SK 3kai

For my third trip to Korea I spent my time in suwon and Seoul. We stayed at kimchee guest house in sinchon area. Cheap, clean and friendly staff. I especially enjoyed drawing in chalk in their smoking room! Enough said ;) http://kimcheeguesthouse.com/sinchon/

Japan's wide variety of Hot Vending Machine drinks

It's finally that time of year when the vending machines have hot delicious drinks.  

I've been very interested in coffee specifically especially when it comes to their uniquely original names and amusing labels

Great beans of fire!!

Getting ready for Halloween

Apparently in Japan Tp is just like Candy...Ha! Love it.

Random Stuffs

Growing up in what is known as scarberia -the suburbs of Toronto, every chance I got I would look for these potato chips at the asian grocery stores around my house. At the time I loved the chip flavour but never actually tasted OKONOMIYAKI
((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))...shocking I know.

As soon as I moved here, I searched conbinis far and wide for my beloved potato chips only to learn that everything is seasonal in Japan and those chips may have only been made for export. 

Today I found them at my local Circle K

The world makes sense again. 

(⌒-⌒; )

Yakushima

Our trip to Yakushima was great!

The amount of travel time was trying though. From Nagoya we took the Willer highway bus to Osaka, then a Peach flight from Osaka to Kagoshima, a airport shuttle to Kagoshima, a 4-hour Ferry to Yakushima, and finally city bus to the south side of the island where we stayed at the Yakushima Youth Hostel. *Phew*

Peach air has super cheap domestic flights! But if I had to go again, I would fly straight to yakushima to get more time on the island.

There is a faster ferry but it's double the price. This ferry was creepy and interesting. It reminded us if the Shining on water. If the waves get rough they even lock you inside (O_O)

The Youth Hostel that we stayed at was clean and reasonably priced but the owner seemed grumpy all the time. Since there are only city buses, it took forever to get there! 

http://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/yakushima-youth-hostel.html

When traveling around yakushima it may be best to hitchhike or rent a car/scooter/bicycle, depending on how far away you are from your planned activities. The bus is the most frugal choice though. Bus passes can be bought a certain hostels, hotels and at the information desk at the port. FYI their are two bus companies. The city bus is the one you want if you really want to get around the island at the cheapest price. A day pass for 4 days is about 4000yen. The guides spoke very good English and were extremely kind and helpful! 

Jomonsugi

If you plan to visit the 3000-7000 year old cedar tree called Jomonsugi, be prepared for a long hike. The first part follows the old tracks of a train that stopped running up the mountain a long time ago, which actually makes the walk uneven and more difficult than it should be in my opinion. If it rains, it even gets a little slippery. While I saw people in all kinds of shoes and attire I recommend basic hiking gear/rain gear. Don't forget gloves! 

We left our hostel and took the first bus from the south side of the island around 4:50am. If you don't get to the Trail entrance by a certain time you may not make it back to the buses in time to return home O.O

Plan all your buses and ask for advice from the tourist information center they can help make sure you catch the right buses.

Strawberry picking, Tokoname, and the Toliet Museum