I'll Never Let You Gyoza, Japan

Day 14- Free Day

The day began a little later than usual since we were still recovering from our long day at Mt. Fuji. Our final day in Japan had been built in as a free day, meaning that any attraction we had missed or sites we wanted to see again could be visited.

Tom and I set out on our own and walked around the neighborhood where the hotel was situated.  The day was bright and clear and perfect for walking around the town.  About a block or two away was a beautiful little temple.  The green roof and dark brown walls were a nice contrast, especially since it was a combination I had not seen before.  There were not too many people around, so we had a nice view the entire time.

Wanting to go back to the market area from the first day in Tokyo, we headed out to the Senso-ji Temple area.  I had been thinking about a piece of artwork for an entire week, and I knew I would forever regret not buying it if I did not go back.  I quickly found the stall, and snatched up the painting before anyone else could take it.  It had a beautiful cherry blossom in the middle surrounded by a brilliant blue frame.  I was so excited I had been able to find the piece I had been thinking about non-stop.  We walked around the area for a little longer before stepping into Don Quijote. The store had a little bit of everything and had so much to look at.  The majority of the items were knockoffs, but it was still fun sight to see.

Deciding we were hungry, we started the long task of finding somewhere to eat.  Since it was our last day in Japan, I wanted traditional Japanese food.  What could be more traditional than a hot bowl of Ramen?  I ordered mine with an extra egg.  This ramen was my least favorite of the 3 I had tried over the course of the trip.  The broth was salty and a little bland, but I still ate the majority of my meal.

After lunch, we headed to a coffee shop where we sat and talked for a while.  I had a delicious chai (I had to get at least one more in before I left for Korea).  Once we finished our drinks, we started walking around the downtown Tokyo area.  The area was really nice even if it was a little cold.  My nose dripping and my cheeks bright pink, we walked past the Imperial Palace (I really could not see much in the dark).  Unfortunately, we did never get to see the palace due to timing, but we at least saw the peak of the palace.

Dinner was a unique experience.  We stopped at an Irish pub so Tom could have a little taste of home (he is British, after all).  He got the fish and chips, which was sad looking when it finally arrived.  He received two frozen fish cutlets and a handful of fries.  I ordered the Shepherd’s pie and was quite surprised when it came out.  The pie had pickles in it (literally no other vegetables) and the potatoes were super liquidy.  It was not the most pleasant meal I have ever encountered, but that is what I get for eating Irish/ English food in Japan.

We soon headed back to the hotel to pack up all of our belongings for the trip back to Korea.

Day 15- The journey home

The day began insanely early at 4:30am.  We had to have perfect timing on all our subways in order to make our trains back to Hakata port.  The day would be incredibly long with the amount of traveling and transfers we would have to make.

We hopped on the first train that would take us down to Shin-Kobe.  We transferred from there to the train that would takes us to Fukuoka.  We had to wait a while for the bus to take us to the port, and I was watching the time, sweating bullets.  I am a big stickler for timing, and we would be cutting it close.  Once at the port, we quickly made it through the ticket line and on to the boat.

The ferry ride was far choppier on the way back to Korea.  So many passengers were laying in their chairs looking a little green, sitting hunched over in the stairwells, or resting their heads on tables in the cafe area.  I felt for them, but I was fortunate enough to not be blessed with the sea sickness gene.  I happily ate my dinner while Tom and Nicole struggled a little bit with the movement of the boat.

Back on land, we quickly made our way to customs.  Since I have an ARC identifying me as a resident of South Korea, I was able to stand in the non-foreigner line.  Once I got to the front of the line, I scanned my passport and looked at the camera.  I ran into a big issue, however.  The screen said to look at the camera, which I did, and then would tell me to look at the screen instead of the camera.  It then said to re-scan my passport because my face did not match my passport photo.  I had to do this about 4 times before the guard told me to move to a different line.  I was the only one out of my group to have an issue with this.  I know for a fact I look almost the same as my original passport photo even if it has been 8 years since I took it.  I believe it was just being rude to me since my hair was in a ponytail and I was not wearing makeup.

Nevertheless, I made it through customs, and we made our way to the bus station.  The bus ride was about an hour back to the apartment.  I grabbed a quick dinner and then fell into bed for a much needed rest.