So I’m not going to lie…the reality is we panic booked our flight to Guam. We were looking into ways to fly from South Korea to Timor Leste (we know, not your average route) and while trying to avoid a ridiculous layover in Kuala Lumpur I discovered you could fly from Busan to Guam (that’s totally the same place as Timor right?). I’m going to be totally honest now and say at the time I really didn’t know either where Guam was or anything about it (Dani at least knew it was a U.S. overseas territory) all I knew is that the tickets were on sale and if we missed out it was going to get a lot more expensive to get there (without really knowing why I had a sudden desire to go to a place I knew nothing about). I kind of briefly ran the idea past Dani and we made the decision that we needed to book these tickets quickly in case the price went up. One thing we maybe should have checked was where you could fly to from Guam before booking but hey life’s an adventure right..?! Within 30 minutes we were proud purchasers of tickets to Guam and still had no clue as to how to get to Timor from there. This is when we discovered that the only way we could do this was Guam to Manila, Manila to Bali and Bali to Timor. Also at the time it looked like United was the only option to Manila and it was not going to be cheap (after booking these expensive flights we discovered that Cebu Air do much cheaper ones at a much more sociable time of day). Also another thing we hadn’t thought through was that in attempting to avoid the long layover we were now going to be arriving in Guam at 3am…joy. This was perhaps not our strongest of planning circumstances…but…what you gonna do? Well, it turned out that in panic booking a random flight we were now heading to what would become one of our favourite destinations of the trip. Not only this, but we were now going to finally be seeing the Philippines afterwards on the way to Timor 5 years after we had initially planned to see both. We arrived in Guam early and knew that we weren’t able to check in to our AirBnB until 9am. I had also looked at a map before arriving and seen that it was only 5km from the airport to our apartment…totally walkable. So, at 4am we ignored the catcalls from taxi drivers and set off into the dark…along a highway…in the rain...with our 16kg backpacks and 7-10kg front packs and no sidewalks or pavements in sight! Why I hear you ask…we’ll get back to you on that one! Our only saving grace was knowing there was a Denny’s that we prayed would be open 24 hours like they are in the rest of the world waiting at the end. I’m not sure how but we made it just before sunrise and not only were the staff the friendliest people we had met in months but they had peanut butter, chocolate chip pancakes the size of my head and best of all they weren’t pickled or spicy. Now, I’ve been rambling on a little about how we got to Guam but for those of you who like previous me know nothing about Guam it is a U.S. overseas territory that has 2 large U.S. military bases that take up about a third of the land there. The rest is a stunning tropical island with amazing locals including the indigenous Chamorro people. Think…maybe Hawaii without the ridiculously high prices. The beach in the main tourist area is practically deserted, with white sand and turquoise water and some really good snorkelling just off shore. Just about asleep on our feet we made it to our AirBnB for 9am and checked in. The house was basic but had a kitchen and good aircon and it wasn’t long before I passed out. Accommodation is expensive in Guam so the $74.25AUD ($56USD) a night was steep for our backpacker budget but with the ability to cook for ourselves we hoped would greatly reduce our overall costs. After having a decent nap I thought that the best plan of action would be to leave the house to avoid falling back asleep. I’m not sure why I thought after the 5km walk in the morning a 4km round trip was the smartest idea but the need to stay awake kept us going. We were off to the worlds largest Kmart. Yes you heard me right Guam has the worlds largest Kmart. What this Kmart didn’t have wasn’t worth knowing about. We stocked up on snacks and started the hot walk back. Just for future reference there is a shuttle bus that takes you to all the major shopping malls for $4 USD ($5.30 AUD) per journey but we thought that would add up too quickly to start using it on day one. That night we slept like the dead and woke up really ready to explore. The main tourist beach and shopping district was not far down the road from our apartment so we set out to wander. Guam is a bit of a shoppers dream. It has the convenience of the U.S but set in a tropical paradise. It’s a good place to get new clothes, eat a bit of western food and then immerse yourselves in with the friendly locals. There are so many shopping malls and souvenir shops it isn’t funny but the good thing is that unlike the states they actually include all the tax in the prices. As the closest U.S territory to Asia it has become a bit of a shopping haven for the Koreans, Japanese, and Filipinos. The best way to see the island is by car as there aren’t many buses running (although they do exist). One option is to hire a car but this is quite expensive so the option we decided to go with is booking a tour through Tropical Tours Guam. This turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Our first tour was the island tour and was to include the history of Guam. The company’s owner José picked us up and there were already 2 other guests in the car. One of who already had a can of beer in his hand and was already hammered at 8.30am. I think this was a bonding experience for José and the 2 of us and by the end of the day we were laughing and joking like old friends. This tour was a great introduction to the island though because it showed this history from Chamorro traditional architecture (Late Houses), Spanish forts, Japanese occupation and how Guam became a U.S Territory. We also visited a very cool WWII museum that showed the perspectives of the Japanese and the U.S in Guam and told the story of a Japanese soldier who didn’t realise the war had ended and hid out in the forest for 26 years. By the end of the day we felt like we had really started to get more of an understanding of where we had ended up. After dropping off the other 2 guests José invited us out to have dinner with his family. Not just him, his wife and his kids but also a collection of aunties, uncles and cousins as well. It was so nice to hang out with them and really get to see a different side to the island and feel like we’d made some real friends. We also signed up for the cave tour ($45 USD/59.70 AUD pp.), which took us to a beautiful cave set in a very pretty part of the island. You can snorkel in the fresh water, which is amazing and it is the perfect way to cool off in the tropical heat. The only thing is I would recommend doing the cave and waterfall tour together rather than just the cave as I feel it would give you a better-rounded trip. I can’t really explain just how much we needed Guam when we arrived. We have been on the road for 22 months now and it was so nice to arrive in a place that felt distant, fresh, new and exciting all while still feeling a little bit familiar. Guam is suffering a little after the Japanese stopped coming due to tensions with North Korea and it doesn’t deserve it. It is a warm and welcoming place with a total island vibe and a place where you can unwind and relax. We learnt it wasn’t as expensive on the ground as we thought it would be and if you are traveling around Asia and want somewhere that’s a little bit different why not give this Micronesian Island a chance. It is after all only 3 hours from Manila and 3 hours from Busan. LGBT: We were welcomed with open arms in Guam and we learned that the churches view of homosexuality is one of the reasons people in Guam are turning away from the church (the other reason being the continuous child abuse scandals). There is even a weekly drag night at one of the bars in Tumon. Budget Time $$$What it actually cost:
