I Decided it was Time to Leave Korea.

Living in Korea for four months made my routine seem just a check list of things rather than as exciting as it once was. So, I decided to mix things up and book a flight to another country. Needed the thrill of checking off yet another experience on my list.

Next up: Tokyo, Japan!

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I went to Tokyo for a quick four day weekend trip (which is so fun to now have the opportunity to hop on a short flight to a new country). I have seen Tokyo become a hot spot of travel for a lot of celebrities in the past few months so I decided that if they are going now, there must be something to see. I booked my flight and hostel and in just a short time, I was getting my passport stamped again.

I left school early to hop into a taxi and begin my journey to the airport.

To get there, I took an express train up to Seoul, then switched lines to the Airport train and waited until it was my stop. This process took about two hours of traveling. Once arriving at my destination, I went to departures (once figuring out that it was on the 3rd floor) and walked my way through security. The Korean airport security process went so smoothly, it honestly was not the slightest bit stressful at all. Once I got through, I did the most normal thing ever and walked all the way to my gate to make sure it existed. Seeing that, yes, Gate 23 is still between Gate 22 and 24, I went to grab dinner.

A little bit later and I was boarding my flight to Tokyo!

Now, I should have looked at the weather going to Tokyo and understand that rain equals typhoons. We waited on the plane for an hour before departing from Korea and circled the airport for about an extra 40 minutes prior to landing in Tokyo. Once getting through Immigration, I could finally breathe a bit easier. However, by this time (around midnight), the metro that I planned on taking to get to my place was closed and would not open until five in the morning. I spent the next hours in a corner of the airport, scrolled on all my socials, updated my friends and family, Facetimed a few friends, and explored what the airport had.

Once it was 5 AM, I made my way to the ticketing and got my transportation card! I navigated my way to my hostel and was able to finally lay completely flat on a comfortable surface. I laid in bed until noon. Showered, dressed, and feeling alive once again, I made my way to the metro station again and went into downtown Tokyo. My goal for the first day was to get all the touristy things I can see in Tokyo since the following days were already sorted with other plans. I made it to the famous crosswalk, Shibuya Scramble, where I drank a coffee from Starbucks above it so I could watch the massive crowds of people cross. Then, I journeyed to Don Quijote where I did all my Japan- tourist shopping for family and myself. This massive store has everything you could think of, so there is no way you would not be able to find something for someone. I decided to go back to my hostel after as I was pretty exhausted. I rested in my bed until it was dinnertime. There is this gorgeous spot within Tokyo that I wanted to see at nighttime, so I made another trip out to the subway and went to Tokyo Big Sky. It was breathtaking. The water illuminated the lights from the bridge even more. From a distance, you can see Tokyo Tower as well. I grabbed a bite from a local 7-11 and headed back to my bed to wrap up the evening.

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SECOND DAY:

This day was my favorite day because I got to reunite with my inner child and experience a Disney park for the first time. I put on my cute outfit I had specifically set out for my day at Tokyo Disneyland- a frilly pink dress- and headed to the subway to ride it to my destination! As soon as I stepped onto the platform, I felt an overwhelming sense of giddy-ness. I made my first stop at the Disney store outside of the park to get my ears! I had these beautiful pearl ones in mind so when I finally found them, I was overjoyed! Tokyo Disneyland was decorated for the 40th anniversary, stunning rainbow banners zigzagging across every pathway and banners in celebration hanging high. Walking through the World Bazaar, I could see the gorgeous castle peeking out of view. Eyes watering at the sight, there are no words to how happy I was to be there. I made my way to the front of the castle and set up my tripod to take pictures in front of the castle. Yes, I was that person who had brought a tripod to the parks just to take pictures of myself. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do for the Instagram picture. Once finished with my photoshoot, I walked around the park. I rode some rides, watched parades, and ate some good food!

Here’s my take from Tokyo Disneyland:

The rides: I went on Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World, Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, and Dumbo ride.

Pirates ride was the same as in Disneyland in Anaheim, there were just a few times that it was Japanese rather than English. I had to do It’s a Small World as it is one of my favorite rides (as well as being air conditioned and relaxing). Big Thunder Mountain did not stand out any differently as well as the Dumbo ride. Star Tours, however, had it's distinguished differences. The ride idea is the same blueprint, flying through while trying to not get attacked by other ships. However, all of the dialogue was in Japanese. Picture this: C-3PO speaking to you in robotic Japanese- it was mind altering nonetheless.

