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PREAMBLE: APOLOGY
I'm sorry that I haven't updated this blog in so long. The Mr. and I moved from Dongtan to Seoul. We now live near Sadang station in Seocho-gu. I'm sure you've never heard of Seocho. It's about 10 minutes away from Gangnam-gu, which you surely have heard of.You know how people from suburbs tell people they're from the nearby big city? The Mr. and some of our neighbors tell people we live in Gangnam. I do not like doing that. People think it's so affluent. It's like saying you live in Beverly Hills when you really live in Culver City.
Anyways ... I'd like to write about Japan. The Mr. and I together have now been to Tsushima Island and the Osaka-Kyoto area together. This will be a two-part blog post.
Tl;dr version: The people are nice but Japan's just too expensive.
TSUSHIMA ISLAND
In May we went to Tsushima Island over a long weekend, taking a train to Busan and then a ferry to Tsushima. The ferry made me physically ill. As my husband used his conversational Korean to make friends and drink soju and eat dried squid, I quietly vomited into the available bags. Other passengers were also sick, sitting on the floor of the ferry and appearing to nurse migraines. I hate ferries.This was our first view of Izuhara, the southern city you sail into from Busan:
Izuhara port
Tsushima was absolutely worth the sea sickness. 90% forest, Tsushima is a verdant, peaceful island with friendly people who said "Ohio gosaimas!" to everyone they pass. It is also a picturesque slice of Japan at a fraction of the cost.
Torii in Izuhara
In Izuhara, we found a gorgeous Shinto shrine. I've been to Japan three times now, and Shinto shrines are always my favorite thing about Japan. As a nature lover, I love the recognition that nature is our portal to the sacred and the sublime.
Shinto shrine in Izuhara
In Tsushima we saw the Japanese reverence for nature as well as the peculiar weirdness the Japanese are famous for. Here you see cartoon baseball players, the Fukuoka Hawks, on a large carton of sake. It's a particularly egregious form of marketing a vice to kids, like Joe Camel and Guinness's cute toucans.
"When I grow up, I'm going to drink the cartoons' sake!"
We ate at a small izakaya and watched a Hawks game on a little TV.
This was during my husband's muttonchops phase
Rice & vegetables
That evening the Mr. and I explored the Izuhara nightlife, which is almost nonexistant. We walked down nearly abandoned streets, catching glimpses of traditionally-clad Japanese women and Tsushima cats, both of which disappeared into doorways and darknesses before I could snap a picture.
Izuhara alley
We stayed in a very small but comfortable hotel room. We had to wake a very old woman who had trouble walking in order to get our room. Without the Mr.'s rudimentary knowledge of Japanese we would have been lost.
The Mr. and I traveled north on the highway to Hitakatsu, the port which brings you back to Busan. The highway from the southern part of the island to the north is incredibly picturesque.
The pristine middle part of Tsushima
In Hitakatsu, we had trouble finding a hotel room. All the rooms had already been reserved. We had a problem, but the locals were incredibly helpful. After intense discussion which the Mr. and I couldn't follow, one called her friend, Mitsugi Tsuji, and we stayed at his B&B in a tatami mat room.
Tsuji-san's house
Linguist Ashley enjoying the view from our room
We loved Tsuji-san. He entertained us, fed us, and sheltered us for 24 hours for only 10,000 yen. He took us "shopping", driving around the town to his fishermen friends and picking up fresh seafood and steaks for our yakiniku dinner. Afterwards Tsuji-san left the scraps out for the hawks to feast on.
Outdoor yakiniku
We watched sumo matches on his TV and talked as best we could (he speaks a little English) until it was time for sleep. In the morning we had one of the most delicious and filling breakfasts I've ever had in my life.
Coffee, tofu, sausages, fish, egg, tomato, salad, miso and rice
On the second day Mitsugi Tsuji took us around the northern part of Tsushima sightseeing. We went to a lookout spot where you can see Busan on a clear day, then a forest hike, and finally to a local park where he is employed as a caretaker.
A forest path leading to a waterfall
The lookout point
Mitsugi Tsuji's B&B ranks as probably our favorite B&B ever. If you are ever in Hitakatsu ask the locals if they know his phone number. Try to stay with him. You won't be sorry.
Mitsugi Tsuji and the Mr.
The Mr. and I speak of Tsushima with reverence. We loved it. We thought that since we had such a great and affordable time in Tsushima, we would also love the rest of Japan. To be continued ...