$1,088 AUD for 7 days. Accommodation: $445.54 Entertainment: $297.09 Food: $238.41 Souvenirs: $62.89 Drinks: $24.86 Miscellaneous: $19.78 This works out at $77.71 AUD per person per day. Guam is not a budget backpackers destination. In fact, it’s not really a destination at all for many people. So unsurprisingly it isn’t cheap! Being an American overseas territory you basically need to be prepared to pay American standard prices for things. Our daily budget for the two of us was $200AUD ($150USD). We did manage to come under this but that was largely the result of staying in an Airbnb with a kitchen and therefore cooking most of our meals ourselves instead of eating out. This is definitely a good tip if you want to visit Guam on a budget as supermarket groceries for the most part aren’t particularly expensive. In terms of the cost of activities on the island, again you have to accept they are going to be pretty standard American prices. We did a couple of tours with the fabulous Tropical Tours Guam which offer a multi tour discount and are absolutely worth looking into for your planned excursions while on the island. Your only other real alternative is to hire your own car which a lot of visitors to Guam opt for as their transport option, although we decided this was not necessary for us. Honestly, Guam does not cater to the backpacker crowd, it targets package holiday makers from nearby Korea and Japan. That being said it is a fabulous and very worthwhile off the beaten track destination to visit, you just have to be prepared to pay for it!
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Touching down on the tarmac and careering side to side as the wind and plane struggled against each other. We were in South Korea, which had been on Dani’s list since she had begun teaching 8 years ago. Our first stop was a town an hour south of Seoul called Dongtan where we were staying with our friends Ana and Hambit. We had met Ana on our last big backpacking adventure while in Laos and we were really excited to be able to see her again as well as have a really local introduction to South Korea. We spent three days with them and were absolutely spoiled throughout! They showed us wonderful hospitality, introducing us to a range of local traditional foods, taking us to a beautiful bamboo grove, Damyang (yes it absolutely rivals the one in Kyoto) and down to Jeonju, the area that gave the world the famous Korean dish, Bibimbap. Because we were driven we can’t give you an idea of how to get to or where to stay in Jeonju but I can say it is definitely worth a visit. It has a large set of hannok houses, which give the town an old world feeling and it is very pretty to wander around. Also, if you have time to really explore, head up the hill that overlooks the city. At the top you will find the most wonderful selection of unusual and eclectic street art, it is certainly an interesting place to see. Probably the best advice we can give you is to go to Jeonju with an empty stomach. The area is known as the kitchen of Korea and food is certainly King here. Everything from street snacks to full sit down restaurant meals can be got there and it is some of the best you’ll find in Korea. After 2 great days with Ana and Hambit we had to bid farewell and head to Seoul. Our main reason for visiting Seoul was to go on the JSA and DMZ tour on the border of North Korea, however, we received and email just before we got there saying that our trip had been cancelled due to preparations for the talks between North and South. Unfortunately for us the email explained that they would not be going to the JSA until May meaning we had no hope of setting foot in North Korea this trip. This was deeply disappointing for Dani, as she had been looking forward to this for ages but there was nothing we could do. While in Seoul we were staying near Seoul station in what we truly hope will be the last dorm we ever stay in (we’re far to old these days for dorms)! Kimchee Station Hostel was only W10,800pp ($13.05 AUD/10.10 USD) for a mixed 6-bed dorm, which is amazing value for Seoul. Unfortunately, we ended up sharing with potentially the least considerate (we’re talking lights on at 3am, eating loudly through the night and rustling plastic bags at every opportunity) loudest snorer we have ever come across. As a basic hostel that is cheap, well located and functional we would say Kimchee is fine but I think there are probably better options out there for only a little more money. Having planned to spend our 7th anniversary together crossing into North Korea we were at a bit of a loss on how to celebrate. We decided a silly day at the Trick Eye museum sounded fun so we headed to Hongdae to check it out. As funny as it was it wasn’t really worth the W15000pp ($18.60 AUD/14 USD), but it was a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours. Hongdae is the trendy youthful area of Seoul and it has some great streets to wander around as well as good shops for souvenirs like fun Korean socks which I developed a bit of a thing for in Eastern Asia and now have an ever expanding collection of. We hear it’s a 24-hour kind of place that has some great nightlife and some good accommodation options so if you’re into nightlife it’s probably a good place to base yourself. Not the anniversary we were hoping for in the end but we decided we’d make up for it in our next destination. Another thing we had planned for Seoul was to visit one of their many palaces. It was going to be interesting comparing the architecture to the Japanese castles we had just come from and we thought the best way to learn about the history was to book onto a guided tour. We booked onto one online but the guide never showed up. Lucky for us Gyeongbokgung Palace (entrance: W3000/$3.64AUD/$2.70USD) also provided a free hour long guided tour around the complex at midday, so we waited the extra 30 minutes, which allowed us to also see the changing of the guards before we started. This was an enjoyable and interesting introduction to Korean architecture and history. At the end of the tour you can walk out the back entrance to the Blue House where the president lives. There are a plethora of palaces you can choose from on your visit to Seoul and they even have the option to buy a multi palace pass costing W10,000 ($12.50AUD/$9USD). This gets you entry to Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, Huwon Secret Garden, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo Shrine which would cost W14,000 ($17 AUD/12.60 USD) if bought separately. After our palace tour we decided to explore the city on