Day 21 - Flying to Osaka#
I woke up around 7 AM on Saturday morning. I got up and left my room to have some breakfast. The hotel didn’t have proper breakfast, however they had some muffins and a coffee machine. When I arrived in the breakfast room, noone else had been there. I took two different muffins and made me some black coffee. I sat down and looked out of the big window. The view wasn’t that great because I was just looking at the small alley the hotel was located in. Suddenly two other guests appeared. I just greeted them with a gentle hello then minded my own business. Though I overheared them speaking in Chinese. I was still tired so I instead looked at Kakao maps to see how I could spent my coins that I had collected over the last few days. I saw that a GS store was just around the corner.
After finishing my breakfast I went back to my room and packed my suitcase and bag. Next I went out to the nearby GS store and tried to spend most of my coins. I entered the GS store and greeted the old guy behind the counter. I then looked around and checked what I have to do to spend all of my coins. I got a coffee and some snacks that would allow me to spent all of my coins. However when it came down to paying the amount I had to pay was different. I was so sure since I checked the amount three times. I suspect that because the coffee was a 1+1 deal that I have to pay a different price than half of the deal. That unfortunately meant that I would keep most of the coins. I didn’t want to complicate things so I just payed and went back with most of my coins in my pocket. Since I didn’t want to carry the coins in my pocket I put it in my suitcase. I know you usually shouldn’t do that but the amount was nothing noteworthy.
I finally check out and left the hotel. I took the metro towards Seoul Station, here I switched to the airport line. I was lucky since I found an empty seat where I could sit down. I was still tired and I doze off a few times on my way to the terminal. I eventually arrived at the airpot where I would take the elevator to the departures floor. I then looked around and tried to find the right counter. I found the counter and waited in the queue to check in my luggage. However when it was my turn to talk with the staff, the woman looked at my ticket and then asked me where I wanted to go. I replied to Osaka, she looked a bit confused and said that I am too early. I would need to wait for half an hour then try again. Thus I used the remaining time to drink the coffee I had bought before and rested a bit. After half an hour I was one of the first people to check in their luggage. I then walked around the looking for the other girls.
Suddenly I hear a familiar voice. It was Joan, she must have checked in her luggage already as well. She told me that the other two girls got up late and were on their way to the airport. We then went through the security and walked around the shopping area. Since we were a little hungry we found a food court that housed several restaurants that shared a common space to eat. Here we spent some time eating and relaxing. When there were still 20 minutes left, we went to the gate. At the gate they had a cool exhibition consisting of many mirrors that formed a globe.
We entered the plane once we were allowed to enter. However there was still no trace of the girls. Joan then told me that the staff didn’t allow them to check in the luggage for this flight anymore. They said that they’ll take the next flight around two hours later.The flight wasn’t noteworthy and after 1.5 - 2 hours later we landed at Kansai Airport. From there we had to take a half hour train to the city center.
We booked an APA hotel very in Dotonburi which was another 15 minutes by foot. I check into the hotel and then took a shower.
We both were hungry so we left the hotel in search for some ramen. By now it was raining a lot. Luckily we had an umbrella. We walked along the river and found a Ichiro Ramen. By some stroke of luck we had been the last guests that were still allowed to enter. While waiting we were already handed the menu so we had some time to decide. Upon entering we were provided two single seats at the counter. We ordered through a tablet and then waited for the food. In front of me was a cover that could be lifted by the cook. I saw just two hands providing me with a bowl of delicous looking ramen. It tasted even better since it was my first proper meal for the day. The cook lifted teh cover once more to tell me that it was my last chance to order something before the kitchen would close. I denied and finished my bowl.
The rain had toned done when we left the rastaurant. We walked along the long streets of Dotonburi and saw one Gachapon after the other, it must have seen around 8 or 9 Gachapon stores.
What I really liked about these Gashapon stores are these cool machines where you can recycle the Gashapon balls.
It was already late and most stores were closed. We walked into a supermarket that was still open. I bought some snacks and drinks before we decided to go back and take a rest.
