8 Epic Reasons Why You Should Visit Korea

Korea is an endlessly fascinating country to me. I have been there three times but I think I have only just barely scratched the surface as to what this country offers!

As part of my entry for the Global Wow Korea contest, I present to you my top 8 reasons why I want to visit Korea:

#1 History

My current obsession is the sageuk drama, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. After watching this show, I have become quite curious about Korean history and the different kingdoms that defined the nation. It's all very new to me as I was never really the history buff growing up, but this show - set in the Goryeo dynasty - really piqued my interest. I've gone to the extent of reading books about Korean history, but what I really want to do is to visit the National Museum of Korea (which is the flagship museum of Korean history and art in South Korea) and the Baejke Cultural Land, a historical theme park that was also used in the show! Prince Wang So won't be there, but I'm sure there are loads of other interesting things to occupy me there!

Baejke Cultural Land

Baejke Cultural Land

#2 I need to see my oppas

Jung Ji Hoon. Song Joong Ki. Lee Joon Gi. Park Seo Joon. Kang Ha Neul. Kim Soo Hyun. Jung Yong Hwa. The list of oppas I wanna meet goes on and on! It was the Hallyu wave that first got me interested in all things Korean and rightfully so, every trip to Korea should be marked with some major fangirling action! Besides stalking the vicinity around entertainment companies, it would be awesome to attend fan meetings and concerts too!

#3 I wanna eat all my favourite food

Although Singapore has a lot of Korean restaurants and cafes, nothing beats eating the real thing over in Korea!! I am so obsessed with eomuk (fishcake) and banana milk that I literally eat it everyday! And who can forget the samgyeopsal, budae jjigae, tteokbokki, kalguksu, bibimbap, pajeon, hotteok, mandu, japchae, soondubu jjigae, patbingsu etc etc etc! Whether we're dining in upscale restaurants or hole-in-the-wall eateries or just munching on street food, I simply LOVE IT ALL! Mashiseoyo!

#4 I want to shop till i drop

When I travel to Korea, I try my darnest to keep my luggage as empty as possible. WHY? There are endless opportunities to shop up a storm at megamalls, department stores, wholesale markets, fashion streets, luxury boutiques, independent stores etc! Like most girls, I love to shop for made-in-Korea clothes, shoes (i think shoes here are really really well made) accessories and cosmetics. And of course, I never leave Seoul without hitting the supermarkets to stock up on Korean snacks. The only worry is how to cram everything into the luggage and not going over the weight limit!

Photo Credit: visitkorea.or.kr

#5 I want to make snow angels with Do Min Joon

I've visited Korea during the spring and autumn time, but I've never experienced winter. I want to try skiing, making snow angels, and fishing for trout in an ice hole! I often see  couples doing this on variety shows and dramas and it looks like a perfect date activity! And if you're cold, you can just hug each other! HAHAHA!

#6 I want to stay in a Hanok

When I go to places like Insadong and Bukchon, I often look on enviously at people who come in and out of the elegant Hanoks and wonder what it looks inside. If I go visit Korea again, staying in one of these beautifully preserved traditional homes will definitely be on top of my to-do list. The architecture and meaning behind Hanok houses are really interesting and offers a glimpse into how people used to live hundreds of years ago. Staying in one would be a great way to fully immerse ourselves in Korean heritage and culture.

Jeonju Hanok Village

Rakkojae

#7 I want to enjoy the slow life 

As much as I love city life, sometimes you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle and go back to basics. That’s why the concept of slow cities is so appealing to me. The NGO, Cittaslow International, has designated 11 Korean villages as “slow cities”. How fun it would be to experience staying on a farm in the rural countryside or fishing village or even go island-hopping or trekking! 

Terrace fields in Hamyang

Cheongsando Island in Wando

#8 I want to visit an Jjimjilbang

Jjimjilbang are SO MUCH FUN! A jjimjilbang is a bathhouse with numerous hot tubs filled with spring water. There are usually also saunas, spas and massage rooms. I’ve visited one in Busan before and I really want to go again! Once you get over the initial fear of being nekkid in public, you will realise that visiting the jjimjilbang is one of the most relaxing experiences you can have. It’s especially nice to visit after a long day of shopping! And don’t forget to make your own yangmori or lamb head out of the towel they give you!!

Note: This post is done as an entry to participate in the Global Wow Korea contest. See below for more deets! :) 

Shopping guide for Pokemon and Rilakkuma fans in Kagoshima

Good news for fans of Pokémon and Rilakkuma who are visiting Kagoshima!