foot and walk back to our hostel (there are really good subway connections around Seoul if this isn’t your kinda thing). While walking back to the hostel we came across Lotte Mart in Seoul station and discovered a real trick to keeping the budget down in Korea. Supermarket samples! The supermarket handed out so many food samples we didn’t need to eat that evening. Everything from instant noodles to vegetables was available for sampling. Watching the locals dig into multiple samples of everything also meant we felt comfortable grabbing a few slices of pepper or a whole square of chocolate rather than half. Also we noticed that all supermarkets appear to have a food station with tables that you can eat at which offer basic but decent looking meals at very reasonable prices. As per usual we signed up for a city walking tour while in Seoul and with a range of options available we chose the one that took us around the older district of the city. The strange thing we discovered about the free walking tours in Korea is that they do not expect tips. It actually appeared to embarrass our tour guide when we attempted to tip her and although she took it she did say that it really isn’t the norm. This tour took us through the older hannok styled area of the city, which was really pretty in comparison to the modern surroundings. It really wasn’t the most informative tour but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. As we aren’t really city people we were looking forward to heading out to less busy and hectic parts of the country. Our next destination was Sokcho, on the east coast of the country. We had found out that there was a direct bus to the station we needed from Dong Seoul station that would cost W12,800pp ($15.50 AUD/11.55 USD). To get to the station from Kimchee was really easy as it was on the green line, which goes directly to the bus station. The bus journey was comfortable and easy. Arriving at the bus station we were elated to find that the motel we had booked was actually right next to the bus station. We loved our motel (‘Rocustel’ $41.25 AUD/30.70 USD) but it was here that we discovered that in Korea motels are not simply cheaper hotels like they are in the west…they are actually for couples looking for some…alone time. I’ve got to say if you’re looking for reasonably priced accommodation, that’s of a high standard (for a backpacker) and has good amenities these (love) motels are definitely a great option! Our main objective for stopping in Sokcho was to visit the national park. The number 7 and 7-1 goes all the way from the city to the park entrance for W1,200 ($1.45 AUD/1.05 USD). The national park entrance fee is only W3,500 ($4.20 AUD/3.10 USD) and the park itself has many different trails you can take, most of which split off after the giant Buddha statue. We decided to take the trail up to the poetry inscriptions which is 3.8km. This park is beautiful and we really enjoyed the time we spent there. Sokcho itself has few noteworthy points of interest but we really liked it mainly for the chilled vibe it has. Following Sokcho we were off to Gangnueng, from the bus station on the other side of Sokcho (W6,300/$7.60 AUD/5.65 USD) to go to Unification Park. This meant us checking into another love motel aptly named Sketch ($41.20 AUD/30.65 USD and this one came with a little pouch at check in that included condoms, his and hers toothbrushes, lotions, potions and soap). Gangneung has a wonderful market that we stumbled across, full of weird and wonderful snacks which we loaded up on for dinner on our first night. The next morning we caught the number 113 bus to the park to see the infamous North Korean submarine…I’m not sure what either of us were expecting but this wasn’t really it. It had an old navy ship you could tour (W3000/$3.65 AUD/2.70 USD), the submarine which you could look at and after a walk up the hill you could visit the museum, which was entirely in Korean. This also did have a number of retired military planes you could check out. This place in short was weird, but not a total waste of time if you’re in the area. I feel like if you’re short on time Gangneung could be skipped altogether. From here we were off to Andong so that we could visit the traditional village of Hahoe. From Gangneung there are only a few buses a day direct to Andong (W19,200/$23.50 AUD/17.50 USD) so we’d actually bought our tickets on the day we arrived. This probably wasn’t necessary but it helped us relax. Andong was to be our last motel (‘Queen Motel’ $40.55 AUD/30.20 USD) and we received another great pouch full of goodies from the shy girl who wouldn’t make eye contact with me from behind the desk. I’m going to say Hahoe is another place I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit. Sold as a traditional Korean farming village it really does feel more like a movie set than anything else. There are no people around and it feels slightly voyeuristic wandering around, peeping over fences and in through windows wondering why you’re there and what you’re missing. If you are going though its fairly easy to get there as there is a bus that leaves from opposite the supermarket in Andong and goes all the way to the ticket office for Hahoe (Bus: W1,300/$1.55 AUD/1.15 USD Village: W5,000/$6.05 AUD/4.50 USD). If you’re really looking for traditional head to Jeonju, Geongju or the area in Seoul that has maintained its older houses, in many ways this just felt like a bit of a constructed tourist trap. Andong itself is actually a nice town and does hold a more traditional vibe than a lot of other towns in South Korea. We heard they are very conservative here but we found everyone warm and welcoming. They also have a great food street to find a cheap dinner. Our last stop on our South Korean tour was Busan and we had planned a side trip to Gyeongju. Fairly fast to get to from Andong on both bus and train we decided to take the slow cheaper train (W15,000/$18.15 AUD/13.50 USD) there for the more scenic route. This takes you as far as Napo station on the outskirts of Busan and then you need to take the metro from here into the city (W1,400/$1.70 AUD/1.10 USD) and we had chosen to stay by Busan Station. It looked really central when we booked it and it was incredibly good value at $29.60 AUD ($22 USD) for a private room with ensuite at the sister hostel to where we had stayed in Seoul. It turned out that this location is actually “Little Russia” otherwise known as the red light district (I know I’m good at finding us these places to stay), which has a pretty dodgy reputation after dark. Luckily we’re not night owls so this worked out fine. Our only real plan for Busan was Gyeongju and this is just about doable in a day trip from there. However, in hidsight we really liked it in Gyeongju and wished we had stayed and explored it from there rather than on a rushed day trip. To get there you need to catch the metro back to Napo station (W1,400/$1.70 AUD/1.10 USD) and then get a bus to Gyeongju (W4,800/$5.80 AUD/4.30 USD). From there if you are planning on visiting Bulgaksa Temple it’s another bus (W1,700/$2.05 AUD/1.50 USD) and entrance to the temple is a further W5,000 ($6.05 AUD/4.50 USD). Our favourite part of Gyeongju was actually wandering through the park where the tombs of old emperors are found and the old village which is really pretty. It’s a long round trip