Does anyone have any suggestions for visiting Japan and South Korea? (cruise, cost)
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Hi everyone, it's nice to meet you! I'm 19 years old and just joined this site today.
My dad and I have been thinking about visiting Japan and South Korea next summer. I've wanted to go to these countries for years, but I won't lie, I don't really 100% know what would be the best attractions to see. The cities I want to see in particular are Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Seoul. My dad wanted to prioritize attractions before buying anything like flights or hotels. Things I'd particularly like to see would include the Tokyo Skytree, Akihabara, Mt. Fuji, Gion district in Kyoto, Kinkaku-ji, the N Seoul Tower, and the DMZ (There are others too, but I didn't want to seem like I was rambling!).
Also, as a side note, I'd like to touch upon flights, even if that's not exactly the first thing my dad wants to focus on. I've been told that for an itinerary like this, an open jaw ticket would be best to buy, but I haven't found one on ANA's site yet they have great deals on flights out of Huntsville, AL (where I live), to Tokyo round-trip, which made me think about having us fly back to Tokyo after visiting Seoul on a low-cost airline like Peach Aviation. ANA, in all honesty, seems like an amazing airline-the only drawback is that in order to catch an ANA flight out of Chicago or Houston, it would mean taking a connecting United flight to IAH or ORD-and I can flat out say my experience with United was terrible. I haven't flown anywhere since 2015, but the last time I did was that I took United when I still lived in the Jackson, MS, area to San Jose, Costa Rica, and the airline literally got us stuck in Houston for seventeen hours on the way there and lost our bags both ways. I'm aware that ANA would almost certainly not give us service like that, but given that United still has to handle some of these flights, I feel a bit leery.
Delta has a nonstop flight out of Atlanta to Tokyo, and we could book an open jaw ticket with them and return on Korean Air from Seoul (Korean Air also operates a nonstop flight from ICN to ATL), which Atlanta is only about a three hour drive from here, but the open-jaw Delta/Korean Air ticket is actually about $400 more expensive. Any advice?
Also, please recommend some good hotels in these cities. I think I've seen some names of some chains that must be exclusive to Japan.
we fly to a connecting city and stay a day there.
example: depart ATL , arrive (Las Vegas? Seattle?)
pick a place where you have never been and explore.
There is very little difference between the major airlines and you can have a bad experience on any of them. So I would not let one bad experience on UA form your opinion. Also, they all do international flights better than domestic.
Round trip tickets, in my experience, are always quite a bit cheaper than two one way tickets.
I've only been to Japan once for a short three night stay in Tokyo, so I don't have much to offer.
A few things we enjoyed;
Senso-ji Temple and the open-air marketplace around it.
Tsukiji Fish Market - the largest in the world. I think it has moved out of downtown.
Meiji Jingu
I've not been to Japan. My son is adopted from Korea, and I know that country extensively. TBH, both are much more similar than different in terms of culture, homogeneity, travel, topography, weather, etc.
Since I've not been to Japan, I'll focus on Korea.
The people were super nice and accommodating. Given the population is 99% Korean, we stood out as Westerners and people went out of their way to be helpful to us. I kid you not when I say we were stopped twice just so someone could take pictures with "the white couple," lol.
The younger generation speaks English, otherwise it's hit or miss. Koreans eat the same food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I found myself not wanting to eat fish soup with seaweed for breakfast. So make sure you can find breakfast food, either via a Starbucks, or and International hotel that serves both a Korean & "western" style breakfast options.
I enjoy trying other's cuisines, but after a few days I needed something other than Korean BBQ, which can be tough to find even in Seoul depending on your neighborhood.
We loved how easy the subway was, and how cheap everything was. Most Air BNB's come with a wi-fi "egg," that is a portable wi-fi hotspot. If not, you can rent one for about $6/day which i would recommend. Once again, you may prefer a hotel chain if you find you need some creature comforts (english speaking concierge, American food options, etc.)
Google maps does not work in Korea, they have their own versions. trying to type in Korean addresses is very challenging, so my wife and I actually had to go back to pulling up Google Maps (which will show your location at least), and just navigating like we did 15 years ago.
