some kind of amazing

This is my last blog post for my 2016 South Korea trip! Well, at least it didn't take me a year to get it done. As of now, no more travel entries backlogs for me~

Welcome to my world, let's do this! (Hard Carry reference, did you get it? LOL)

Previous South Korea blog entries here.

Day 7 (April 19, 2016) | War Memorial Museum of Korea

Our flight was at 8PM KST so we still had time in the morning to do last-minute errands/shopping/what say you. It was honestly a lazy start of the day because we all slept rather late the night before, coming from Nami Island, last minute shopping, then packing our luggage. I found it difficult to pack my luggage because of all the things I wanted/needed to bring home (skin care stuff, clothes... but mostly food!). I had to transfer some of things to Jj's luggage because of this predicament lol. 

Anyway, after checking out from the guesthouse and having breakfast, my friends and I went our separate ways to do last minute stuff. I think Jodie went to a coffee/EXO-related store while Kwik went to Myeongdong for more shopping. The history nerds that we are, Jj and I decided to go to the War Memorial Museum of Korea.

Note: This may look like a visual diary of some sort and not exactly a detailed blog entry. I honestly didn't know much about Nami Island when I went there, thus, the lack of informative stories -_-

Day 6 (April 18, 2016) | Nami Island 

We started our journey to Nami Island at 9 in the morning. Our mode of transporation was the subway and it took us around an hour and 30 minutes before we reached Gapyeong Station. This journey involved at least 3 line transfers. From Gapyeong Station, we took a short cab ride to the ferry wharf. 

We've arrived~

Nami Island is a crescent-shaped island in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, South Korea. It's known as one of the filming locations of the widely popular Korean drama, Winter Sonata. I, myself, have watched that drama when I was in elementary school lol. It's a must go-to tourist destination, especially if it's your first time in South Korea and you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

(BELATED) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! I'm finally back with a South Korea trip blog entry! :) I hope you're all having an amazing holiday season! I want to blog about a lot of things (ehem GOT7 Fanmeeting in Manila ehem) but I should really finish my backlog of travel posts lol.

For previous South Korea trip blog entries, click here.

Continuation of Day 4 (April 16, 2016) | Nanta Show

After the DMZ tour, we boarded our tour bus that would drop us off at City Hall Station.  Around an hour later, we arrived in City Hall Station and from there we took the subway to Myeongdong Station. We decided to rest in our guesthouse first before heading to our schedule for the night, which was to watch the 8PM Nanta Show! Jj reserved our tickets weeks before and we chose the Myeongdong venue because it was more accessible for us. 

It was past 7PM when we braved the cold, rainy night to go to the venue. We did not bring any umbrellas so we got drenched while walking around the busy Myeongdong shopping street. It took us a couple of minutes to realize that we would really be needing an umbrella despite the layers we were wearing because our hair were getting wetter by the second LOL. Thank you for the street stalls that were selling cute transparent umbrellas!! We got the clear transparent one with yellow polkadots... (unnecessary info I know LOL)!



Anyway... located in the UNESCO building, the Nanta Theatre is easy to find. The Nanta Show is a non-verbal comedy show about chefs preparing for a wedding banquet. Aside from how the show has hilarious antics, what makes it more entertaining is how it involves dancing, acrobatics and audience participation. The 2-hour long show is also known for incorporating Korean traditional rhythm, Samulnori, in its presentation. There really was no dull moment during the show even when no dialogues were used!

Our 3rd full day in South Korea started later than usual since 1.) we had no major activities scheduled in the morning and 2.) we wanted to sleep in lol. Two jam-packed days really did our body good and a sound sleep was more than welcome. Jj, being the master planner that he is, allotted this day for our Kpop Pilgrimage (lol) so it was kind of a ~chill~ morning. If my memory serves me right, we woke up at around 9am and after taking a bath and all those necessary preparations, we were able to leave the guest house at 10:30AM.

I also have to say that I was beyond excited for this day's plans because finally, I would be living one of my fangirl dreams! Traveling to South Korea is one of those (breathing the same air with the Kpop idols hello!) but actually seeing the entertainment agencies where my biases usually are is another thing!! For your reference (lol), I am a JYP stan, Jodie is an SM stan, and Kwik is a YG stan. Perfect! 