from Busan (6ish hours all up) so again I would say you’re better off staying there but it’s totally doable if you’re stuck for time as the connections are frequent and easy. We also did another walking tour in Busan run by the lovely Ben. He gave us a great tour around old Busan and it’s version of Hollywood. We had a great time with him and he was able to show us another side to Busan we wouldn’t have got otherwise including the famous Gukje market. Overall I think I speak for both of us when I say I’m glad we’ve been to South Korea but I’m not sure it’s somewhere that needs to be high on anyone’s travel bucketlist. Our favourite part of the trip was spending time with our friends and we were really shown a different side to the country that I’m not sure is possible to get without a lot of time here. We found 2 very distinct sides to this culture that very much seemed to contradict themselves. When with Korean friends we were welcomed and treated so well by not only them, but everyone that they introduced us to. When we were on our own we found that people could often be rude, abrasive and unhelpful. I read something that seemed to resonate with our experiences which was if you have been introduced to someone you become a person and are shown the upmost warmth and respect. If there has been no formal introduction, then you don’t count as a person so you are not awarded the same social courtesies. There are weird and wonderful things to discover here but it’s not an easy place to be and the national treasures seem to miss the mark in comparison to their neighbours. That being said you should definitely go and check it out for yourself because you may just find something we didn’t. LGBT: We didn't face any problems while we were here and didn't even get questioned when checking in to love motels (they even gave us the condoms). This being said there is an extremely present Christian community here that makes you feel as if discression is neccessary. There has never been any legal discrimination against the LGBT community in South Korea but it really is more of a don't ask don't tell culture. Budget Time $$$Korea’s budget was a nice $45AUD ($35USD) per person per day. By the end of our trip we came in nearly $300AUD under budget for the whole 16 days, however, I’m not sure this would have been the case had we not spent 3 nights staying with a friend just outside of Seoul at the start. That being said, I think we would have been pretty much on point with our budget, making Korea a very affordable destination in terms of a backpacker’s range. Unsurprisingly (and as was pretty much the norm for the whole of Eastern Asia), accommodation was our greatest expense in Korea and accounted for almost exactly 30% of our budget, which is what we aim for as a maximum. The cost to quality ratio wasn’t always what we hoped for but we found that ‘motels’ were a great option for budget comfort. Solo travellers will definitely find hostels and dorms a good deal but as a couple we could pay as little as a dollar more than two dorm beds a get a private room. In terms of transport costs, Korea is pretty reasonable. We opted to use the bus to get around the country and on journeys between 3-5hrs long the average cost was around $15AUDpp ($11USD). It’s not the cheapest but it certainly wasn’t anything like the expense of Japan and the buses were always comfortable. Korea does also have it’s own version of the JR pass but it is much more limited in terms of the ground that it covers so for us it wasn’t even worth considering. Inner city transport like buses and metros are also very reasonably priced with journeys averaging no more that $1-2AUD ($0.75-1.50USD). We were pleasantly surprised by how inexpensive activities in Korea were compared to Japan and Taiwan. Entrance to National Parks, museums and other tourist locations of interest rarely surpassed $5AUDpp ($3.50USD). The combination of reasonable transport and entrance costs meant that doing all of the things that interest you in all locations around Korea is absolutely affordable! Food is not the cheapest in Korea, and if you want to eat any fresh fruit or vegetable then you can absolutely forget about any budget! If it’s not yet fermented then you pay a premium for it!! Obviously Korean noodle pots are a bit of a thing in Korea and these are incredibly cheap to pick up from a supermarket ($1AUD/0.75USD average). If you are looking to eat in a restaurant, even the cheapest local places will set you back $10-15AUDpp ($7-11USD). While that’s not astronomically high, on a budget of $45AUD/day that quickly eats into your budget...pardon the pun! Generally Korea’s budget travel accessibility it much greater than it’s popular neighbour Japan. All aspects of travel life (accommodation, transport, food and entertainment) can be found for reasonable rates with limited effort. This makes it a comfortable and relaxing place to enjoy exploring. What it actually cost: $1,250.87 AUD for 17 days Accomodation: $443.81 Food: $375.25 Transport: $246.84 Entertainment: $85.91 Drinks: $73.65 Souvenirs: $13.31 Miscellaneous: 12.10 This works out at $36.79 AUD per person per day. It was another early start in Hiroshima as we pulled into Hiroshima Station at 6am. Knowing it was too early to even store our bags at our guesthouse we looked for the nearest Starbucks to satiate our caffeine cravings. Unfortunately for us the Starbucks wasn’t due to open till 7am (second time in Japan this had been an issue) so it was a whole hour of standing around before we could even find somewhere to sit down. We surfed the net and caffeinated for an hour before setting out on the 3km walk to our guesthouse. For 2 people who have always claimed not to be hikers we were getting pretty good at walking with our packs in ever increasingly large increments. Lucky for us our guesthouse, Casa Viento (¥4170/$50.55 AUD/38.10 USD per night for a studio apartment) were willing to store our bags for the day (we were staying in an apartment so we weren’t sure this would be the case) and at 8.30am they opened the doors with big smiles and let us know that we could check in earlier and they’d put our bags in our room for us as soon as the room was clean and ready. This still left us with quite a few hours so we headed into the centre of Hiroshima to start exploring. We saw the Atomic Bomb Dome from a mile away in such a stark contrast to the modern skyline that surrounded it. Interestingly though, there was a real sense of peace in the air and the dome was framed across the river by branches of cherry blossoms just starting to bloom. Hiroshima is a city I have felt I needed to visit since I read a book called Hiroshima No Pika when I was a kid. It was a children’s picture book about what happened on August 6th 1945 and the story has stuck with me my whole life. Arriving at the Peace Park and seeing the dome it brings a sense of reality to what happened but also the beauty of the memorial and the real sense of forgiveness you get. The Peace Park has a number of things to check out from the incredibly moving museum (I’m not going to lie I shed more than a few tears), the cenotaph dedicated to the victims, the peace bell, the children’s monument where people donate thousands of paper cranes and the hall of remembrance. Despite being knackered we didn’t leave the Peace Park until 3pm after