Japan - my itinerary in Hakone

Oct 28 - Day 8 - Hakone

Got the train from Tokyo Shinjuku Station to Hakone Odawara station. From Odawara took a local train to Hakone Yumoto and then another train to Gora and it was almost 1 pm when I arrived. I had previously purchased the 2 day Hakone Pass from Shinjuki station for 4670 Yen (good value!)

As soon as you exit Gora station there is an information counter. I stayed at Hakone Tent which is right behind the station (go through the underground passway). Hakone Tent has 2 private Onsens which is really nice. Highly recommend it for the location and value.

Took the cable car from Gora station to go to the Lake. As the Hakone ropeway wasn't working had to use a bus (covered by the pass) to arrive at the Lake Ashinoko. Once reached Togendai station I took the pirate ship across the Lake Ashi (all this covered by the pass).

Sadly there was no view of mount Fuji-san due to the cloudy weather. Got off at Hakonemachi and walked through the Hakone checkpoint to then reach the Cedar trees. Walking trough this gigantic trees really is a lovely feeling.

Enjoyed the lake view and walked to the Shrine (FREE entrance) which is in Motohakone-ko. Unfortunately I missed the last ship back and had to take the bus changing at Kowakidani station and then taking the train to Gora station.
Gora is a small town. At night there isn't much around the station but found a great Okonomiyaki restaurant just a cross the railway tracks. I loved the Okonomiyaki!

Oct 29 - Day 9 - Hakone

Started out around 8 am and again reached Hakonemachi station and took bus no 2 (red line) to see Stone Buddahs and a waterfall.

Stone Buddahs and history hall - get off at bus stop Rokudo-jizo and walk in to the wooden building. After that exit to your left on a pathway around the water pond. Follow the pathway to see more statues which includes also a big stone Buddha statue. The path ends at Sogakyodai-no-haka bus stop. Cross the road and take again bus number 2 to see some waterfalls.Took the S line (purple colour) up to Senkyoro-mae and then change to the T line (blue colour) for 2 stops at Sengoku-kogen to see the Susuki fields.

Hiryu waterfall - get off at Yusakamichi-iriguchi and cross the road. Yoy need to walk almost 1 km downhill in the woods to reach this place. The view of the waterfall isn't breathtaking.

Chizui waterfall - on the same bus route get off at Kowakidani and cross the road. Walk up the hill about 15-20 mins and you reach this waterfall. Here again it was a very small waterfall!

Returned back to Ninotaira-iriguchi bus stop and had lunch at a 7Eleven shop. This was my first time eating in a convenience store. I've always seen it in the Japanese TV series, it felt very exciting!

Susuki (Pampas) fields - Walk up stone hill the path through the Susuki fields. Once you reach the top, you can get a nice view of the fields and near by mountains.

Gora park - Got back on the S line and arrived at the Gora park to see beautiful Rose flowers and Marple trees. The park also has a Tropical garden and a Bougainvillea house. The flowers depends on the season. This is also covered by the pass.

By train from Gora to Hakone Yumoto it takes about 30-40 mins. Because it always stops when two trains have to exchange tracks. From Hakone Yumoto to Odawara it takes about 15-20 mins 

Something I loved about Hakone: The bus drivers are extremely friendly despite the fact that all tourists ask them the same question over and over. But they are always ready to help you out. 
A bit disappointed about the weather as it was cloudy and like I said before and didn't get to see Fuji san. 

TIP:
Get a Hakone Tozan map. This will help you very much.
In front of the Gora station there are a few souvenir shops for very reasonable prices.

Korea - my itinerary in Seoul

Read about Jeju and Busan in the other post..

06/09 - Day 12 - Busan - Seoul

Took the KTX to Seoul and arrived to Myeongdong area, very convenient place to stay to visit the city. It's a shopping area also full with restaurants. Itaewon and Gangnam are not far from here and even catching a taxi back in the night isn't expensive.

Deoksugung Palace - What can I say?! If you are a fan of Korea, you would never want to miss visiting a Palace, and this is one you shouldn't miss! It's a small oasis of history hidden and protected inside the modern city.

National museum of modern and contemporary art - It was in the palace garden. I'm not a fan of art, but didn't regret going inside.

Namdaemun Gate - It was in the middle of a few major streets working as a roundabout. 

Namdaemun Market - You could find plenty of street food shops and street vendors that sold you key chain, t-shirts, Korean cutlery and any other souvenirs you could have thought of.

07/09 - Day 13 - Seoul

National Palace Museum - Before entering the Palace make a quick stop to the Museum.

Gyeongbokgung Palace - Another palace you shouldn't miss! It also has a very big garden to walk around. Here I was able to see also the changing of guards.

National Folk Museum - One part of this site was under renovations so I was able only to see it from outside but the Museum was opened.