We appreciated N. Seoul tower, the safety of the city, and the 24 hour nature of it. While you're still jet-lagged you can just wander out of your hotel at 2 am and explore a well lit city that never sleeps. It's also a coffee lovers city, and what I like to call a "stumble-upon" city. Meaning you can just start walking and stumble-upon new things, knowing you can also just get on the nearest subway station back to your hotel. It's both modern and ancient, so there are ancient palaces from the 1300's to explore, and not unlike a Paris, the city has these tiny little back alleys with mom & pop restaurants that seat 5 and have tons of charm!
We also took the high speed train into the countryside, and flew to Jeju Island (Korea's Hawaii). Seoul to Jeju is the busiest flight path in the world, and tickets are very cheap for the 45 min flight. The island is a little cooler than Hawaii, but similar in that it's volcanic and has some beautiful beaches.
We did Japan and Korea in April, 2019. On a 14 day cruise with a few days on our own in Tokyo.
We went to Busan instead of Seoul. It was a great city and we very much enjoyed it. Jeju Island was a totally boring and not as pretty as we expected.
Tokyo skytree was over-hyped and actually rather a waste of our precious time UNLESS Mt Fuji is visible. Go in the morning. Other than that, the view was underwhelming. If you must see the skyline, consider saving your money and going to the free observation tower at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bldg. Meiji Shrine was well worth seeing.
Asakusa in Tokyo was a joy. Consider staying in a hotel there instead of the busier, newer spots in tokyo. Nezu Shrine is there, and it's a great area for local's restaurants (versus tourist joints). Gracery Hotel Asakusa is brand new and in a terrific location at good price (book far in advance for best rates).
Kyoto was marvelous, and I really wish we could have spent more time there. Hiroshima was well worth the time, and I would have like to had an entire day on nearby Myajima.
We enjoyed Yokohama much more than expected, and wish we had more time there. The Chinatown is outstanding, but very very busy. We wish we had time to visit some of the outlying towns from there.
Even in Tokyo, less people speak English than the books and websites would have you believe, including tax drivers and the guides in the subway stations! It WAS problematic for us. Remember that the Japanese do not like to say "no", so if you ask for directions, they often just say something to avoid saying "no, I don't know." Consider using the free volunteer guide services. I know they are available in Tokyo, Kyoto and Yokohama and a few other cities. Regardless, you WILL spend more money than you thought you would.
The Delta flight from ATL to NRT was quite pleasant as it's one straight shot. On the way back, we went HND-MSP-RDU. The stop made the flight more exhausting. HOWEVER, HND airport is way more convenient and close to Tokyo than NRT. Don't forget to get trip insurance to cover MEDICAL expenses and evacuation. THAT'S the real financial risk. (Lost baggage and trip delays are minor financial risks that nobody should insure. If you can afford the trip, you can afford to self-insure for that.)
Enjoy. I do wish we can make a return visit someday. (BUT we liked Thailand better.)
PS - if you're going to visit in 2020, remember that's the Olympics in Tokyo. Stay very very far away!
We did Japan and Korea in April, 2019. On a 14 day cruise with a few days on our own in Tokyo.
We went to Busan instead of Seoul. It was a great city and we very much enjoyed it. Jeju Island was a totally boring and not as pretty as we expected.
Tokyo skytree was over-hyped and actually rather a waste of our precious time UNLESS Mt Fuji is visible. Go in the morning. Other than that, the view was underwhelming. If you must see the skyline, consider saving your money and going to the free observation tower at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bldg. Meiji Shrine was well worth seeing.
Asakusa in Tokyo was a joy. Consider staying in a hotel there instead of the busier, newer spots in tokyo. Nezu Shrine is there, and it's a great area for local's restaurants (versus tourist joints). Gracery Hotel Asakusa is brand new and in a terrific location at good price (book far in advance for best rates).
Kyoto was marvelous, and I really wish we could have spent more time there. Hiroshima was well worth the time, and I would have like to had an entire day on nearby Myajima.
We enjoyed Yokohama much more than expected, and wish we had more time there. The Chinatown is outstanding, but very very busy. We wish we had time to visit some of the outlying towns from there.