having walked for hours. We probably could have stayed longer but our weary legs wouldn’t carry us and we stumbled back to our apartment. The next morning we decided to head back to the centre of town and because it was a Sunday we thought we’d check out the once weekly samurai show on at Hiroshima Castle. The grounds of Hiroshima Castle are free and on Sundays at 1pm and 3pm there is the most entertaining (in one of those 90’s romcom kind of ways) free performance which is somewhere between samurai/ninjas meets the Backstreet Boys. Totally worth it, if not only to check out the groupies who know all the words and actions to the songs. The grounds of this castle are really pretty and would be a nice spot for a picnic. We were also lucky enough to be there just as the cherry blossoms were really starting to bloom and even as two people who aren’t that into flowers, we were starting to understand the giddiness of all the Japanese people around us when walking under all the sakura suddenly bursting into life. It really is a beautiful sight that does feel just a little bit magical. Hiroshima was quickly becoming our favourite city in Japan. It’s strange the feeling of peace you get there. I think Dani and I were kind of expecting a very sad and dark vibe due to the nature of what happened there. We had been to Auschwitz a few years prior and there is a feeling of despair in the air there and we both thought Hiroshima would perpetuate but it was completely different. Contrary to the despair of Auschwitz there was a feeling of hope, peacefulness and tranquillity that abounded throughout the city. Our final full day it was time to check out Miyajima Island, which involved a tram to the ferry and then ferry to the island. Worth noting is that you can get a tram+ferry pass for the day which costs ¥820 ($10 AUD/7.50 USD) and gives you unlimited tram rides as well as a return ticket on the ferry. If you already have a JR pass though there is a train to the ferry terminal and a JR ferry you can catch all included in the price of the pass. There is plenty to do on Miyajima but the major attraction is the Itsukushima Shrine and its Inari gate. You don’t have to enter the shrine to see the gate but it is best to time your visit with the tide being in so that the gate appears to be floating on water (tide times can be got beforehand on the internet to ensure you’re there at the best point). While there, you can also check out the world’s largest rice spoon, which is worth a funny picture. Apart from this Miyajima is just pretty to walk around. It has a traditional setting although all the shops now sell generic souvenirs and there are good snacks to try as well. I’d say you only need to spend half a day on Miyajima unless you’re going to go up the mountain which you can either walk or take the cable car up. The weather the day we went wasn’t great, so we chose to give this a miss. We were sad to be leaving Hiroshima, as despite it being true about there not being a lot to do it had really captured us with its vibe and we could have easily just hung out there for a few more days. At this stage we were leaving Honshu and were going to be entering Kyushu, known for its thermal and volcanic activity. I hadn’t been able to find any information online about buses from Hiroshima to Fukuoka but it turns out it was really easy to get from one to the other. It cost ¥4150 ($50.65 AUD/38.15 USD) to get to Fukuoka’s Hakata Station from Hiroshima and was completely direct. It was here we checked into one of the worst hostels we’ve ever stayed in anywhere in the world. We are fairly tolerant when it comes to basic cheap accommodation (we once had to choose between proper flooring and window with panes of glass in Ecuador and in hindsight flooring should really be more of a priority) but in a country that prides itself on cleanliness, when is it ok to not change sheets between guests and just lint roll them instead..?! I am not kidding and the worst thing is we had already slept in someone/many someone elses skin cells and sweat for a night before we discovered this. Not only this, but some of the people we were sharing the dorm with had some of the worst hygiene habits of almost any people we’d ever encountered! I woke up to find a used sanitary napkin stuck above my head from the girl in the bunk beside me…I wish I was joking about this! We made the decision that we were too old for dorms now and after seeing out the dorm reservation we had made for a few weeks time, from that point on we were paying the extra for privacy and the guarantee of only each others questionable hygiene levels. Fukuoka itself is a strange city. It doesn’t have a lot to offer tourists but it can be used as a good base to see other things around the island. We hadn’t really done our research properly though because we had decided to use it for day trips to Kumamoto and Aso or Kagoshima. However, Kumamoto castle was heavily damaged in an earthquake in 2016 and Aso and Kagoshima were currently erupting in a way that made them a little too dangerous to visit (not if you were in Nicaragua). This meant we had a few days to enjoy the cherry blossoms, eat as much Matsuya as we could handle as we were about to loose it and chill out. We did find one day trip that we think was highly worth it and that was the trip to Yanagawa and Dazaifu that you can get a package for ¥2930 ($35.75 AUD/26.95 USD) which is transport on the train, shuttle to the boat trips and a boat trip around Yanagawa as well as vouchers for discounts on local delicacies. Dazaifu turned out to be our favourite location on this pass and it was only really a side thought to our Yanagawa trip. Dazaifu is a pretty little town with some beautiful temples and shrines to wander around. If you find yourself in Fukuoka needing something to do even if you don’t want to go on the Yanagawa boat trip through the canals I would recommend a trip to Dazaifu which isn’t far on the train. The other thing to do in Fukuoka is the Asahi Beer Factory tour, which like the Kirin Tour we did in Yokohama is free. In this free tour you also get 3 glasses of beer to try and in the spirit of responsible drinking (the tour guide actually said this) you have to down these glasses in 20 minutes. It is a great way to get a little merry while drinking some great beer for free in Japan. Grateful to be leaving behind the awful dorm we jumped on our bus to our last destination in mainland Japan. Nagasaki is a short journey away on the bus (¥4115/$50.20 AUD/37.85 USD return to Fukuoka) and curious about the city that was hit by the second atomic bomb we decided this would be a good stop. Nagasaki is a strange little place. Set in a valley a thin strip of city winds its way through the hills. We had found another AirBnB close to the Nagasaki Peace Park, which is worth checking out. The museum here is also incredibly touching and very well thought out. Other than these things there isn’t really a lot to do so we spent our time eating great food and drinking good Japanese beer (we’d highly recommend Asahi Clear as a cheaper delicious alternative to Asahi Dry). We had a flight to catch from Fukuoka to Okinawa and lucky for us there is actually a bus from Nagasaki to Fukuoka airport. Okinawa is a very different part of Japan. We came in quite late and settled into our Hostel Inn Grace Naha ($44.70 AUD/33.70 