{Back to regular programming}

For brunch, we ate in the McDonald's branch near Myeongdong subway station. It's my goal to eat in the McDonald's of every country I visit so I can try their local menu.


Right after brunch, we rode the subway to Cheongdam Station then from Cheongdam Station, we walked to the JYP Entertainment building. This blog served as our guide.

Here goes the Miyajima Island leg of my trip, which deserves its own blog post. This might be lengthy. I hope you enjoy!

CONTINUATION OF DAY 3 (March 11, 2016) | Miyajima Island + Mikuniya Guest House

Before I start telling stories about our Hiroshima City and Miyajima Island adventure, I would just like to mention that THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR WHOLE TRIP. These historical and cultural places were the reason why we bought the JR passes, why we woke up at such ungodly hours and why we basically just travelled for a total of ~10 hours to and from Tokyo to reach these destinations. DEFINITELY WORTH IT, THOUGH. Without a doubt. 

Alright.

DAY 3 (March 11, 2016) | Hiroshima City

Our 3rd day in Japan started by waking up at 3am (!!! yes, 2am in the Philippines!) and leaving the hotel before 5am to catch the 5:06am train to Higashi-Kanagawa Station. From Higashi-Kanagawa Station, we took a 9min train ride to Shin Yokohama Station and from there, we rode the Hikari 493 Shinkansen to Hiroshima Station. The Shinkansen ride lasted for around 4 hours so that meant ~sleep time~ for us. It was also a good thing that we reserved seats beforehand, thus, getting seats beside each other and ultimately, being able to sleep freely and with #noshame. Yes, that was supposed to be a run-on sentence.

I used Hyperdia to "review" the actual route we took on our way to Hiroshima Station. There was no way I would have remembered those details. Besides, Hyperdia is awesome. It saved our butts from getting lost when we were in Japan.

Nica and I's sleep deprived faces! I didn't even bother fixing my shawl-turned-weirdishlylongscarf! Also, look at the station sign behind us. We rode that 5:06 train ride and we were already in the station at around 4:50AM. Early birds! 

A little over 12 hours in Japan and we found ourselves awake at 6:00AM to go to our next destination: Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort!

This was a must-visit place for us because 1.) it does not snow in the Philippines and we wanted to see and experience snow and 2.) it was just a 75-min bullet train ride from Tokyo Station! Making the most of the winter season in Japan AND making the most of our JR passes... how timely and convenient!

We reserved our 8AM Shinkansen seats to Gala Yuzawa Station the night before (when we arrived in Tokyo Station). We got to the station a few minutes before the arrival of the bullet train so we had the chance to grab some convenience store snacks for our breakfast "meal".

Off to Gala Yuzawa Station via the Max Tanigawa Shinkansen~

Our train just arrived! We just had to take a photo before boarding it, and with it as the background because...

I love documenting my travel stories. Not only do these keep me motivated to save up for my next trip, my stories also remind me of all the amazing things that have continuously been happening in my life. 

That is why even though it has been more than 2 months since my Japan trip, I will still blog about what happened. For the record, I have been blogging about Japan since weeks ago so that is 2 consecutive posts of ~actual blogging~. Small progress is progress! I apologize for the delay still. 

DAY 1 (March 9, 2016) | Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kyobashi and Shibuya

We arrived in Narita International Airport at around 2:45pm, Japan time. First plan of action after immigration and baggage claim was to get our 7-day Japan rail pass. We then proceeded to the Narita Express train which would be our ride to Tokyo Station.


The duration of the ride from the Narita International Airport to Tokyo Station using the Narita Express was around an hour. When we reached Tokyo Station, we looked for the exit nearest Sotetsu Fresa Inn - Kyobashi, our hotel for our first 2 nights in Japan. We got lost while we were looking for the exit because Tokyo station is one big place. It also did not help that Tokyo Station is one of the busiest railway stations in Japan and the continuous influx of people was more than a wee bit overwhelming.