Then went underground to see the museum dedicated to King Sejong & Gwanghwamun

08/09 - Day 14 - Seoul

Namsangol Hanok Village - It was Korean thanksgiving "Chuseok" festival at this time and there were several free entrance to some sights and it also included special events. I tasted a green onion pancake at the village and up to date I still make it at home!

Jongmyo Shrine - Its famous red pillars were fascinating. Look out for squirrels on the trees and on the ground.

09/09 - Day 15 - Seoul

Dongdaemun design plaza - I actually didn't understand this building. Walked around it for a while and that was it.

Walked pass the Arko arts theater and street that sold paintings on the road.

Naksan Park - A park with a lot of steps, ones you're at the top of the footpath you can see the fortress wall and a view of the city.

Bukchon Hanok Village - A well preserved traditional village.

Seoul Tower - Who goes to Seoul and not go up the Tower? Just keep in mind that there will be a line before you to take the bus from Myeongdong to the Tower, a line before you to buy the ticket, a line before you to enter the tower and last but not least a line before you to get the bus to come back to
Myeongdong. Everything else was just great. You get to have a nice city view, I went in the night and I really enjoyed the lights!

10/09 - Day 16 - Seoul

Seoul War Museum - One place that really captured my heart. Not only for the amazing air crafts, military tanks that you could have seen but also for the message on the Memorial Wall. Really gave me goose bumps in a positive way!

National Museum - I wish I had more time to visit the Museum. It is very well worth it and the entrance is FREE.

Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain and surroundings - A chill out place for most Koreans at the Han river. A must see place as at a certain time, the fountain is lit up with coloured lights and it dances to the background music.

11/09 - Day 17 - Seoul

Olympic Park and Mongchon Fortress - Enter this large park through the World peace gate. 

In the afternoon I went to Namdaemun Market for a bit of last minute shopping and chilling out in the evening!

12/09 - Day 18 - Departure Seoul

I loved every part of my trip. Travelling to a new country all alone. I made friends from different countries. I think this is also another advantage when you travel alone. Yes, Koreans speak English. They are very friendly, I didn't meet any rude people! Some stopped me on the road offering to take photos of me when they saw me trying to take my selfies. Some wanted to help me with the maps.

I'd definitely go back again! I miss bibimbap!!

Japan - my budget

Countdown: 1 month more ^_^ and I just purchased the JP rail pass. It has a 3 month validity so you shouldn’t buy it too many months ahead. I’ve ordered also the Japan train guide book!

So now to look at the “Fun” part but it is also the most time taking part because you really need to put in some effort here. This is where you organize what you want to do on each day but this is up to you. Some like to decide at the moment but I prefer to have a schedule for my trip with a few backup plans. This way I also have a main idea of what I will spend for entrance fees according to what I want to see. You can use Excel, Word or simply have a notebook and write it down. 

Speaking about the budget so far my budget sums up to 1726€ which is divided as the following:

Travelling a total of 911€

• Milano - Tokyo direct flight ticket = 560€
• 7 day JPR + guide = 224€
• Kamakura Enoshima 1 day pass = 11€
• Nikko 4 day pass = 34€
• Hakone 3 day pass = 42€
• Suica transport card = 40€ (this can change, depends on how much public transport I will use)

Buying city passes seems to be a really good option, because they give you unlimited travel on public transport plus some places have free entrance or discounts to the sights.

I’ve booked airbnb for Tokyo, a hostel in Kyoto, and a cheap hotels for the other cities. Here a total of 600€ for 20 nights and some even include breakfast!

In Japan most of the temples, shrines and sights require an entrance ticket. My budget according to what I want to see is 215€ and it goes as the following:

• Tokyo = 103€ (temples, shrines, a day pass to Disneyland, Ghibli Museum, Tokyo Skytree and skydeck)
• Kamakura = 14€ (temples and shrines)
• Nikko = 19€ (temples and shrines)
• Kyoto = 38€ (temples and shrines)
• Nara = 14€ (temples and shrines)
• Osaka = 7€ (temples, castle and shrines)
• Himeji and Kobe = 23€ (temples, castle and shrines)

Now you just need to add the amount you think you need for food, drinks and well some gifts and souvenirs and something extra just in case and you’re all set to go! I know I am ^^

Korea - my itinerary in Busan

Read about Seoul and Jeju in the other posts..

01/09 - Day 7 - Jeju - Busan

In the morning I had to say bye to this wonderful Island. I had a really tasty lunch at the Jeju airport. After Landing in Busan and taking the airport bus to the home where I was staying with my Korean family I just wanted to relax. And I couldn't pick a better place than the Haeundae beach.

02/09 - Day 8 - Busan

Beomeosa Temple - A slight slope up and you arrived to this mystical place. Several temples were distributed in the temple area and you could also it is also possible to practice temple stay.

