This weekend I was in Japan.
Actually, I probably spent at least as much time traveling to and from Japan as I spent actually being in Japan. But the time I spent there was still wonderful nonetheless.
I went with my good Canadian friend, her Korean husband, and their not-quite-year-and-a-half-year-old baby. We traveled by bus to Iksan, by KTX (high speed train) to Daejeon and then Busan, and then by ferry to Tsushima, an island off the mainland of Japan that's only about an hour from Korea by jet-foil ferry (we took the Beetle).
The island was beautiful, quiet, and quaint, and the time we spent there was wholly relaxing and enjoyable. There were a multitude of hawks (we think?) that flew so close to us we couldn't help remark about them. The people were exceedingly kind to us as well.
We walked for about half an hour looking for a hotel to stay in, and finally we asked some Japanese women how to get there. Instead of just telling us where to go, one called the hotel and made a reservation for us and the other drove us there in her own car - which was a great experience itself, because the Japanese drive on the left, so I got to sit in the front seat of a "backwards" car and ride around on windy island mountain roads!
We stayed at the Kamiso Hotel, which I would recommend to anyone for a great experience. It was quite affordable considering all the benefits we enjoyed: a seaside room with paper walls, a heated toilet, jjimjilbang-style bath and shower options, and some of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept on - mats on the floor with fluffy blankets and pillows stuffed with nuts or something that felt similar. We also enjoyed dinner and then breakfast. For breakfast they prepared a fish - at first I was a little skeptical, because it was the whole fish - eyes, tail, everything - but once I picked off the skin and tried the meat I was blown away. I have never had fish as good as that one was.
But one of the best things about the Kamiso Hotel was the service. The main man who worked behind the counter there spoke not only Japanese but Korean and English as well. I bought several postcards there and asked if he could mail them for me (since I know I have a hard time mailing things from here), so he calculated the prices and said he'd have them sent for me. Well, apparently he'd overcharged me on the postage fees somehow, because I was in the ferry terminal about to board the boat when suddenly he arrived to give me my extra change! It wasn't that much, and considering that the terminal is thirty minutes from the hotel by foot, I consider this man's service to be incredibly impressive.
I'd like to go back another time. If only traveling from here to Busan weren't so tedious!
An Aside:
I took a lot of pictures with my phone, but now my phone is almost dead (I forgot that Japanese outlets aren't like Korea's!). If I find the time I'll try to post some pictures later.
