkok traffic. From arriving at 3pm we got to the hotel at about 5pm, which wasn’t too bad considering also when we got to the taxi rank at the hotel it had started pouring rain.
We were staying at the Kimpton Maa-Lai, near Lumpini Park. The hotel was gorgeous – surrounded by lush gardens and the rooms were very luxe. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool and hearing the rumble of Bangkok in the background from our hotel oasis. Another great thing about the Kimpton Maa-Lai is that it is pet friendly so there were quite a few people staying there with their dogs and down in the lobby or in the garden, eating and drinking with their dogs. It was nice and gave the place a lovely feel – as we are animal parents and love animals. It’s always nice to know places are accommodating to pets so that people don’t have to leave them at home.
We had a very nice Thai meal at the main hotel restaurant and then went up to the hotel’s 40th floor rooftop bar, Bar.Yard. I’m not great with heights, but I do like a rooftop bar so you can see the expanse of a city – I do this from a distance and can still appreciate it. Along part of the venue there are floor to ceiling glass windows with tables right by them – now I know many people would love this but it was a little too much for me. They offered us a table their but like I said I can appreciate the views forma distance so we sat a little further away from the windows!
The hotel is in the Langsuan area and not for from Lumpini Park. There are quiet a few of the embassies located here and not far from the upmarket Paragon shopping complex. On my previous two stays in Bangkok I had stayed in different areas – the lively and fun backpacking area and along the Chao Phraya River – so this was a different experience. There was a lot of construction work going on in the area so it wasn’t probably as good as it normally would be to walk around the area, but then Bangkok is always noisy and busy. I do love Bangkok though – it has an immense energy.
We had two full days in Bangkok but it was intended to be a relaxed stay and make the most of warm weather and a great hotel pool. On our first day we started late and had breakfast at the spectacular hotel buffer breakfast. We caught the hotel shuttle to Chit Lom – as there was more rain – and did some shopping in the area, mainly going to the Siam Paragon. We had lunch in the amazing food court there – which was packed with locals and tourists alike and had great and affordable food. As in Japan and other Asian countries, the shopping complex food halls are a great places to eat, and Bangkok is the same. Often there will be stalls from well-known restaurants or vendors.
We walked back to the hotel as it wasn’t far and the rain had stopped. I think experiencing the ground level Bangkok – or any city – is important particularly when we are staying in luxury. You also always discover something or see something interesting
For dinner tonight I had booked a restaurant not for from the hotel the Issaya Siamese Club. It did involve getting a taxi as we couldn’t get to the restaurant by the MRT, so it was a little chaotic and took 40 minutes to go about 1.2 kilometres. The last time in Bangkok we went places where we could reach them by the river taxis – being right along the river – or the MRT to avoid the traffic. We eventually got there and the restaurant was in a very non-descript back street and then you went into this place with lovely gardens and housed in a beautiful old house. We sat outside on the terrace as it was a lovely night and not too hot. It was a lovely dining experience.
The next day was a hot one. We went for a morning walk hop to and through Lumpini Park. It is a lovely, cool respite from the city. We saw a few big lace Monitor lizards. I read later that they have thrived in Bangkok – we had seen a small one swimming in the water duct the day before – and that there was a sizable population in Lumpini Park. However, people, mainly tourists, had complained and they were removing some of them. I saw an article written by foreigner about the Lace Monitors saying they were dangerous. Lace Monitors and other lizards – as we often have them in back yards in Australia – aren’t aggressive or dangerous unless you harass them. If the locals don’t have a problem with them – which they didn’t seem to – then it’s amazing that wildlife is surviving in a city like Bangkok and tourists should leave them be.
We spent the rest of the day making most of the lovely hotel pool and had an early dinner in the casual eatery sitting outside in the hotel garden terrace with a nice cold glass of wine and beer. A lovely ay to send the last evening in Bangkok.
We had a very early start the next morning and the hotel gave us a huge and lovely breakfast box. Bangkok Airport was busy even at that time of the morning, but everything went fairly smoothly with check-in and immigration.
It had been a brilliant trip – if not a couple of years late and minus the Olympics. Japan is somewhere we will go to again and there is so many different places to explore. I love everything about Japan – the food, the sensibility, love it all. And Seoul! What an amazing city – it was an absolute blast and we will hopefully make another trip to South Korea and see more of Seoul and other parts of South Korea. I keep telling people how great Seoul was and saying they must go!