Geumjeong Fortress - It was hiking a trail of 1.6km thorough the forest hill and rocks. Every time I spotted someone on the tracks and asked them how much more to reach the top they replied "5-10 mins" but it took a lot more than that. I only reached the north Gate and back again.

Chungnyeolsa Shrine - A lovely shrine in a well maintained garden.

Diamond bridge - Just sit on the shore and enjoyed the Diamond bridge specially in the night where the bridge shines with lights.

Busan Cinema center - Where they normally hold the Busan International Film Festival. In the night the center is decorated with moving lights and images.

03/09 - Day 9 - Busan

Yonggung Temple - It was drizzling when I left home and it rained also while I walked to reach the temple, it took me about 15-20 minutes. Despite the grey sky it had a magnificent view. A temple built on top of a huge rock on the seaside. The Zodiac Animal figures guarded the entrance to this temple.

It rained a lot in the afternoon so I tried out a SPA in Busan center :D loved it!

04/09 - Day 10 - Busan

Samgwangsa Temple - The bus stops right in front of the temple. So you have no excuse not to go there. Walk around the temple area and enjoy the view.

After the temple it was a quick view at China town, Busan 40 steps street and BIFF square.

National Maritime Museum - Another FREE museum, the bus takes you in front of the Museum. Go to the rooftop and you get a view of the Busan coast. I tried a 4D film experience for the first time.

Busan Tower - I went up in the night, there weren't many people. The view was nice

Harbor Bridge - I don't remember how much I walked to get here from the Busan Tower. I could have taken a bus, I was tired, but I still insisted on walking and I don't know why! The view was just as I expected, simply wonderful.

05/09 - Day 11 - Busan

Busan Museum - Enjoy some history.

United Nations Memorial Cemetery - 5 minute walk from the Museum and you arrive at this cemetery with a guards at the entrance.

Haeundae beach - Walked along the shores again while eating Baskin Robbins ice cream. Walked to the very end of it and go trough the man made wooden path that leads you to the APEC house.

Nurimaru APEC House - A glass house memorial hall that lies on Haeundae beach itself. Gives you a nice view.

Korea - my itinerary in Jeju

Here are some details regarding the 18 days I spent in Korea from the 26th August until the 12th September in 2014. I came home with 5153 photographs which took me months to sort out and make my Best of. 

26/08 - Day 1 - Arrival in Seoul

It was evening when I reached Seoul and left my bags at Korstay hotel. I just went out for a walk, got a transport card from a convenience store and got my self some dinner. As a side dish I was offered larva worms, it was a funny experience and I didn't have the guts to try it.

27/08 - Day 2 - Seoul and Jeju

Yeouido Park - In the morning I went to the park and walked around it. The area is covered by sky crawlers.

And in the afternoon I flew to Jeju from Seoul Gimpo airport.

28/08 - Day 3 - Jeju - East Course tour with Yeha Tours

We started the day with rain, perhaps we could have gained more if the weather was better. But as the Jeju tour guide said, the weather in Jeju is like a woman's mind, it always changes!

Trick Art Museum - Personally I didn't like this attraction that much. I think it's all right, but there are better things to see in Jeju. And we spent too much time here.

Seongeup Folk Village ─ Here again, I would have preferred to skip it. It was raining as we walked through the village and not all houses were open for visits. Just a brief history about how the people lived in the village.
Did have a wonderful bibimbap lunch at the village :D It was a warm menu for a cold rainy day.

Woman diver show (or Haenyeo Museum) ─ I don't have to mention that it was still raining and so we went to see the Museum. But there was a dance show about the Woman divers so it wasn't that boring.

Seongsan Ilchulbong ─ Loved it, we climbed the peak, which is a UNESCO heritage site. It was raining YES and there were plenty of WIND but it was fantastic. You were filled with adrenaline. And once you reached the peak you had an amazing view of the Jeju shores.

From here the bus took us Via Jong Dal Ri shore road to arrive at the lava cave.

Manganggul lava cave - Loved it, it was a new experience for me. I had never seen a lava cave before. I have seen caves on top of mountain rocks in Sri Lanka but never a cave underground. It was cold inside the cave and a bit dark.

29/08 - Day 4 - Jeju - West Course tour with Yeha Tours

The weather started out grumpy with a bit of rain but throughout the day the sun came out and it turned out really well.

Hallim Park ─ A very nice park. There was another lava cave, Hyeopjae and Ssangyong cave a smaller one compared to Manganggul lava cave, lakes and an artificial waterfall. Here and there you spotted some peacocks and love birds.

Suweolbong Trekking ─ Walked along the lava shores and saw a lighthouse from the distance

Spirited Garden ─ A bonsai garden with little ponds full of fish
Lunch buffet at the garden, there were plenty of vegetables, fish and meat.

