My departure from Gwangju was just the first step in my journey back to Busan to be back with Nicole in our uber cool new apartment. Theres a little “to do” with my visa stamp that was due to expire on July 1 that needed to be addressed and to do that, on a visa run I go!
Having dumped a boat load of money into the Japanese economy in Feb and March, I had no intention of making this a long stay but in any travel adventure, I wanted it to be fun! So instead of a plane I opted for the hydrofoil boat. 3 hour of speedy awesomeness above the East Sea with Miraejet (http://www.mirejet.com/). For approximately $250 round trip ($200 ticket) (including taxes and fee’s), I got a front row seat on the 2nd deck to watch the waves scoot by on my marine adventure for a tourist visa stamp. (side note: there are specials that run often but you need to book early….you should be able to save yourself 50K won if you do!)
The motion of the ocean was quite relaxing and after a 2 hour snooze, we arrived at Hakata port in Fukuoka. Having visited this city already, I wasn’t heartbroken with the
fact that my turn around voyage departed 2 hours later, however I did have biz to take care of.
Immigration is easy if you have all your forms filled out (customs and embarkation). “Konichiwa”…”Arrigato”, done.
The trip home was significantly more noisy as a ton of Japanese set off for the bargains to be had back in Soko. Apparently this was a cause for celebration because a fair amount of the passengers seemed sake’d up which made for some high sea’s chanting which is always fun 😉
Smooth sailing through Korean Immigration and I was home. Here are some details of the trip.
Left the Apt: 8:45am
Departure (KR): 10:00am
Departure Tax: 24,000won
Arrival at Hakata: 12:55pm
Departure (JP): 3:45pm
Departure Tax: 2100 Yen (29,635 won)
Arrival in Busan: (6:50pm)
Arrived Home: 7:30pm
Good to go until October! Phyeww…..
adam
More from Korea
More from Korea
Start with shorter trips to test how your family handles travel. Keep kids involved in the planning so they feel ownership over the trip. Pack light and accept that some days will not go as planned. The messy days often become the best stories.
Priorities and planning. Most traveling families have made conscious trade-offs, spending less on things that stay home and more on experiences that go with them. Points and miles help. Slow travel in one place costs less than moving constantly. And treating travel as a line item in the budget rather than a luxury makes it real.
Western Europe is logistically easy with excellent infrastructure, English widely spoken, and enormous variety. Mexico and Costa Rica are close for American families and have strong tourist infrastructure. Japan is extraordinary and safer than almost anywhere. The best first trip is the one that actually happens.
Know your destination. Register with your embassy for longer trips. Have travel health insurance. Keep digital and physical copies of all documents. Teach kids your phone number and hotel name. Use location sharing on phones for older kids. Most international destinations popular with families are genuinely safe for prepared travelers.
Track everything for the first few trips until you understand your family’s actual spending patterns. Accommodation is usually the biggest lever. Cooking some meals saves significantly over eating every meal out. Shoulder season travel cuts costs across the board. And knowing which splurges are worth it for your family versus which ones you will not remember helps enormously.
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I like the interior of the boat! Enticing!
It was pretty swanky….get the second deck for a good view!
Cool! 🙂