The shows: I watched the Harmony of Color parade and the Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade. The Harmony of Color was gorgeous! It was full of bright colored floats and very nice music. This was the first time I saw the princesses and let me just tell you, I was fangirling hard!

The Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade was just as nice. I found a great spot close by the castle so I could capture her beauty at night as well as the parade. I took pictures and videos of the parades (mostly of just my favorite characters but those turned out to be the majority of the floats). This was a very magical way to finish off my day at Tokyo Disneyland.

The food: all over my TikTok page I have seen the food in Tokyo Disneyland being amazing, so my excitement was high. I started with a pork rice egg roll and a special 40th sparkling pomegranate drink. It was pretty decent. Next thing I tried was the curry popcorn. Tokyo Disney is known for their numerous popcorn stands and the different flavors- ranging from sweet to salty. It was delicious! I snacked on the whole thing while waiting in line for a ride. I started getting a bit hangry and decided to eat at “Captain Hook’s Gallery”, getting a piece of pizza and strawberry cake. Exactly what I needed to fill my body after a long, exhausting day of walking around the park and making sure I get my complete fill of the park before leaving.

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THIRD AND FINAL DAY:

I spent the morning packing my bag up and figuring out my plans for the day. My hostel was right next to the Tokyo Sky Tree so it seemed as it wwas a must to do before checking out. I hopped on the metro to get to the Sky Tree. The way to get there was through this mall where there are multiple stores dedicated to different anime and fan bases. I did a quick walk around and then headed to the tower. What I should have done was booked my ticket in advance but I did not know what time I’d actually make it there so I opted to stand in line to purchase my ticket. Once getting into the elevator and heading up, I could feel my ears popping due to the elevation change. The first deck had a nice view of Tokyo. I walked around as much as I could to try and spot different areas of Tokyo. I spent about 15 minutes at this level and then decided I wanted to go higher. Stepping out of the elevator, I saw the most insane view of Tokyo. I walked around the tower which actually continued to spiral up a bit more. I got to as far as I could, documenting as much as I could of the different views.

I made it my mission to look for the gold horn that is right outside my hostel to know where I was and in what direction. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of Tokyo from up high. On a clear day, I would have been able to see Mt. Fuji. After I took all the pictures I wanted, I made my way back to the ground level. From here, I went back to my hostel, got my bag, and headed towards Disney!

Disneysea was different from what I expected. I went mainly to Ariel’s Playground, where it was the perfect place to take an Instagram picture. I got a sea salt ice cream sandwich and walked to a ride nearby. Now here’s the takeaway of the rides. Where there are great rides all around, me being a solo rider, it was hard to justify standing in a line for over two hours just to ride one of the more popular rides. That being said, the only “big ride” I did was Indiana Jones. It was exactly how I last remembered it. I did go on Jasmine's flying carpet ride, Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. These rides were fun, thrilling to just be on any ride at that point in the day with the lines of other rides being way too long.

I walked around the park a bit after a few rides and was determined to find dinner. I forgot that most carts closed around 6PM so I really had to search for dinner. I ended up eating some sort of shrimp burger. It was decent enough but I needed something sweet. I tried the Mike Wazowski Melon bread as it was also a hot item all over Tokyo Disney TikTok. I tried it, but it was honestly just a sweet bread with a small amount of custard in the center. I was not that impressed. It was already late in the day and by this time, I was overwhelmed and tired so I decided it was time to leave. I said one last goodbye to the park, gathered my backpack from the lockers, and headed to the airport.

I got to the airport with plenty of time before so I just relaxed and snacked on some things I had bought from the 7-11 attached to the airport. I killed time by going through photos and editing the ones that I liked (takes over one hundred photos, but reality is, I only liked maybe 20). Looking at the clock, it was my time to go through security and board my plane. I landed in Korea around 4:30 in the morning and getting back to my place at seven in the morning. Being as exhausted as I was, I would not have traded the time spent any where else. Japan is definitely too large to compact in four days, so there will be another trip in the future. My four days went fast, but I am very thankful for the time that I had there.

Now, to plan the next trip.