ALTHR airfield ─ On our way we saw some air planes of an old Japanese base but it was just a quick stop. We didn't even get off the bus.

Mt. Sanbang ─ We climbed the mountain, there were plenty of steps some a bit difficult. At half of the mountain there was a temple and at the top there was a cave with a Buddha statue and a natural water fountain. You had a nice view of the shore from here. Would have been nice to have spent a little more time here, perhaps also visit the shore.

Cheonjeyeon Waterfall or Teddy Bear Museum - I choose the waterfalls. We didn't spend much time here because it was getting late and the tour was ending and they needed to head back to the city center.

30/08 - Day 5 - Jeju - South

Teddy Bear Museum - I decided to do a trip on my own to see the teddy bear Museum. It was easy to reach taking a bus from the city. I spent almost half a day here, I was glad I didn't see it with the tour because it would have been a very quick tour. The bears were adorable ^_^

Around the teddy bear museum there were many fancy hotels, specially the LOTTE Hotel which had a very pretty entrance and garden, Starbucks coffee with a very creative wall decoration. From here again I took the bus to go to Yakcheon temple. I asked the driver to tell me what stop I needed to get off but sadly he forgot about it. So when I assumed that we had gone a bit too further up and I asked him he said sorry he forgot. So at that point I was in front of the Jeju football stadium.

Yakcheonsa Temple - After visiting the football stadium from outside I took the bus back to the temple. This was one of the most beautiful temples I had seen in Korea. It was so colourful and peaceful. I spent hours sitting on the temple floors and admiring the interior decorations. I was mesmerised by the dragon.

Jusangjeolli Cliffs - From the bus stop you had to walk a bit to arrive at the cliffs. The return bus stop back to the city is in front of the ICC Jeju. So this is a good spot to identify when and where you have to get off. The cliffs it self were very fascinating. There were a lot of people and the path way to the cliffs was narrow. Here again the view of the sea was very nice. The water near the cliffs took a bluish green colour.

31/08 - Day 6 - Jeju

A day of relax on the Jeju black sandy beach.

Read about Seoul and Busan in the other posts..

London - 4 days

Part 2 of my trip ^_^

There were so many things to see but sadly the rain didn’t allow us to make the best of the plan. I grouped up the sights I could have seen with the London 2 day pass according to their location. And the other main attractions were divided in to another 2 days. You actually need 4 FULL days to do this itinerary, if your arrival and departure includes in these 4 days you will have to remove a few sights from the itinerary because you won't be able to see it all.

Day 1 and 4 - no pass included

Day 2 and 3 - pass included 

Here you can get a brief idea of how much the day will cost if you want to see the sights buying the single tickets and how much it will cost if you do it with the pass. This is a full day schedule, so you need to get up early and walk a lot.

Be aware that the Westminster abbey is closed on Sundays -_- and some sights close early so if you have the pass it will not be very useful on Sunday (this is on personal experience T_T)

Enjoy a few more photos and visit my flicker page if you want more https://www.flickr.com/photos/101481820@N07/albums/72157657420779852

Konichiwa Japan

In less than two months I will be going to Japan and so far planning the trip has been fantastic. With the help of several guide books, free brochures and browsing through websites I have put together my 3 week itinerary and I can't wait to set my feet on that land.

When I start planning a trip on a limited budget I prefer to divide it in to 3 main parts. Travelling, Sleeping and Fun aka TSF (not "That's So Funny" in my case ^^’). The most expensive part of the trip is purchasing the airplane ticket and how much you spend on this can determine the rest of your vacation. My advice: buy it months before your departure. Once you have decided on which season you want to travel and you got the dates set in your head do some online researching, compare the prices with different airlines and yes, buy it.

Once the main item of “Travelling” is checked, let’s move on to the “Sleeping” part.

Since you’ll be spending most of your time on the road and heading back just to sleep try not to spend too much on hotels, if you want to travel with a low budget that is. Japan offers many hostels, guesthouses and there is always airbnb and homestay. Or a really unique place like a capsule hotel or a Japanese Onsen. You could reduce the budget even more if you pick to stay in dormitories. So again with some online researching you should be able to find a good place to stay.

According to what you want to see, decide how many days you want to stay in each city, try creating 1-3 main bases and from each base add a few side trips if necessary. I created 2 main bases, Tokyo and Kyoto. From Tokyo I will do a day trip to Kamakura and then go to Nikko and Hakone and spend 2 days each. And once settled in Kyoto I will do a day trip to Nara and another to Osaka. I wanted to add a day trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima but it seemed too packed up and I didn't want to spend too many hours on trains.

Speaking of trains, public transport is the best way to travel in Japan. Buying a Japan Rail Pass, city/region day pass and/or a rechargeable transport card can really save you money and time.

In the next weeks I’ll update the “Fun” part with the schedule and the estimated cost of the trip ^^

Ja matane!