USD/¥3685). We had booked 2 nights in the centre of town due to our late arrival and then 5 nights in an AirBnB further out. Deciding to make the most of our one full day in the centre we walked the main strip, which is sadly full of tourist shops each almost identical to the next. In saying that Okinawa doesn’t really feel like Japan. It may be all the Americans, it may be the tropical climate, I’m not really sure what it is but it feels different. It is also the poorest district in Japan and that shows in the level of how run down it is. Again though before booking we hadn’t done enough research into Okinawa and on the ground we were faced with a very expensive decision. The reason one goes to Okinawa is to visit the surrounding islands which really do look like tropical paradise however as the accommodation on those islands had been so expensive we had decided to day trip it instead. The problem came when we were on Okinawa itself and discovered just how expensive the ferries to the islands are. They aren’t really worth it if you’re only doing a day trip, but to stay is so expensive…it was a catch 22 we weren’t really ready for having booked to stay for a week. Having seen just about all Naha had to offer we were starting to wonder if we had made a very expensive mistake by coming here. It turns out that there are places to go they are just not that easy to get to. I think to really experience the best of Okinawa you need to have the money to do it and it really isn’t a backpacker destination. We did find some reasonably priced snorkelling trips to the islands but unfortunately for us they cancelled our trip and it was on our last day there so we can’t tell you if they’re worth it but it is definitely an option. We also took a bus to American Village and Sunset Beach, which is probably the closest pretty beach to Naha itself. American Village is a little strange but it has a cool ferris wheel on the top of the mall that gives you some pretty views and there are some fun shops to wander around.
We also booked to do a cooking class with Taste of Okinawa (price), which was wonderful as we were able to learn a bit about the difference in culture between the mainland and this little group of islands and how that impacted the food. Okinawa has it’s own vibe and is quite different to mainland Japan I’m not sure it’s as Taiwanese as people say it is either. All in all we’re glad we went as it certainly gave us a wider view of the range of things on offer in Japan. It was time to say goodbye to Japan after 6 amazing weeks of wonderful and weird. From snow-capped mountains to tropical islands Japan has it all. I can’t say we loved every minute because traveling Japan on a budget can be hard work but it was always worth it. Japan is a fantastic country full of weird and wonderful surprises, ultra modern cities and ancient temples. Coupled with a wonderful cuisine Japan has it all. Best of all it is accessible on a budget as long as you are willing to work for it. We couldn’t believe it when we pulled in the Osaka Umeda bus terminal early. I’m not sure we’ve ever caught a long distance bus that’s been on time let alone early before but here we were standing in the pissing rain a 6am...Welcome to Osaka! Knowing that we couldn’t check in till midday we headed for the nearest Starbucks (a terrible habit/comfort we seem to have picked up during the last few months) only to find that even they weren’t open this early. Luckily we only had 10 minutes to wait and we were soon sipping on more weird flavoured lattes (macadamian nut toffee for me) and thawing out before braving the weather for our relatively long walk to our AirBnB. Having seen a small break in the rain we decided to start walking. Our plan was to find somewhere near where we were staying to hole up for a few hours before checking in. Unfortunately the break didn’t last long and we were soon walking across a bridge, soaking wet and miserable. Our reward on the other side however, was Matsuya with our tried and true favourite breakfast. Something to note in Japan is how difficult their addresses are to understand (they give you an area not specific street and the numbers aren’t in numerical order on the street). Aware of this I left Dani with the bags and attempted to find a place that should have been no more than a 5-minute walk away. Just over an hour later I finally found it (with the help of the lovely concierge at a nearby hotel) and was able to grab the key before going to collect my wife and bags. Our AirBnB ($37.05 AUD/27.90 USD/¥3,056) was basic, but wonderful and best of all we had got a discount (link Japan tips) due to staying for a week. It had a little kitchenette, bathroom and best of all pocket WiFi to use around the city. Being nicknamed the kitchen of Japan we thought it was only fitting that we did a Japanese cooking class there. The class (Taste Osaka) was our first activity in Osaka and we weren’t very familiar with getting around yet. I discovered that if we walked to Osaka station (across that bridge again) we could catch the JR loop line to our cooking course, which also happened to be around the back of Dotombori, a famous area in Osaka. The cooking class ($77.85 AUD/57.15 USD/¥6,500) was amazing and we were stoked to learn some new techniques when cooking our favourite cuisine, as well as finding a class that focused on something other than sushi. Being at the back of Dotombori we thought it would be worth exploring after the class. It is definitely a fun place to wander and check out the unique signage out the front of the restaurants. It’s also where Osaka’s version of Kappabashi (kitchen area) is but it was nowhere near as cheap or as all-encompassing as Tokyo. We had a friend from Australia helping us with our itinerary in Japan and he happened to share with us that there was a major sumo competition happening in Osaka while we were there. Now, by the time we found out about this there was absolutely no hope of booking tickets online as they were all sold out but they do have cheap tickets for available every day at the door for the first 200 people in line. Deciding to take a risk on getting a general admission ticket we were there bright and early. We managed to score 2 tickets (¥2,200/$25.45AUD/20USDpp) pretty easily and soon we were preparing to see our first sumo fight. Not really being into spectator sports and really not being into fighting I wasn’t sure that this would be my thing but you know… when in Rome and all that. It turns out it was a pretty incredible experience. The culture surrounding sumo is fascinating. There are only 6 competitions a year around the country so if you happen to be lucky enough to have one going on while you’re in Japan definitely go. Good to note though is that they start the matches early in the morning with the younger inexperienced wrestlers while in the afternoons and evenings you have the more elite levels. Your ticket entitles you to one re-entry so you don’t have to go in straight away and can leave and come back once during the day. We chose to get tickets, then get breakfast, enter stay till the afternoon, go and get lunch and do some shopping before coming back to see the big guns (no pun intended). This turned out to be a great way to break up the day and meant we got a taste of all the different levels and the intensity of the serious