Japan

Well, I'm back from my trip weekend trip to Japan. The fact that the Prime Minister resigned as soon as I left is unrelated to my visit.

Fukuoka, the city I went to, was a bit disappointing in terms of photo opportunities, so I've gone back to a photo from the Changdoekgung palace here in Seoul. It shows the Buyong-jeon pavilion in the secret garden.

Visa run
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I am here 3 months now, so I had to go to Japan to get my passport stamped. There were no problems with immigration, and I'm now ok until the 30th November.

Japan
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The easiest place to go to do a visa run is Japan. I checked out the cost to fly, but the tickets were very expensive (come back, Ryanair, all is forgiven. I'll even bring my own oxygen mask). So I booked on the KTX high speed train to Busan, and the Kobee Jetfoil to Fukuoka, Japan. It was a very early start on Saturday, I got the 5.25am train.

I was alarmed on the Jetfoil to read the subtitles on the screen during the safety announcement, when it said "We are making an excuse in the event of an emergency".

Fukuoka
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I should have read more about Fukuoka before I went. I thought it was a ferry port, so I was expecting something like Holyhead. In fact, at 2.5m people it's a much larger city than Dublin. However, there was nothing remarkable about the area I stayed in. I brought my camera, but I realised that everything just looked like Korea.

It was much cheaper than I expected Japan to be. I had a lovely Indian meal, a curry, rice, nan bread and a beer, and the cost was €14.

One of the main things I noticed on arrival, as I walked from the ferry terminal, was that I kept seeing people in 'made up' jobs. I passed a group of 15 youths sweeping the already clean pavements. And when I got to the pedestrian crossing there were two senior citizens with glowing orange batons to guide me across. This despite the fact that the crossing already had traffic lights. When the lights went green, the elderly guy on the far side stood out, shouting at me with a megaphone, instructing me to cross. I thought I was on some type of Japanese game show.

Gift boxes
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I was amused when I went to my supermarket yesterday. Next week is Thanksgiving, which is a major family celebration. Outside the supermarket they have a large display of gift boxes. There are pretty boxes with alcohol and glasses, chocolates and sweets, and bathroom toiletries. But what caught my attention was the beautifully presented boxes wrapped in bows and containing a bottle of canola oil, six cans of tuna and three of spam. I'd be so bowled over by such a gift.

Funny sign of the week
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Soree Ear Clinic.
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Well, that's it for this week. I'm just on my lunchbreak, and I'm heading back to work now.

Until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline in The Korea Herald: Won (the currency) extends loss, stocks rebound