June 2025, no more than 3 months after I returned from a half-year in France, I was on the plane again back to Seoul, this time to meet up with my sister who was already there. From Seoul, we visited Jeju Island, the 50-km wide island off the southern coast of South Korea. Afterwards, we flew eastward to the Land of the Rising Sun. This was both my and my sister’s first time in either country. Sure I had visited Japan once when I was 8 with my mom on her business trip, but I barely remember that.
Seoul:
On our first day in Seoul, we went on a little urban mall-crawl, visiting the Starfield Coex Mall and the Starfield Library within. Afterwards we took a short walk over to Lotte World to see the equivalent of Disneyland to South Koreans. Included was an indoor ice-skating rink and some excellent KFC. At these two locations, we spent more time than I care to mention in toy shops and K-pop stands (me perusing the Red Velvet section and my sister perusing the Stray Kids section).
Having walked up a good hunger, we made our way back downtown to the Myeongdong Night Market – a neon sign jungle of sensory delight with the sizzle and smell of street-eats. Here, we ate dinner at Myeongdong Kyoja Main, a 4-story legacy noodle shop specializing in Kalguksu – knife-cut noodles and broth.
The following day, we visited the National Museum of Contemporary Korean History and the traditional Gyeongbokgung Palace, both of which were right next to our hotel. After a round of KBBQ followed by a little casual game of life-or-death, by late afternoon we were on a flight out to Jeju.
Jeju:
I loved Jeju. The island was a self-contained vacationer’s paradise, offering misty mountains, pale-azure coastlines, urban markets, and hidden suburban gems. Due to its temperate tropical climate, Jeju is well-known for its oranges, which they make into an entire arsenal of products. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the overwhelming volume of mainland Chinese tourists in Jeju. My sister and blended in beautifully.
On our first day in Jeju, we took the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE BUS RIDE OF MY LIFE from Jeju city in the north to the Umutgae Coast on the eastern tip of Jeju Island. This 1-hour transit featured me standing in the aisle of a packed tour bus with practically no wiggle room as the vehicle wound through rural roads on a humid midsummer day. After we got off I immediately went to the nearest cafe in case I was going to loose my breakfast Bibimbap. After a much-needed recovery period, we hiked down to a beautiful scenic beach where female divers would hand-farm shellfish such as conches and abalone twice a day. The only way from the shore was up, towards Seongsan Ilchubong, a fog-shrouded mountain right next to the beach.
Post-hike, we took a thankfully much emptier bus counterclockwise around the Jeju Island coast towards the black rocks of Hamdeok Beach. This beautiful sandy beach offered a uniquely opaque water and some stunningly intact shells. The best views of the beach came from walking the hill nearby.
A long day of hiking over, we treated ourselves to some excellent Tteokbokki in the Jeju city night market.
Our second day on Jeju Island took us to the 2nd-largest town on the opposite south side of the island: Seogwipo. Since we only had a few hours to spend here before we had to return to Jeju for our flight, we visited a local seashell museum and strolled through a peaceful nearby park where we found a cute and youthfully green baby turtle on the boardwalk.
Tokyo:
After a short flight across the Sea of Japan, we arrived in Tokyo on a characteristically hot afternoon and settled into our hotel in Shinjuku (which I only realized was Japan’s largest red-light district after arriving). The entire neighborhood seemed to be speckled with love hotels and hostess bars. Nonetheless, we found some spots more our speed and enjoyed Gyukatsu Motomura – a famous Japanese chain known for its beef-cutlet katsu reheated on a hot stone. Afterwards, we spent the rest of the evening hunting gacha boxes and running from Godzilla.
On our second day, we hopped all over the west side of the city, exploring the traditional temple of Meiji-Jingu and the equally traditional cat-cafe afterwards. For lunch we enjoyed some average yet expensive sashimi. All the walking and heat DEFINITELY works up an appetite, but we were also hesitant to sit down at a proper restaurant for every meal of the trip. Thanks to the godsend that is Japanese convenience stores (with special shoutout to FamilyMart), we had budget Omusubi and Ramune everywhere :). We capped the day off with a visit to Shibuya and Tower Records.
Day 2 in Tokyo took us to the east side of town where we visited another traditional temple: Senso-Ji. Afterwards, we walked crossed the Sumida River and rode an elevator up the Tokyo Skytree for a spectacular vantage-point-view of the world’s largest metropolitan area.
Our final full day in Tokyo was spent at what many online agree to be the best Disney park in the world: Tokyo Disney Sea. We didn’t take many pictures save on the Rapunzel ride, but DID take pictures of the Soba and Udon we had afterwards.
On our last day in Tokyo, my sister decided to explore the massive Tokyo central train station while I chose to take a walk around Uenokoen (Tokyo’s central park). By that evening, we were settled down south in Osaka.
Osaka:
In our one and only full day in Osaka, we visited the world-renowned Osaka Aquarium. This was the one single stop I was looking forward to the most on this trip as a marine zoology enthusiast. Although it was certainly worth the visit, I still believe the Monterey Bay Aquarium, with its research-emphasis, is superior. Nevertheless, I saw some creatures for the first time with my own eyes, most notably the whale shark and the manta ray which I was very surprised could be kept in any sort of captivity given their natural home on the infinite expanse of the open ocean.
In the afternoon, we decided to visit the world expo that happened to be going on in Osaka at the time – how coincidental! I unfortunately didn’t much enjoy the world expo as it was hot, packed, and frankly not too much to see. I was mildly pleased to see a lot of content at the USA pavilion to be focused on the feats of SpaceX though. Ad Astra!
We finished the night with an iconic Japanese dish I have always wanted to try after having learned of it through Youtube many years ago: Chankonabe, the chosen meal of champion sumo wrestlers. It is a stew with practically everything you can think of thrown inside: cabbage, radish, fish balls, meat balls, tofu, octopus, mushroom, carrots, and bok choy. My sister and I were the only ones in the restaurant (I guess it’s not really an everyday dish for the working man). It was a slightly awkward, and deliciously unforgettable experience. No hot pot will ever come close.
Our second day in Osaka was only a half-day as we had to catch a train back to Tokyo where we would eventually fly home from. We visited the Osaka Castle, which offered an exclusive glimpse into the mysteries of isolationist Edo Japan. It was here that I learned about the warrior hierarchy and the secrets of the Samurai.
All in all, this was an enjoyable trip. I got to spend some rare and valuable time with my sister before she began college. I also got to experience a culture and society significantly different from the European lifestyle I had been immersed in for the better part of the year prior. Both Korea and Japan had nice people, well-planned cities, a high standard for cleanliness, and delicious healthy cuisine.
seanlin.dev 