The Taxis in Japan

In Japan they drive on the wrong side of the road. Whats the deal with that? Its not my opinion that one side is better than another but come on... China, India, Australia and England and a few selected countries in Africa drive on the left. Everyone else drives on the right. Another thing to mention about Japanese taxi drivers, they have no idea where anything is in their own city. We took the taxi 5 times. Once we were with some Japanese guys so we had no problems or we were unaware of the problem. Once we took the taxi and gave them the hotels business card and they had to look it up in the map. Once we gave them written directions from a Japanese waitress and the taxi driver had to look it up and then took us to the wrong location. We took the taxi from the ferry to the hotel and once back from the hotel to the ferry. Both times, I had to direct them using a map. In Korea, the first 2000 meters (1.25 miles) cost 2 bucks. In Japan, the first 1000 meters cost 550 yen (6 bucks). Needless to say, most taxi rides cost around 15 bucks where they would have cost 7 or 8 bucks in Korea.

The Hotel

Just a short video about the Hotel in Fukouka.

The Ferry

We took a Ferry from Busan, Korea to Fukouka, Japan. The Camilla Line is one of the companies that offers this service. We first tried to walk to the Ferry Terminal in Busan but discovered that its impossible. Next time, I would just take a taxi and save myself the effort. The ferry departs Busan at around 9:30pm and arrives in Fukouka at 7:30am. The one way trip cost us about 200,000W. We stayed in a small but clean room. It did lack a bathroom which was communal and in the hallway.

The First Time

The first leg of our trip to Japan, we took a train to Busan. It was Danielle's first time on a train. She was super excited. The train station in Ulsan is located about 4 blocks away from my house in Samsan-dong so it is very convenient. The train tickets only cost about 3,000W so its a bargain.

The Outing

I took Danielle to a local Bulgogi restaurant and taught her how to eat it. Its a super fun time. First, you have to cook the beef on a little coal fired grill at your table. While we waited she tried soju for the first time. Pictured here, she is making a little taco out of the side dishes and the beef.

The Fish Market Part II

Danielle went to get Sam Nak Chi. It was better then the time I went with Ben...

The Visitor

Danielle got into Ulsan Thursday morning instead of Wednesday night as expected. She combatted numerous flight delays and had to spend the night in Tokyo. Finally she arrived and now we are off on our adventure. One of the first things we visited was the beach. Jejong beach is near Ulsan. We mistakenly decided to take the city bus there which took about 2 hours. Danielle visited a public bathroom that didnt have any toilet paper. Then we walked down the beach where her shoes filled with rocks. Then we went to the fishmarket. We had fun there to make up for the less than inspiring ordeal of getting there.