Day 22 - Shopping in Dotonburi#
I got up early and wanted to explore the neighborhood. I checked Maps and found Orange Street, which is a cool district with fancy stores, bars and cafés. So I took a shower and got ready to go out. It was a cloudy day but at least I didn’t rain this time. I walked around my hotel, crossed the Dotonburi river and after a short walk already saw the sign of Orange Street. It was pretty early, most shops were still closed and I didn’t see many people on the streets. I eventually passed by a café that was Africa themed. Luckily it was open. A few people were already enjoying their coffee and were lost in deep conversations. I got a cappucino and some water. I really enjoyed the warm atmosphere. While drinking my cappucino I checked out some potential sights in Osaka that I would like to check out. I stayed in the café for an hour before I returned back to the hotel to meet with Joan.
By now it was already noon, we walked around Dotonburi in search for a restaurant. We went to a street food market that was filled with people. We checked out each and every restaurant before we made some decision. I ordered some Takoyaki (octopus balls) and a rice bowl with raw fish. In a side street of the street food market was a long table where people could take a seat and enjoy the food they ordered.
With a full stomach we decided to go shopping around the Dotonburi area. We walked into a mall and checked out some Japanese clothing store. I saw some comfy pants but when I tried it on, but noticed that it was a bit too short for me. I felt a bit dizzy, thus I looked for something to drink. I found a milk tea shop where I got myself a fruity delicous milk tea. Joan wanted to go shopping somewhere else so we decided to split up. I explored the rest of the mall. I found a cool shop that was full of second hand products ranging from playing cards to life sized Ultraman statues.
Osaka is mostly famous for its crazy party and shopping streets, though it also has a pretty cool shrine that is famous for the big lion head pavilion. The shrine called Namba Yasaka Shrine was pretty close and it took me around 15 minutes to get there. The shrine itself was quite small but it was pretty crowded which seemed to be mostly foreign tourists. I walked around the shrine, took some forests and then left to the last stop of my day trip.
The Namba Parks Shopping Complex is a pretty big shopping mall with its cool and green architecture hosting a park on top of the mall. It was almost the end of my trip and I still wanted to get some souvenirs for family and friends. I walked into a shoe store, explored some manga book store and finally walked into a music store. There I found a Japanese City Pop CD that a friend of my planned to buy. I got it for just 2000 Yen which was around 12€ at that time.
I was tired from all the walking, so I walked back to the hotel. I also needed to wash my clothes. I took the elevator to the washing room. There were 2 washing machinese and 2 dryers. I saw that the machines need coins to operator, specifically they required 100 Yen coins (500 Yen coins couldn’t be used). I luckily had enough coins. The lower two machines were already occupied to I put my clothes into the upper machine. I closed the machine, put my coins into the coin box and pressed start. Only after I started the machine I realized that I just had put my clothes into a dryer, not a washing machine. It seemed like I couldn’t open it again by myself, so I took the elevator down to the reception. I explained my situation to the receptionist and she took the elevator up with me to the washing room. She checked the machine and then explained to me that she couldn’t do to me and I would need to wait 20 more minutes to get my clothes out. Now I didn’t have enough coins anymore. I first needed to get some money so I went out to the next bank. Thus I left the hotel and went to a nearby bank to withdraw some money. I returned to the hotel and put by bag back to the room. Then I rode down the elevator and asked the same receptionist to change my bank note into some coins. When I wanted to ride the elevator up to the washing room I realized that I must have left my key card in my hotel room. Thus I went to the receptionist once more and she gave me a replacement card, but she told me I should bring her the old card. I did so and finally went back to the washing room. I just arrived at the right time, since there was 2 minutes left on the dryer timer. So I waited for the remaining time and then finally could put my clothes in the washing machine.
Day 23 - Sick in Osaka#
I didn’t sleep well during the night. I woke up in the middle of the night and then couldn’t fall asleep for around two hours. In the morning I woke up around 11. I felt a little sick and wasn’t hungry whatsoever. It seems I must have had some food poisoning. I drank some apple juice and water and tried to eat some of the snacks I had in my room since I didn’t wanna go out. I then went back to bed and slept some more. I woke up again between 3-4 PM. Instead of feeling relaxed I had some headache because of the stuffy air and dehydration. I got up and drank some more water and took a shower. My belly still felt weird and I still didn’t feel hungry. I decided to watch a movie. The entertainment systems had several movies to choose from. I decided to watch the new Venom movie. It wasn’t good, and I fell asleep again during the movie. When I woke up again John Wick 4 was playing. It had been dark already. I finally was a bit hungry by now. I still felt weak so I just eat the remaining snacks I had. I had enough energy to pack my suitcase for going back to Incheon the next morning. I then watched some more movies and eventually fell asleep again.