fights at the business end of the day! Having decided to use Osaka as our base to explore the surrounding areas we planned to use the Hankyu line 2 day pass (¥1,400/$17 AUD/12.80 USD) to get us from Osaka to Kyoto. While researching this we also discovered the Cup Noodle Museum is also on the Hankyu line so we planned our day to start there then head to Kyoto to temple hop. The Cup Noodle Museum (location) was one of the more obscure things we did in Japan but it was a lot of fun. For ¥300 ($3.65 AUD/2.75 USD) you get to make your own cup noodles including decorating your cup and choosing your own ingredients. It was a fun way to spend a morning before heading out to Kyoto for a more grown up activities. Our first afternoon in Kyoto we decided to see the Fushimi Inari Shrine famed for its red gates (actually orange but hey…) and Kinkaku-Ji golden temple. Unfortunately these are on the opposite sides of Kyoto but again its all well linked by public transport. To save money we decided to walk to Fushimi Inari from the Hankyu station but there is a metro line and JR line station close by. The beautiful “red” shrine is free to enter and you can do an extended loop walk, which will take you the better part of 2 hours and covers the whole complex. We hadn’t factored enough time in for this and walking to the cheaper transport stops so I would recommend planning well and giving it enough time to really explore this shrine. From there we walked back to Kyoto station (again this can be done on transportation) to catch the bus to Kinkaku-Ji (¥370/$4.50 AUD/3.40 USD). Kinkaku-Ji temple (¥400/$4.85 AUD/3.65 USD) is definitely best saved for a sunny day. If we are perfectly honest neither of us were sure that this temple was worth going to for not only the entrance fee but the cost and time to get there on public transport. For the ¥1000 ($12.10 AUD/9.15 USD) you spend on the 30mins you’re there we wouldn’t bother again when there is so much more to do in Kyoto and so many wonderful temples and shrines to chose from. This being said it was a really rainy day and the gold may look a lot more spectacular in the sunshine. Just as the heavens opened we had hopped back on to the bus (¥230/2.80 AUD/2.10 USD) to get us back to the nearest Hankyu station to get us back to Osaka. Our next day in Kyoto was focusing on the Bamboo Forest (also free) and the Gion Area known for its more traditional look and the world famous geishas (unlikely to be spotted but make sure if you do see one to have some respect as they are people and many tourists treat them like zoo animals). With the bamboo forest you can take the Hankyu line to Arashiyama Station (you need to change at Katsura Station but this is very easy). Once there it’s a 15-minute walk to the forest but is very well signposted. The best thing to do is to get there early in the morning before all the crowds. It can get packed but we had it nearly to ourselves in parts and I would imagine with 100s of tourists it would detract from it’s peacefulness and overall beauty. There are many shrines and temples you can walk to in this area so it’s worth giving yourself a few hours to explore before heading into Kyoto itself. From here you must head back to Katsura station to change onto the line heading to Kyoto. We booked ourselves on to the free walking tour in Kyoto to explore Gion but unfortunately they seem to pack far to many people on to the tour which means you don’t learn very much so I think you may be better off exploring Gion on your own. If you really want to see a geisha we heard the best time is about 5pm when they are off to entertain for the evening. It is more common to see maiko (trainee geishas) leaving school in the afternoons too.
Our time in the Kansai area was coming to an end but we had another full day before catching our night bus to Hiroshima. We checked out of our apartment and walked to the bus station where we were going to store our bags for the day (a large locker could store both our big bags and our front packs (¥500/$6 AUD/4.50 USD for 24 hours). We had decided to do one last day trip to Nara and this turned out to be an excellent decision. To get to Nara we took the circle line from Osaka station to (¥180/$2.20 AUD/1.65 USD) Tsuruhashi Station where you can then transfer onto the train to Nara (¥670/$8.10 AUD/6.10 USD). This was a lot cheaper than going from Umeda Station to Naha and then transferring to the Nara train. Nara was one of our favorite places in Japan. It has all the beauty of Kyoto but fewer crowds and the added bonus of herds of deer roaming the streets (strange but true). There are many beautiful shines and temples to see and most of them are free to enter. There is also the very large Buddha but we chose not to see this as we had seen the one in Kamakura a few weeks earlier and couldn’t justify the entrance fee (you need to pick and choose in Japan as the small entrance fees add up very quickly). It was a great last day in Kansai and we were ready to explore Hiroshima, a city I had been curious about since I was a little kid. The bus wasn’t due to leave till 11pm so we had some time to kill, but Willer Bus station has good WiFi and a coffee shop you can hang out in. The buses are also really comfortable and an efficient way to get around as well as save money on a nights accommodation. The bus to Hiroshima was one of the most expensive journeys around Japan at ¥13000 ($78.25 AUD/59 USD) but if you have one of the Willer passes you may be able to get this journey a lot cheaper as part of the 3-5 ride packages. Awaiting us in Yuzawa were 2 smiling, waving friends, which felt so nice in a country as alien (in a good way) as Japan. It was going to be great spending 2 days with people who would be able to help us navigate and understand Japan a little better. Yuzawa is a mountain resort town, so unless you’re into skiing, there’s not much on offer. This being said, it’s a beautiful place and has some great onsen (that are used to and accepting of tattooed foreigners). Our first day was spent visiting a sake factory in the afternoon and then at an onsen set at the base of a mountain in the early evening. It was magical; soaking in the steaming bath while the snow fell around us (this is however after the initial awkwardness of being naked with complete strangers – not something most westerners are used to!). We were then up early the next morning ready to head to Nagano to see the snow monkeys. Miho (one of our hosts) had made us a delicious breakfast of homemade rice balls, rolled omelette (which she taught me how to make!) and miso soup. Heartily fed, we set off on what may have been one of the most beautiful drives of the trip. Snow-capped mountains, little villages, evergreen pines covered in snow...it was stunning. All this, before arriving at a place Dani and I had been dreaming about since we met Canadian friends of ours 5 years earlier in Laos who showed us their pictures of these gorgeous fluffy monkeys bathing in hot springs to warm up in the snow. It did not disappoint. The monkeys were as cute and fluffy up close and not even a little bit phased by the people around. It was well worth the effort to get there (we were lucky enough to get a ride one way but having done the journey in reverse it’s not a cheap or easy place to get to as it requires a Shinkasen from Tokyo Ueno Station to