Of course, the most logical thing to do when one is lost is either to find a map or ask around. We decided to go with the latter and asking a local did lead us to the exit of Tokyo Station. (Can I reiterate how kind the Japanese are!!) When we got out of the station, man, it was freezing! We only had 2 layers of clothing on and some scarf to shield us from the wind and rain. We found out later on that it was 6 degrees Celsius that time but the RealFeel weather is at -4 degrees Celsius! Good thing there was an underground mall near Tokyo Station so we passed through that. We also had a heater appreciation moment because hey! heaters aren't really things you value in tropical Philippines (lol).

Last March 9 - 15, 2016, I went to the Land of the Rising Sun! It was my first time to go to Japan and I’ve been anticipating for this trip since the start of the year. As a fan of East Asian/Southeast Asian culture, Japan was definitely one of the must-go to places in my list! 

It was still winter in Japan when I went there and since I’m from a tropical country (what’s up Philippines!), I needed to prepare the clothes I’d be wearing for my 7-day trip. Spring was approaching and we would not experience the worst of the winter season BUT I’ve always had low tolerance for coldness (literally and figuratively LOL) so I had to pack lots of thermals, sweaters, and coats. Better be safe than sorry! 

{not the actual weather during my stay there, i took this screenshot just now lol}

I added Tokyo, Niigata, Hiroshima and Itsukushima in my weather app places because these were the places I was planning to go to. My excitement made me check the weather of these places almost every day! I managed to predict what the weather would be like during our stay there because of this. The temperature actually got colder during my stay because of the wind and rain as compared to the days before my trip. I wouldn’t have known there would be chances of rain/snow showers if I didn’t religiously check the weather. 

2.) Prepare my OOTDs for the rest of the trip and write these down on my notebook. 

Cold weather = more clothes = heavier luggage! Bringing a heavy luggage would not be a problem if you have a big baggage allowance. My baggage allowance was more than enough but I would use public transportation (Narita express train!) from the airport to the hotel. The hotel I would stay in was a 5-8 min. walk from Tokyo station so lugging heavy baggages was not an appealing idea… AT ALL. I also always tend to overpack so I HAD TO DO THIS. Doing this was genius because there was never a day where in I got anxious over what I would wear when I was in Japan. It also lessened the anxiety of thinking I forgot something to pack because the notebook served as my guide/checklist. Awesome possum! 

In the end, I brought a medium-size luggage and a cabin-size luggage. Inside the cabin-size luggage was a backpack I would use for the Miyajima Island overnight leg of my trip. I had also planned to store my Japan goodies/shopping haul in my cabin-size luggage and backpack because based on my friends’ advice, you would not resist shopping in Japan! (Please take this advice seriously. I seriously filled my cabin-size luggage and backpack to the brim with Japan stuff to bring back home.) 

Also, if you’re curious, my everyday OOTD consisted of a thermal/heattech sweater, thermal leggings, sweater, coat, pants/leggings, scarf, beanie and rubber shoes/boots! 

3.) Purchase a Japan Rail pass (if necessary) 

If you’re planning to venture out of Tokyo, getting a JR pass is very cost effective. I availed of this because I was going to Hiroshima, which was a 5hr ride away from Tokyo (a combination of bullet train and subway/local train rides). Since going to Hiroshima would involve a couple of bullet train rides, getting the Japan-wide JR pass was worth it. If you are not going out of Tokyo or would just stay in areas such as Osaka and Kyoto, the JR pass is not recommended and would come off as expensive. 

You can read several blogs on whether or not you’ll be needing a JR pass. Here’s a link to one of the blogs I read before! 

P.S. The JR Pass is for tourists and is NOT available in Japan. You need to purchase it before leaving for Japan! 

4.) Prepare necessary documents 

Passport (valid for at least 6 months before departure)? Check! 

Japan visa? Check! 

I also photocopied my passport bio page and Japan visa and placed it on different locations (one in my handbag, one in my luggage) for security purposes. 

5.) Research on the must-buys in Japan 

I did this so as not to buy unnecessary things. Some of the must-buy things in Japan (because of the affordable price or because you wouldn’t easily find these anywhere) are rubber shoes (Asics, Onitsuka), cosmetics and skin care products (!!!), kawaii clothes, gadgets, G-Shock watches and chocolates (!! matcha-flavored and ROYCE!!). 

Now that those are settled, it’s time to go to Japan! I hope this blog post somehow helped you prepare for your trip. Actual Japan trip posts to follow! 

 I MISS JAPAN!