Day 24 - Spending the night in Incheon’s Chinatown#
I checked out early in the morning. I went for the Namba station but got a little lost. I checked Google Maps and finally found the train station. Here I boarded the airport line and rode the train for an hour. I was still a little sleepy so I doze off a bit while sitting in the train and trying to keep my luggage close to me. I eventually arrived at the airport. I was a bit early for checking in my luggage. Not to repeat the same mistake again I went to a Tonkatsu restaurant and had some delicious Tonkatsu. I was surprised to be greeted by a British woman that spoke fluent Japanese.
I then checked in my luggage and went through the security gate. On the other side I walked to the gate. At Kansai International Airport were two long corridors with multiple shops and restaurants. I walked into two stores and tried to find some more souvenirs for my dad.
After having bought a nice cap for my dad I still had quite some time before my departure. There was a nice restaurant that had some special Wagyu ramen restaurant. I waited in line and just ordered the special dish of the restaurant. The broth had a nice strong flavor. I quickly finished the dish and went back to the gate. I still had half an hour before we could board the plane. So I was reading a Korean version of Dragon Ball which I had bought in Hongdae. We finally could board the plane. While entering the gate I saw the other two Taiwanese girls, though they didn’t see. I didn’t matter since we sat at completely different rows anyway.
We landed again in Incheon. I had been napping during the flight. Apart from some turbulences the flight wasn’t noteworthy. I was quite lucky because my luggage was one of the first once that surfaced at the baggage claim. I left the area and met with the other two girls at the entrance area of the airport. We had a short chitchat before we parted ways. For my last night in Korea I had booked a hotel in Incheon, near Chinatown. Because it was a bit inconvenient to reach the hotel by public transportation, that’s why I decided to take a taxi instead. The taxi ride took around 45 minutes even thought it looked pretty close to the airport on the map. The area was a bit weird, there were parts that looked like fallow land close to blocks of huge sky scrapers.
We eventually arrived at the hotel. It was more like a huge building with fancy Airbnb rooms. However getting into my room was a bit challenging. I was able to enter the building without any problems. When I wanted to get to the elevator was when things got tricky. The area with the elevators was locked by a door that required a password. I entered the pin that I have received on signup but It must have been wrong. I tried to translate the text but it wasn’t very helpful. I was lucky because some people came and let me in. However they also couldn’t really help me with the pin. Anyways, I got off my floor and then used my pin to get into my room. The room itself was pretty modern and had a tablet that controlled the apartments lights. I just took a shower and then got ready again to go out for dinner.
Even though the Hotel was called Urbanstay Incheon ChinaTown it was pretty far from China Town. I must have walked for half an hour to get there. By now it was already 9 PM. The China Town had many restaurants and bars, however it was a work day and it was late so many restaurants were already closed or about to close. Thus I walked for a while until I found a restaurant were still two couples were sitting. I entered and asked the owner how long they would be open. The older woman replied that they would be open until midnight. That was great, so I sat down and checked the menu. It’s when I realized that I was actually in a Japanese restaurant. I ordered Takoyaki and good some curry sausage. The restaurant was run by an older woman and a younger woman. It later turned out that it was mother and daughter. Apart from us there was a younger couple that left shortly after. Apart from them there was another couple that were drinking beer and chit chatting with the owner. I received the food from the daughter. I tried the sausage and suddenly felt that it tasted very familiar, I asked the daughter what kind of sausage it is, she told me it’s a Frankfurter sausage. This sausage is pretty popular in Germany that why I recognized it immediately. I chatted a bit with the daughter and learned that she had been to Germany before to meet her uncle who used to live in Germany.
At some point another guy entered the restaurant. He wore hiphop style clothes and had a piercing through his lip. He was talking with the daughter, they seemed to know each other. The daughter told me that he is her dance teacher. He introduced himself as Y-Stop. His English was pretty good. I chatted with him and with the shop owners daughter.
The daughter told me at some point that her mum loves to sing and even performed on several events. The mom then came to me and even though she spoke just a little English made me open YouTube. She then typed her YouTube handle and then showed me a video of here where she sang on a wedding. She then told me to like her video. She went on to show me many of her videos and then made me like all of her videos. Each time I liked another of her videos that had around 30ish views she would like with joy. I found that amusing and cute, thus I continued. At some point she also realized that it must have been enough and she went behind the counter again and started talking to the other couple.
