Day 24 – Travel home

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Our overnight accommodation at the Hilton Airport hotel at Narita was very comfortable and recharging. There was a good selection of Japanese and western breakfast options. We checked out of the airport ready to depart by hotel bus at 11.20am. Unfortunatley or fortunately for us there was standing room only so we were treated to a free taxi to the airport.

Long queues for check in with Korean Air.

Bought a good selection of Japanese sweets for family and work colleagues and donated our coins for earthquake appeal.

The flight to Incheon was relatively short – enough time to watch Iron Lady and to eat a very nice seafood meal.

A brief stopover at Incheon airport gave us time to check in to the Hubb Lounge at a cost of 44,000KRW for the two of us. They had a good selection of foods and drinks (not that I was hungry!) It’s the idea of the lounge that we both like. It brings back memories of the time we travelled with the girls in 1997/8 and had membership with Qantas lounges. The girls ate their way around the world – Sydney, London, Athens, Warsaw, Los Angeles and Boston. I managed to catch up on today’s Sydney Morning Herald through the airport’s free wifi.

Finally on our way to Sydney at 7.30pm Korean time.

Reflecting on the best parts of our holiday:

* Best green tea – best green tea latte at the Story cafe at Jenju Korea; best green tea ice cream at market at Ueno station in Tokyo; best green tea chocolate at Hotel Shiretoku in Hokkaido

* Best accommodation – Best airport accommodation at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Incheon airport; best overall accommodation at Oshiage apartment in Tokyo

* Best sleeping on the floor at Oshiage apartment in Tokyo (worst was Jenju Tourist Hotel)

* Best breakfast – Anthony’s choice is Hotel Nongshim in Busan; mine is Hyatt Regency Hotel Incehon (worst at Jenju Tourist Hotel)

* Best dinner – Japanese banquet at Hotel Nongshim Busan; buffet dinner at Hyatt Regency Hotel Incheon; and dinners we cooked in Tokyo (worst dinner the first night in Jenju at the markets)

* Best lunch – Anthony’s choice is traditional Korean restaurant behind Inga-dong street Seoul

* Best tea – Afternoon tea chain in Sapporro Japan for English milk tea and own brand of afternoon tea

* Best train ride – best overnight train was the Hokutesoi; best other train ride was trip from Osaka to Tokyo

* Best spa/ bath house – Hotel Nongshim Busan, closely followed by bath at Oshiage Apartment in Tokyo

* Best souvenir shopping – Inga-dong street Seoul Korea and Jenju Hanok Village and market Korea

* Best shopping – underground shopping at Sapporro and connected department stores

* Best views – 11th floor of Hotel Lotte in Busan closely followed by T36 (JR Tower) in Sapporro because of ambience

* Best nightlife – Namba area of Osaka

* all time favourite experience – department store food halls, Dimaru at Sapporo had the best free samples

* Best museum – Tokyo national museum and national museum of Korea in Seoul

* Best cherry blossoms – Busan and Ueno park in Tokyo

* Most memorable experience – climbing the rock at Utoro; overnight trains; Inga-dong street Seoul; scenery in Hokkaido especially the snow

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