Destination Unknown: Part 13

In Kyoto we stayed at Il Verde Kyoto Hotel near the Shoseien Garden. The first thing we did after checking in was walking to the nearest 7-eleven and buying some delicious snacks. The convenience store snacks in South Korea were not as good as the ones in Japan. There is a curry bread that we are obsessed with. It is similar to a Finnish lihapiirakka but the filling is much tastier.

Our room at Il Verde Kyoto Hotel

Some delicious snacks from 7-eleven.

On our first day in Kyoto we visited Kyoto Gyoen National Garden and Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace. Mjau, the guard looking through our purse called us cute! It was nice and relaxing walking  and sightseeing. The weather was much more pleasant than in South Korea. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city. We came across a Disney Store! We did not know they had one in Kyoto, we thought the only ones in Japan were in Tokyo. There was also several interesting small stores and second hand shops. We think we might prefer Kyoto over Tokyo.

Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace

Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

We took a day trip to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. We were very excited to visit this Universal Studios as they still have the Jaws ride and the Jurassic Park rides based on the original movies. They had also recently opened Super Nintendo World so we were extra excited! Not as excited as if we were going to Disneyland, mjau. First thing we did was getting a timed entry ticket. Then we went on Jurassic Park - The Ride and The Flying Dinosaur. The Flying Dinosaur was one of the most intense rides we have been on. It was a bit scary but also fun as we did not see the track so we could not anticipate the twists and turns. It felt like we were truly flying. However we would not go on it more than once as we felt a bit queasy afterwards. 

First visit to Universal Studios Japan

Entering the warp pipe to Super Nintendo World!

Si ordering our food!

Lunch at Kinopio's Cafe

Mjau, visiting Bowser's Castle!

Peach's Castle

We walked around the different areas a bit before going to Super Nintendo World. It felt a bit crowded but it was also very immersive. Peach's castle was one of the highlights. The Mario Kart ride was fun although our butler complained that the helmet you have to wear was a bit uncomfortable and heavy. We enjoyed Yoshi's Adventure more. It was relaxing to enjoy the view and music. We had lunch at Kinopio's Cafe. The theme was fun. We got the Super Mushroom Pizza Bowl and the Goal Pole Cake for dessert. After walking around the shops (where we found out Boo is called Teresa in Japan) we left Super Nintendo World. 

We were watching the Waterworld stunt show when the thunderstorm began. They closed the show when the villain had the upper hand so the heroes lost in this show! We were stuck inside the shops for an hour while it was raining before they opened up the rides again. The Jaws ride was fun and Au really enjoyed Big Bird's Big Top Circus in the Universal Wonderland Area. We got cute Hello Kitty Plushies as souvenirs. The Hollywood Dream rollercoaster was also very thrilling. We got an amazing view of Osaka. You got to select your own soundtrack to your ride. We picked Osaka Lover by Dreams Come True each time as it was so fitting the first time.

Our Hello Kitty plushies! They had them in our favourite colours!

Tucked in for the night, cuddling our plushies.

On our remaining days in Kyoto we mostly walked around the city to different parks and shrines. One day we visited the Yasaka Shrine and the wonderful surrounding park. We also went hiking up Mount Inari with the iconic tunnel of torii. We found several vintage and second hand shops while exploring the city, unfortunately they mostly sold clothes and not toys for us siamese. We also went to a shop that sold second hand kimonos. Mjau, how we wish someone would make kimonos in our size for us to wear. The cafe scene was a bit of a disappointment. We had hoped for cute cafes with interesting pastries, however we mostly saw cafes that sold kakigori. We came across Sir Thomas Lipton that had interesting cakes, however we would have preferred a cafe instead of restaurant seating, mjau. We tried a piece of the fig mousse cake. Very light and tasty.

Maruyama Park

Yasaka Shrine

Yasaka Shrine

Yasaka Shrine

Fig mousse cake, yummy!

Mjau, such vibrant colours!

Walking up to Mount Inari!

Mjau, we wish we had more time to explore Kyoto and all the surrounding areas. However it was time for us to head to our new destination! 

Can anyone guess our next destination?

Destination Unknown: Part 12

 

Namsangol Hanok Village.

Mjau, after our visit to Japan in May 2023 we could not resist going there again during our butler's summer vacation in August that year. We decided to combine it with a visit to South Korea. As the flights to South Korea were slightly cheaper we decided to start our vacation in Seoul. 

Mjau, on our way to Seoul!

We stayed in a hostel in Myeongdong in Seoul. On our first day there we walked around the Namsangol Hanok Village. Very nice old buildings and relaxing to sit by the pond. We saw several wild cats in the park but they did not want to be petted by our butler. Mjau, we do not blame them! Who in their right mind would! Mjauhihi. We also went to the night market in Myeongdong. We were a bit disappointed as the night market was not as good as the ones in Taiwan. We still had some nice snacks while listening to an elderly man singing karaoke.

Namsangol Hanok Village.

Bacon wrapped kimbap.

Bungeoppang.

Our butler was a bit overambitious and decided to walk from Myeongdong to Garosu-gil in Sinsadong. Mjau it took us several hours! It was also extremely hot outside, over 30 °C. There was even a World Scout Jamboree that got cancelled due to the heatwave so we saw several groups of scouts in their uniforms in Seoul and later in Jeju as well. Mjau it was so hot outside that our butler quickly ran out of water and had to buy a bottle of Mogu Mogu at a GS25 in Itaewon.