Nagano then an electric train to Yudanaka). After a delicious lunch of soba noodles we had to bid farewell to Miho and Yu with promises of seeing them again in New Zealand. In Yamanouchi (the onsen town nearest to the snow monkey park) we had decided to splash out a little on staying in a ryokan that we had found on AirBnB. As it was the cheapest ryokan in the area we should have guessed it wouldn’t live up to expectations but just how disappointing it was upset us. I guess we had expected a level of cleanliness in Japan that we actually learnt wasn’t the case in a lot of hostels as they cut corners and costs by using volunteers rather than paid staff who aren’t invested in the business or it’s customers. It meant we ended up paying twice the price of somewhere else to sleep on the floor in a room covered in creepy crawlies, with half a bathroom, and a sink that had been dismantled and was dripping brown slime from the hair clogging the pipe into a bowl on the floor. Needless to say it wasn’t our favourite accommodation in Japan! The town of Yamanouchi itself was pretty enough and we didn’t dislike our day there after the snow monkeys, but given the opportunity again we wouldn’t bother staying there for a night. A better alternative probably would have been a night in Nagano as this is relatively quick and easy to get to from the snow monkey park. Upon returning to Tokyo we were actually going to stay with a friend in Matsudo, which is sort of part of Tokyo, sort of not. Again, luckily for us. our friend Natsuki had kindly offered to pick us up from Oomiya station so all we had to do was make it there. Easy right? Well as you may have already gathered Japan is expensive so to save a few hundred yen (it does make a difference when breakfast only costs ¥400/$4.80 AUD/3.65 USD) we walked the 2.5km to the train station instead of taking the bus. The train being your only option to Nagano means that it costs ¥1260/$15.20 AUD/11.50 USD (as they can basically charge what they want) and then you can take the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo. The Nagano Dentetsu line is a private line so cannot be taken with any JR pass but the train from Nagano to Tokyo is covered by both the JR pass and JR East pass (see post about ‘How we beat the JR pass’). Staying in Matsudo meant we got a different perspective on life in bustling a metropolis. It is still as quiet and orderly but there seems to be more space and the people seem less…intense! We had a great night out with Natsuki and her friends on our first night and Dani finally got to achieve another food goal of eating chicken sashimi (yes she really did eat raw chicken...and survived). Natsuki being a nurse, had to work on the other days of our stay but it really gave me a better insight into nursing in Japan (honestly, nursing friends look into the expectations of nurses in Japan, we should count ourselves lucky in Australia and NZ...sorry UK I still think you guys may have it the worst because they still pay you well in Japan). On our first full day back in the Tokyo area, we decided to head to Yokohama via the Tokyo Fish Market. We arrived at the fish market and wandered the stalls noting that this didn’t look much like what we were expecting at all. The samples of snacks were fantastic and we sampled our away around but it turns out we never did make it to the heart of the fish market where the tuna auctions are held. I’m not sure why we didn’t find it but if you’re heading to the fish market make sure you don’t make the mistake of thinking the stalls outside are it. Having eaten all of the snacks we headed back to Yurakucho station but made a little detour to the basement entrance to the nearby metro line to geek out over the home of Jiro’s Sushi (If you don’t know who this is he’s an 80 year old sushi chef who has a Michelin stared restaurant in a metro station. You can watch a fantastic documentary about him that we saw on a trip to Adelaide years ago called Jiro Dreams of Sushi). Standing outside and listening carefully we could hear the kitchen prep going on but unfortunately it was closed so that was as close as we were going to get to a Jiro experience! Next stop on our day trip was the Kirin Beer Factory. We had found out online that you could do a free brewery tour after which you could try the beer for free. This turned out to be a great trip because not only is the tour really well done (they give you an English translation guide) but they give you 3 glasses of free beer and a snack at the end! When do you ever get to drink for free…let alone free in a country as expensive as Japan?! We would both highly recommend this tour if you’re heading to Yokohama. It’s a 15-minute walk from Shin-Koyasu station and you just head in a put your name down for the next available tour. Sufficiently tipsy we headed for our final stop of the day the Ramen Museum (¥300/$3.60 AUD/2.75 USD pp). This was fast shaping up as a day of great discovery and also a day of great mistakes. Having missed the centre of the fish market that morning and having only had snacks to eat we were starving. Mistaking the Ramen Museum for an actual museum we thought we’d stop at Matsuya on the way. It turns on out the museum is more like a food court of all the ramen varieties found around Japan in a room that has been made to look like a street in Tokyo in the 1930s. Because we had already eaten this made this stop a little redundant as we had no desire to sample any of the wonderful looking ramens, but it was fun to wander around anyway.
We had plans the next day to meet up with another friend Noriko in the kitchen district of Tokyo, Kappabashi. Kappabashi is where all restaurants and chefs go to buy all their equipment at wholesale prices...If you’re wanting to pick up anything kitchen related in Japan this is where you need to come. Having emptied our bags of Central American souvenirs in Taiwan we made the mistake of believing we should fill all free space. This means I’m now the proud owner of a rectangular pan for rolled omelettes, cooking chopsticks, a thermos, tongs and a fish slice with my favourite character Gudetama on them and Dani needed (yes needed) the sushi covered green tea cup. This place was amazing but very dangerous when it comes to packing. After wandering the length of the area and bankrupting ourselves in the process, it was an easy walk to Asakusa, which is known as Old Tokyo. It’s pretty there, but rammed with people, which takes away slightly from what I’m guessing is a really nice area when you can see it! On our last full day in Tokyo we decided to have a planning day. This may confuse most but those of you long term travellers will understand not only the need for a rest day but also that it takes a lot of time and effort to budget backpack. We had a night bus booked for later that night so we thought it would be good to chill before the 2 hour long trek across Tokyo to catch the bus to Osaka (¥4500/$54.30 AUD/41.10 USD). After 2 weeks of dipping in and out of Tokyo it was time to head down to the more historic part of the country (The buses around Japan were definitely a huge money saving tip that we learnt from other travel bloggers. They are extremely comfortable, much cheaper than the trains and can save you a night of accommodation in some cases). |
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