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| Kansai Airport Station |
Going back through old albums I realized I never wrote that much about my trip in Seoul in March of 2014. I was living in rural Japan, busy working during the week, and at that time in March, I was preparing for two overseas guests to visit me for a moth. I probably didn’t have time to reflect on all the interesting things I experienced in Seoul. I was probably consumed with preparation for my guests, planning more trips, and just trying to get through the day. My three-day adventure in Seoul with one of my best friends was a wonderful experience, and deserves a place on this blog.
So I will begin again, as all things begin, with a
journey.
I am surprised after taking this long trip from my
provincial village to a major airport so many times that I never bothered to
record how long and cumbersome it was. That is truly a feet in and of itself. Here
is the breakdown:
1.
40minutes: Drive my car from my small village (Kawamoto) to a bus stop
in a nearby but slightly larger town (Oasa). The drive is on a one-lane road
with no street lamps. In the dark, it's a little lonely and scary. There are
often monkeys, boar, or other animals that come out onto the road so you must
be very alert and careful. 9 out of 10 times I would be the only car on the
road for the entire journey. I remember this feeling like the lonliest part of
the trip.
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| The road from my village to the bus stop |
2.
1 hour and 20 minutes: Board the Iwami Express from Oasa station to
Hiroshima Station. This bus come every hour and takes people from Oasa (on the
outskirts of Hiroshima prefecture) to the main Hiroshima Station. It is quite
popular and usually fills up by the time we get to the station. I always rode
this bus because the only bus that comes directly to Kawamoto leaves only once
a day, and doesn’t line up well with things like flight schedules.
3.
1 hour 30 minutes: As soon as I arrive at Hiroshima Station I jump on
the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Shin-Osaka station. If I am traveling during
peak season I will have tried to purchase my shinkansen ticket a week or so in
advance. Otherwise, I just buy it at the station for the next departing train.
They leave from the upper platform, so then I ascend the escalator, find my
reserved seat on the train, and relax for an hour and a half.
4.
50 minutes take local train (Limited Express Haruka) from Shin-Osaka
Station to Kansai Airport Station. Once I arrive in the bustling Shin-Osaka
station, which feels worlds away from my tiny quiet village, I maneuver through
the crowds to transfer to a local train which will take my directly to Kansai
airport. I can usually get a seat on the train, and the journey lasts for
almost an hour.
5.
2 hours: Board a plane from Kansai Airport to Incheon Airport. The
business at the airport is usual – I arrive about two hours early, get my
tickets, and go through security. Japanese airports are pretty efficient and
predictable. For this particular trip to Seoul, I met my friend at the airport
station and we got out tickets together. Though I had been traveling all day,
it felt like my trip began at that moment.
6.
1 hour: Ride the Express train from the Airport to Seoul Station. Once
we landed in Seoul, we were relieved to find that their train system is just as
robust and efficient as Osaka’s or Tokyo’s. It was very easy to catch a train
from the airport to the main station, but it did take almost an hour.
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| The long train ride from the airport to Seoul |
Total travel time: 7.3 hours, not including waiting
at the airport, or the waiting for buses or trains in transit. In other words:
all damn day.
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