Today we left Seoul to start our Japanese adventure. We took the KTX from Seoul to Busan, and then the ferry from Busan to Fukouka. Normally the ferry takes 12 hours but we got our tickets for the jet boat (it’s name is Beetle). The beetle is clearly faster than other boats and we were frequently passing them like if it was a race. The boat is surprisingly stable and this has been my first boat experience without getting seasick.
The japanese railpass and the korean-japan pass. The boat is the beetle, a very fast hydrofoil.
Once in Fukouka, we pass customs (Japanese customs are very exhaustive, you need to give them the fingertips and they take a picture your face) and we went directly to the train station. Once there, we got the Japanese Railpass. This special ticket works the same way as the Eurorail, meaning you can get as many trains as you want during a time period. Unlike the Eurorail you can use the JP Railpass on the bullet trains which in Japan are called Shinkanshen. Actually I’m writing this text on the Shinkanshen on our way to Kyoto, 12 hours after leaving home from Seoul.
Shinkansen train entering in the station.
Between the AVE,the KTX and the Shinkanshen I’m starting to get used to bullet trains and I don’t know what I will do when I take a normal train!
We arrived in Kyoto very late and everything was closed. We tried to find a place to sleep but the hostels were closed or full so at the end we got a room in a Hotel (almost breaking the budget of the entire trip but we are too tired to sleep on the street and hey, this is my first time in Japan!)
One good thing about hotels is that they have free internet access and here I am, blogging almost on real time for the first time ever!.
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Thank you for the sound critique. Me and my neighbor were just setting up to do some research about this. I am very glad to see such great info being shared freely out there.