Entries tagged as Busan

Fukuoka again (2/2): Garden, buildings, and the final return

With about 100 minutes left to walk around Fukuoka, I decided to visit the Fukuoka City Botanical Garden next to the zoo, then work my way back to the port by the shortest route through Tenjin. At this point, I could almost walk around Fukuoka without a map and not get lost.

Next to the zoo entrance are the long, steep steps to the Fukuoka City Botanical Garden, which made me wonder how I'm supposed to bring kids there in the future


At the end of the steps you still have to walk some more, but it looks like the hill does offer some nice picnic spots for the locals
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Fukuoka again (1/2): Apple Store pickup & walk in the park

Mere 4 days after I dropped off my 1st generation Apple Watch at the Fukuoka Tenjin Apple Store, I was told by an e-mail that the repaired device was now in the store for pickup. The mail also said that I should come visit in one week unless I give the store a call to reschedule. Looking at the travel options to Fukuoka, it seemed to be better to make the trip sooner rather than later both in terms of cost and availability because of the various holidays in May and June. So I booked a single-day round trip for that weekend, returning to Fukuoka just one week since I left.

Busan subway line 1 was test operating the Dadaepo Beach extension that was supposed to officially open the in a few days when I rode it on April 15


I was to ride the 8AM Beetle hydrofoil service operated by JR Kyushu to go from Busan to Fukuoka this time with a US$79 round-trip ticket thanks to promotional pricing, but the check-in desk didn't open until 6:50AM and I didn't have much time between ticketing and boarding
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Fukuoka on foot (4/4): Museum, udon, and the way home

Considering the check-in time at the Hakata Port, I now had less than three hours' time for sightseeing, including transit time. It was still more than enough for me to visit a museum, take a train back to Fukuoka, have lunch, and walk back to the port.

Kyushu National Museum, opened in 2005 as the first of its kind in Japan in more than a century, is spacious, modern, and easy to get around


The 4th floor of the museum houses the permanent exhibits, which has an extensive collection of historical items in the Kyushu region with the focus in the cultural exchanges with nearby countries like Korea and China
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Fukuoka on foot (1/4): Hydrofoil and cherry blossoms

My first generation Apple Watch's 24-month AppleCare+ had less than a month's coverage left and I needed to use it to repair the failing screen at an offline Apple Store. First one in Korea won't appear until the end of the year, so the closest ones were still in Japan. Luckily, I was able to get a discounted round-trip ticket for a hydrofoil service between Busan, Korea and Fukuoka, Japan, enabling a two-day trip over the weekend. It quickly became a journey on foot for visiting major landmarks of Fukuoka. After all, a stop at an Apple Store doesn't take all day. I have a lot of photos to show you, so I'll spare the comments unless it's necessary.

After taking a bus ride from my Naju home to Gwangju U-Square Bus Terminal shown here, I hopped on a midnight express bus to Busan, which cost US$24 and took 2 hours 50 minutes


Busan Central Bus Terminal in Nopo-dong is quiet and slightly dark at 3AM, with some people waiting for the first subway (Line 1) service at around 5AM
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