There are specialty stores devoted to these loveable characters right at AMU Plaza, the shopping mall that is connected to Kagoshima Chuo Station! Chances are you will definitely pass by this station if you're travelling by Shinkansen, so it’s very convenient to do your shopping here!

AMU Plaza Kagoshima - recognizable by the ferris wheel on the top of the building

The fourth floor of AMU Plaza is toy heaven to people like me as you can find both a Pokémon Store there as well as a Kiddyland that stocks a very good range of Rilakkuma products. The Pokemon Store is also a little smaller than a standard Pokémon Center, but it does carry most popular official items.

Both stores are open daily from 10am to 9pm. No tax free shopping here is available here, unfortunately.

If you are looking for Japanese mooks and magazines, there is also a huge Kinokuniya (紀伊國屋書店) at AMU Plaza too (on the same floor as Kiddy Land). I managed to buy a copy of this there: a magazine that contains a cd-rom of Rilakkuma greeting card images! I have no idea what the title of the magazine was, but I showed the cashier a photo of the magazine cover on my phone and she managed to locate it! When I paid, she asked me if I was a Kino member, but I said “I have the Kino card in Singapore, can a not” and she laughed. HAHA :)

Related Links

Pokemon Store Kagoshima Website

Kiddyland Kagoshima Website

What to do in Kagoshima - eat a polar bear!

Before you freak out and call the SPCA on me, hear me out.

We're not actually eating a real polar bear!

In Kagoshima, there is a very famous dessert called shirokuma, which literally translates to “white bear” or “polarbear”.

Kagoshima is the birthplace of the shirokuma dessert and one simply does not come to Kagoshima and leave without eating a polar bear ;) You can find several variations of shirokuma at the popular restaurant called Mujyaki (天文館むじゃき) which we learned about through our Kyushu guidebook.

The unmistakable shopfront of Mujyaki has a life-sized polarbear mascot sitting out front

Mujyaki is a large concept restaurant comprising of four floors. The first floor (the Shirokuma Cafe) where the desserts are served while the basement serves okonomiya, second floor sells Italian and the 4th floor is an izakaya.

Photo credit: http://mujyaki.co.jp/

The Shirokuma Cafe has a policy that requires all patrons to order an item each in order to dine-in. So we ordered a baby-sized Shirokuma and a dango set to share. After a few minutes, this arrived on our table.

Verdict? The Shirokuma is very much like an Japanese version of an ice-kachang. It is a shaved ice dessert that is doused with condensed milk, mochi, local fruits, and Azuki beans. It should be really refreshing to eat this during the summer time or when the weather is hot.

Where to find this?

Mujyaki is located at the Tenmonkan shopping arcade in the downtown area (the restaurant is a 3 minute walk from the tram stop Tenmonkandori). Tenmonkan is touted to be “the number one shopping area in the southern Kyushu region” and is completely sheltered with a roof cover to provide shade from the sun and also volcanic ash from Mount Sakurajima.

There are retail stores, boutiques, restaurants selling traditional Kagoshima food, cafés, karaoke joints etc lining the arcade. As we visited during a weekday evening, the crowd was visibly thin and there were barely any shoppers there. The most happening thing was the sales people who were trying to cajole the crowds to enter the KTVs!

If you did not manage to make it to Tenmonkan, you can find a small Mujyaki counter at the omiyage shop in Kagoshima Chuo station (next to tourist information desk). There, they sell frozen shirokuma in small convenient cups that you can take away.

Sakurajima (桜島), Kagoshima’s iconic volcano

Floating just 4km away from Kagoshima City is Sakurajima (桜島), one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It is the symbol of Kagoshima and can be viewed prominently at many places around the city. Home to 7000 people (yes people do actually live on the island), Sakurajima is also best known for growing the world's largest daikon radish and the world's smallest Mandarin orange! 

Visiting an active volcano might seem like a crazy idea to most people but Sakurajima was the exact reason that brought us (and many others) to Kagoshima. The volcano produces hundreds of small explosions each year, and there's a good chance that you will see smoke spewing out from the mountain when you visit. Thankfully, there was no signs of volcanic activity on the day we visited and we had a very pleasant experience touring around the island.

Getting to Sakurajima from our hotel was really easy. We had earlier purchased the 2-Day Welcome Cute Card (1500 yen) from the tourist office at Kagoshima Chuo Station, which allowed us to take unlimited rides on the city view buses, trams and ferry for two consecutive days. If you total up the cost for all the transport you are going to take over the course of two days, you will find that the pass pretty much pays itself off. It also saves you the trouble of rummaging through your purse for coins! 