Even in Tokyo, less people speak English than the books and websites would have you believe, including tax drivers and the guides in the subway stations! It WAS problematic for us. Remember that the Japanese do not like to say "no", so if you ask for directions, they often just say something to avoid saying "no, I don't know." Consider using the free volunteer guide services. I know they are available in Tokyo, Kyoto and Yokohama and a few other cities. Regardless, you WILL spend more money than you thought you would.
The Delta flight from ATL to NRT was quite pleasant as it's one straight shot. On the way back, we went HND-MSP-RDU. The stop made the flight more exhausting. HOWEVER, HND airport is way more convenient and close to Tokyo than NRT. Don't forget to get trip insurance to cover MEDICAL expenses and evacuation. THAT'S the real financial risk. (Lost baggage and trip delays are minor financial risks that nobody should insure. If you can afford the trip, you can afford to self-insure for that.)
Enjoy. I do wish we can make a return visit someday. (BUT we liked Thailand better.)
PS - if you're going to visit in 2020, remember that's the Olympics in Tokyo. Stay very very far away!
We do plan on visiting in 2020, but before the Olympics begin.
I’ve never been to Japan (would very much like to go there) so I can’t help you on that.
I spent a week in Seoul in 2017 and I absolutely loved it. It’s an amazing blend of ancient and modern, traditional and fast paced. I always felt perfectly safe wandering around. Nearly all street signage is in both Korean and English, and plenty of people speak at least passable English; you won’t have any trouble getting around. There are tourist information booths in various spots where you can ask questions and get maps.
I stayed at the Metro Hotel in the Myeongdong neighborhood and I can’t recommend it highly enough. The service was superb, the rooms were comfortable, and the breakfast food (they have both Asian and Western dishes) was pretty good. The neighborhood has tons of shopping and places to eat, and while lots of the food is Korean, you can get some really good pizza there too. Oh, and keep an eye out for the sidewalk ice cream vendor. He sells impossibly tall cones of soft serve for only 2,000 won (about $2).
I wanted to visit both the N Seoul Tower and the DMZ, but alas, I wasn’t able to make it to either one. I recommend a visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace to see how the royalty used to live. If you have time, go see the “Cooking Nanta” show at the UNESCO Building in Myeongdong. It’s almost entirely non-verbal, physical comedy, and it’s a lot of fun. (Be prepared, you might get called up on stage to participate in the performance.) What else you might want to see depends on your interests, of course; but the city certainly does not lack for things to see and do.
I highly recommend using the subway to get around. The maps are worse than useless, but if you can get directions to your destination, the station signage is generally easy to follow. All signs, and all announcements, are in both Korean and English.
Enjoy your trip, OP. You’re sure to have a great time.
I just thought of something else. If you fly Korean Air, be aware that they keep the cabin air temperature pretty warm, and there are no personal over-seat air vents. Bring a portable fan, drink lots of water, and dress accordingly. I found the service on this airline to be quite good and I would fly them again, despite the warm cabin.
I just thought of something else. If you fly Korean Air, be aware that they keep the cabin air temperature pretty warm, and there are no personal over-seat air vents. Bring a portable fan, drink lots of water, and dress accordingly. I found the service on this airline to be quite good and I would fly them again, despite the warm cabin.
Were you also on a long-haul international flight? Like I said, if we end up flying with them (which is kind of unlikely at this point, my dad would prefer to just get a round-trip ticket for HSV-TYO as an ANA/United codeshare it seems), we'd be doing a return trip nonstop from ICN to ATL (on the way there it would be Delta nonstop from ATL to NRT).
Were you also on a long-haul international flight? Like I said, if we end up flying with them (which is kind of unlikely at this point, my dad would prefer to just get a round-trip ticket for HSV-TYO as an ANA/United codeshare it seems), we'd be doing a return trip nonstop from ICN to ATL (on the way there it would be Delta nonstop from ATL to NRT).
Oh yeah, it was long-haul, all right. 14 hours nonstop each way between IAD (Washington Dulles) and ICN.
Personally, I think you should do your idea instead of your father’s. Do you really want to risk having your originating United flight be late and miss your connection to the flight to Japan? (I don’t trust United any farther than I can throw them. I haven’t flown on them in over a decade, nor do I have any intention of doing so.) Better to drive to Atlanta and take the nonstop flight from there to Narita, and back from Seoul Incheon, IMO.
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