When it came to go back Y-Stop said he will accompany back to my hotel because he also lived in the same direction. I said goodbye to the shop owner and her daughter and left with Y-Stop. We went to a nearby convenience store and bought two beer that we drank on the way back. We talked a bit about travel and the live in Korea. We finally arrived at my hotel. I thanked him to take me home and we also said our goodbyes.
Now the last obstacle was to come back to my room. I tried to check again if I can unlock the door to the elevator room but again I failed to enter the right pin. It was very late so it was unlikely that someone would come to open the door for me. But I had an ace up my sleeves. I went to the car park where I was able to go to the second floor. From here I could enter the building without entering any pin. Unfortunately the elevator room was also locked here, however there was another elevator on the other side of the corridor that had no door with a pin. Jackpot, from here I could ride to my floor and enter my room with my pin. I lay down on my bed and fell asleep soon after.
Day 25 - Flying Home#
I got up early and took a quick shower. I packed my luggage and just left the apartment through the garage, the same way I had entered it the day prior. Using Kakao T, I ordered a ride to the airport. On the app I could see how the driver was coming closer and closer. He arrived after around 10 minutes and helped me put my luggage in the trunk of the car. We drove what felt like an hour to the airport. We passed over a big bridge. On the right I saw wide barren land that could have been mistaken for the ocean because it was foggy this morning. Once we arrived at the airport, the driver helped me take the luggage out of the trunk after I had paid him. I checked in my luggage and went through the security gate. In the duty free area I walked around and bought some snacks and looked for last souvenirs. I then went to my gate and waited there as I was still a bit tired.
In the plane, I had booked a seat in the center row but in one of the middle seats. I was lucky though, because the man that sat to my left at the corridor went to a row to our right, because it was completely empty. That meant that I could sit in the corridor, which meant that I could get up whenever I wanted. I don’t remember what food was served exactly, only that it was tasting well. I wanted to order still water in Korean but didn’t know how to, so I asked the stewardess which was Korean. I think she must have said 정수. So when she came again for the second round of drinks I wanted to show off and said 정물. She said “No, its 정수, 수 originates from the Sino-Korean word 水”. I thanked her for the explanation but was a bit embarrassed for remembering it wrong.
After about 12 hours we finally landed in Frankfurt. I got my luggage and checked the trains, there was a direct train leaving about 15 minutes later, that was too risky. The next train would depart 45 minutes later. I booked it and was shocked to have paid over 100€. Since I had some time I looked for somewhere to eat. I passed by a McDonalds, thus the first meal I had in Germany was some chicken burger with curly fries. I then went slowly towards the train station and waited there for my train.
When I finally arrived in my city it was already dark. I took a taxi and chatted a little bit with the taxi driver. When I arrived at my building two girls sat at the stairs leading up to the main entrance. I’ve met one of them before the year prior. Neither of them was living in my building but they used to have a good friend that had lived there and the stairs of my building used to be their favorite meeting spot which was still the case. They were surprised when I told them that I just had come back from Korea. I then proceeded and finally entered my apartment. I started unpacking but then decided to relax and I fell asleep early on my couch.
Recap#
All in all I enjoyed my trip in Korea and Japan. I was happy that I was assigned to a lower Korean class. That way I could practice all the grammar patterns that I’ve had learned at some point but since then haven’t used them a lot. I am also torn about whether or not to take intensive classes again. On the one hand I feel that I’ve learned much more, and without it I wouldn’t have had the chance to get taught by my afternoon teacher. But on the other hand I haven’t done much exploration after classes. I walked around my neighborhood in Hongdae, but I’ve been to the city center only twice because I’ve often felt quite tired after classes. But maybe it would have been different with the right friends. Speaking of my classmates, I had a nice and diverse range of class mates, but unfortunately I’ve only connected with them in my last week. Finally, I should have gone with the trip to Jeju instead of going to Osaka. That is, because I’ve already been to Japan two weeks prior and I’d rather wanted to explore more of Korea, and, most importantly, because I haven’t spent much time with my travel buddies in Japan anyway. My original reasoning was that I wanted to travel with someone rather than going all by myself to Jeju. Nevertheless, the Osaka trip was nice and I had some nice days there. I will definitely revisit Korea, but for now I want to revisit China and maybe visit some other Asian countries that I haven’t been to yet, so stay tuned.