We boarded a tram (in the direction towards Tenmonkandori and Kagoshima-ekimae) from the tram stop near the main entrance of the Kagoshima-Chuo Station (on the map below, it is known as Kagoshima chuo eki-mae). Like other parts of Japan, you board the tram from the rear and alight from the front. As we had the Welcome Cute card, we only needed to show the pass to the driver when we alighted.

We alighted at the Suizokukan-guchi tram stop after a 15 min ride through the city and followed the street signs / stickers on the floor to the Kagoshima Port to take the ferry over to Sakurajima. [This is the same stop to alight if you wish to visit to the Aquarium.]

There are numerous ferry connections to and from Sakurajima throughout the day (frequency ranges from 15 to 30 mins depending on the time of day), which makes the journey to the island super easy.

There was still some time before the next ferry arrived, so we decided to break for lunch. There are only two very small eateries at the ferry terminal so we went for the safe bet: the ramen shop. To our astonishment, the tonkatsu shoyu ramen we ordered was super oishii!

What made the meal extraordinarily unforgettable was the couple who owned the shop. They were so incredibly warm and nice! When the obasan saw my husband sweating like mad after downing the hot bowl of soup, she brought out a paper fan and STARTED TO FAN HIM while apologising profusely for the lack of fans in the shop. Armed with my scant knowledge of the Japanese language gleaned from watching a few anime series, all I could muster embarrassingly was "daijobu! daijobu!"

The ice was also broken when we discovered that the couple could speak some English and we had a jolly conversation about our respective countries, the weather, food that our countries were famous for, our holiday plans etc. To end the meal, the wife also gave us two yakults on the house! Super impressed and bowled over by their hospitality!

Price of ramen: 750 yen. The experience: priceless!

Tummies filled, we hopped on the ferry for the short 15 minute ride across Kinko Bay to Sakurajima. The ferry is not only for passengers only, but it’s for cars too!

Kagoshima Port

The view on the top deck was enthralling as the volcano drew closer and closer as we reached the shore. Similar as the tram ride, we did not have to pay for the ferry ride, and we only needed to flash the Welcome Cute Pass when we disembarked from the ferry.

Sakurajima Port

Once on solid ground, we queued up for the Sakurajima Island View Bus, which is a hop on/off loop bus which traverses the major sights on the western side of Sakurajima. The fare for the bus is covered under the Welcome Cute Pass. The bus stop is located one floor down from the ferry terminal and it is very easy to locate.

There are many other ways to explore Sakurajiam such as rental cars, sightseeing buses, regular buses, bicycles and even on foot if you’re keen on hiking, but the loop bus was the most convenient, easiest and economical option for us.

The timetable of the bus can be seen below:

Sakurajima Island View Bus

At certain key stops along the bus route, we were allowed to alight from the bus for a couple of minutes to take photos. For instance, the bus stopped for 5 minutes at the Karasujima Observatory, 8 minutes at the Akamizu View Park and 15 minutes at the Yunohira Observatory.

Yunohira Observation Point

You do have to be punctual and watch the clock closely otherwise you will be left behind! The bus leaves every stop on time and if you did not manage to board the bus, you will have to wait another hour for the next bus to come by!

For such a popular mode of transport, it is unfortunate that the frequency of the bus is pretty low (only one per hour)! If you miss the bus or weren’t able to board because of the crowd, you will have to wait for another bus that comes by one hour later. Very fortunately, the bus that we took (the 2.20pm bus) was relatively empty, save us and 5 other people and we managed to complete the entire loop without incident.

The entire loop bus journey lasted about an hour and when we returned back to the terminal, we alighted and re-boarded the bus again to go to the Sakurajima Visitor Center (first stop). This small visitor center has models, pictures, videos and information boards about Sakurajima and some of it is in English.

The main reason for stopping here, however, is for the Nagisa Park Foot Bath that is located near the visitor centre. This free foot bath stretches for several metres and you can simply pick a quiet spot, sit down and soak your tired feet while gazing across the sea to Kagoshima City.

Nagisa Park &Foot Spa - Photo Credit

The water was unbelievably hot at certain stretches and we couldn’t put in our legs in the water for long! It was a fun experience nonetheless and thank goodness we remembered to bring an old towel to dry our feet afterwards!

As evening descended, we took a stroll by the coast and then walked back to the ferry terminal to head back to the mainland.

All in all, this was a perfect start to our Kyushu holiday!