I can’t believe that we only have a little less than 5 months left here in Okinawa. Although it may seem like a long time, I know it’s going to fly by, just like the last year and a half. It really is bittersweet. I’m so excited to be back in the states near family, cheap fruits and vegetables, and certain stores but I am definitely going to miss so many things about Okinawa. I’m going to miss the friends we have met here that have been like a family away from home. I’m going to miss the sense of security all around the island. I’m going to miss the hospitable and extremely polite and kind Okinawans. I’m going to miss the beautiful beaches and the fun things to do all around the island. However, I won’t be missing the giant banana spiders, the huge Habu snakes, nor the 100% humidity days all the time. There are definitely pros and cons about leaving, but I look forward to how God will use us not just in these last 6 months we are here, but as well as how He will use us back in the states, wherever we go.
We’ve been trying to travel lately, as it is so much cheaper from here than it would be back in the states. We recently visited Seoul, South Korea over my birthday weekend! We both loved it. The weather was much more mild than in Okinawa, which was a nice change. The people weren’t nearly as friendly as Okinawans, but that may be impossible to beat. There was a ton of shopping (HOLLER AT ME) and a different café on every corner (basically means we got FAT).
Our flight to Seoul was supposed to leave around 1PM from Okinawa but unfortunately was delayed 4 hours… The terminal we were in was just a small room with nothing but a vending machine and a small store with gifts. After frequently the vending machine a time or two, talking, people watching, and playing on a phone a little, the time flew by. (Not really, just trying to be optimistic…) We didn’t get into Seoul until 7PM and settled for some airport restaurant Bibimbap (popular Korean food). We headed to our Airbnb, which was about an hour and a half away from the airport. Once there, we were pretty tired so we settled in and went to bed.
The room we stayed in was so cute! The host left me a bag of Korean tea for my birthday ☺. It was small, but the view was great and it was in a really central area. We woke up early and went downstairs to try a café that looked really good. No surprise, it was. Spoiler alert: all the cafes were really good. Then we started walking. We walked SO far over the next couple days. We enjoy taking the metro, but there’s so much you can miss by being underground. It’s fun to see different areas of the city and stopping at random places we would have never found had we not walked.
We went to my first cat café in Seoul and it was my favorite! Arthur wasn’t too fond of it and claims he is “allergic to cats” so he couldn’t pet any of them. LIES! Maybe one day I’ll open my own cat café and then Arthur will be forced to love them! After spending what was way too short in my eyes, we were on our way again. There are so many different areas of Seoul and they all have so much character. There were a ton of different neighborhoods with cute shops and modern restaurants.
We ended up walking through an event that was going on, which I’m still not sure exactly what it was for. They passed out these hats that Arthur became an instant fan of. And when I say a fan, I mean he wouldn’t take it off as we left and enjoyed wearing it most of the rest of the day. (What a nerd! A cute one ☺).
We were pretty hungry so we stopped for some SPICY but delicious Korean food. Arthur got Bibimbap and I got this cold noodle dish. They were both really good!
On vacation we may eat a few too many sweets, and this definitely was the case in Seoul. They just had so many treats and we wanted to try them all! And our dirty little secret... we can never say no to Krispy Kreme. They had rainbow donuts! We walked around some more, caught a beautiful sunset, and had such a fun time together.
We walked up to Mural Village, an area of Seoul where like the name suggests, has murals on the walls and stairs. It was really unique. As we were out of breath only half way up the stairs, I noticed a tiny little granny slowly making her way up the stairs as well. Instantly I felt out of shape because she seemed to be doing fine… It is a residential area so there are many small houses as you make your way through the village. It was a really quiet area and extremely adorable. BUT, the downside to living there would be the hike you have to do up the stairs all the time. Unless you want to get in shape, THEN it’s a good thing. Perspective. We made it to the top and there was an incredible view of the city and Seoul Tower. Of course, there was a small café at the top so we sat down together and enjoyed some coffee and conversation and rest for our feet.
I really loved Seoul and could actually see myself living there. It’s a fun, lively, hip city with a lot to do. PLUS, there are different seasons, which I thoroughly enjoy. Coming from Oregon, I actually enjoy the rain just as much as I enjoy the sun. We obviously won’t be moving to Seoul (don’t worry mom), but it doesn’t mean I don’t think about it every now and then.
Our next vacation took us to Fukuoka, a city in Southern Japan. I don’t think this is a city where many people vacation because we saw very few tourists, but sometimes that’s enjoyable. It’s a nice break and can be fun to just relax and explore a normal city in Japan that’s not booming with tourists. Our flights were really good for a weekend trip. We arrived early in the morning (around 10am) and left late at night on our return flight (around 8PM). It gave us plenty of time to see the city and relax as well.
The first day was similar to Seoul- LOTS of walking. As in we basically did a half marathon. At first we didn’t know what to think of the city. It seemed very quiet and we couldn’t tell if there was much to do. As we walked around to the different neighborhoods and areas, we found that it was actually very lively and populated. Our first experience of this was when we left a mall and somehow ended up underground at their “Underground Shopping district”, which meant there were stores among stores as you walk from one metro station to the next and the next.
Fukuoka is populated with tons of shopping and different malls, usually centered around metro stations. We also had the chance to walk around one of the temples in the middle of the city. It was free to walk around and there were many locals praying and doing various rituals that they do.
Our second day we had great weather, although humid. Nothing we can’t handle after Okinawa. We headed to Space World, about an hour away from Fukuoka city. We got to Space World around 12 and there was almost no one in the park. This meant NO LINES. After going to Tokyo Disney Sea last May, this was amazing because some of those lines took 2 hours to get through. The most we had to wait in Space World was 20 minutes. Most of the other rides we only had to wait maybe 5 minutes, and that was to go through a safety brief… in Japanese. REAL SAFE for us, NOT!
The rides (most of them) were so much fun! There was one however that was more like torture than anything else. Just think wooden shaky roller coaster- but worse. It was a metal one so I thought we would be good to go. I remember thinking as it was starting how excited I was because it was so long but after the first drop and my brain rattling around my head and my neck breaking every turn, I couldn’t wait for it to end. We just avoided that for the rest of the day and most the other rides were fun ☺. Arthur may have had to go without me on one or two of the rides but he was still LOVING it. And of course, no amusement park adventure is complete without snacks ☺.
Once we were back in Fukuoka, we shopped around a lot more (poor Arthur), ate at really good restaurants, and enjoyed our time away. I seriously have the best travel companion. I love traveling with Arthur. We have so much fun together and it’s so easy going. (Unless I get hangry, I can’t help myself.) We stayed in another Airbnb that was spacious and in a fairly good area. It rained one of our days there and I couldn’t be happier! Although we were caught in it with shorts and sandals, it was a nice break from the heat. Fukuoka was a nice, quieter but still lively city that I’m thankful we had the opportunity to explore and travel to.
We got back home on Monday and back to the work-grind we went. We had such a fun couple of vacations and I’m thankful for every second of it. I’m also thankful for my sweet, sweet husband who makes life good by just being in it. Until next time, ciao! (I guess I should say Sayonara instead...)
I created a little video blog for our trip to Seoul. If you want to check it out, here you go:
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