Itaewon.

Crossing the Han river.

Mjau, are we there yet?

When we finally arrived in Garosu-gil we immediately went to Sona, a luxurious dessert cafe. They have several interesting desserts, we wish we could have tried them all. We settled on the Sweet Corn dessert. It had so many interesting components that we simply could not resist; sweet corn crème brüleé, bourbon whiskey ice cream, sweet corn bread, cornhusk meringue and cinnamon caramelized popped corn. Scrumptious! After our delicious dessert we walked along Garosu-gil Street and visited the interesting shops there. In the evening we took the subway back to our hostel.

Si shopping in Garosu-gil.

Delicious dessert plate at Sona.

Another day we walked up to N Seoul Tower. The view was very nice from there and you could see all the way to Han River. We got some snacks from 7-Eleven and enjoyed them while enjoying the view. We decided to take the scenic route down and came across Cafe i.O with a lovely forest view so we were compelled to get a slice of cake and iced americano. On our hike down we saw a Tenodera angustipennis. Mjau, it was our first time seeing a mantis in the wild!

Cafe i.O

A funny little creature.

Mjau, so many stairs!

Seoul skyline!

N Seoul Tower.

After having watched several K-Dramas , specifically Lovestruck in the City, we really wanted to walk along the Cheonggyecheon Stream. We walked all the way from Cheonggye Plaza to Jongmyo Plaza Park. Close to Jongmyo Plaza Park is a street, Seosulla-gil, with several cozy hanok cafes and bars. We had delicious garlic bread and an orange chocolate cake at Solbangul Bakery. The interior and exterior was nice although we wish they had more comfortable seats.

Cheonggye Plaza

Jongmyo Plaza Park

Solbangul Bakery

Mjau, time for some baked goods!

While in Seoul we also visited Deoksugung Palace and the National Museum of Korea. Deoksugung Palace was very pretty with a nice garden and water fountain. The national museum had several interesting artifacts, we especially liked the minhwa with tigers. We also found the museum guide robots very charming and impressive.

Deoksugung Palace

National Museum of Korea

Minhwa

After enjoying five days in Seoul we took the subway to Gimpo International Airport for our flight to Jeju. We stayed one night in Jeju City in a hostel before taking the bus to Seogwipo. The A/C in the dorm was broken so we were upgraded to a private room. Muminpappa and Stitch were also on vacation and stayed in the same hostel, mjau!

Jeju International Airport

Mjau, can you send us some Honolulu Cookies from Hawaii, please?

Nuwemaru Street

Bu sightseeing in Jeju city.

In Seogwipo we stayed at Good Day Pension in a room with a balcony with  sea view. We were really impressed by Seogwipo. There are several Olle Trails with amazing view of the ocean. Our favourite is the Olle Trail 6. Along the coastal route there is the Honeymoon House, a great place for an iced americano with a breathtaking view. It is here we understood why Jeju is called the Hawaii of South Korea. Positively stunning! Close to Honeymoon House is also Sora's Castle, a library with a unique exterior, and Sojeongbang Waterfall. Sojeongbang Waterfall was our favourite waterfall in Seogwipo as it was more secluded, had free admission and you could actually swim there. One day while we were there a tourist group were very excited to take pictures of our butler swimming under the waterfall. We hid in our purse in shame and embarrassment. 

Si in front of Good Day Pension.

Our wonderful room.

The view from our balcony.

Enjoying breakfast on our balcony. Jeju tangerines and sweet potato bread from Tous Les Jours Bakery.

Walking Jeju Olle Trail 7.

Oedolgae Sea Stack.

Enjoying the view and cheesecake at Honeymoon House.

Sojeongbang Waterfall

We also visited two other waterfalls: Cheonjiyeon Falls and Seogwipo Jeongbang Waterfall. We preferred Cheonjiyeon Falls as the surrounding park was nice with interesting sculptures and the walk there was relaxing. Seogwipo Jeongbang Waterfall was basically only a parking lot with a staircase down to the waterfall.

Cheonjiyeon Falls

Seogwipo Jeongbang Waterfall

Another nice cafe we visited was Cafe Gyulkkot Darak. If you like tangerines this is the place for you! The interior design was really nice as well and makes for nice photos. 

Jeju tangerine cheesecake and tangerine latte.

Cafe Gyulkkot Darak

We basically spent the days walking the Olle Trails and a cafe or two. In the evenings we got dinner from the Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market. We had delicious black pork! One evening we had coctails at Bar Musk. Very nice with themed cocktails and relaxing atmosphere. They also had free bar snacks: cereal, nuts and chocolate! The owner also gave our butler a free shot of a local liquor. Unfortunately we do not remember the name only the picture of the plant used in the liquor. One evening we decided to try some soju from the convenience store. Mjau! We almost spit it out. It has not high enough alcohol content to have the right to taste that bad. Our butler mixed it with some orange juice so it went down easier. On our last day we had to pour it in the sink as it was not worth to drink it.

Cocktails at Bar Musk

After five days in Jeju it was unfortunately time to leave. Fortunately we were going to Kyoto for the first time so we were not sad for long.

Goodbye Jeju!