2003-05-25 - 12:22 a.m.

April Japan Trip

April 12

06:37 a.m. I'm on an airport bus to Inchon to fly to Osaka and back to renew my visa. It is due to run out next Thursday, and this is the fastest and easiest way to rectify that without missing work. Jim figured that with this lingering cold, I'd best fly. He thinks it would be less tiring. And he says I must see Osaka Castle!

April 13, 12:30 p.m. ...And so I did.

That's the short version.

When I got to Inchon Terminal to check in, I discovered the travel agent had made my ticket for the 11th, not the 12th! Some sort of miscommunication.

I had to pay 142,000 won extra ($118.33) to get on an Asiana Air Lines flight today. Good thing I had it, but it left me short. I'd decided to schlep all of my cash-on-hand along. Anyway, that's more'n half my week's pay gone just like that. Well, might's well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, so I moseyed along to the bookstore and found Steven King's "On Writing" for 12,000 won ($10), and then changed 70,000 won ($58.46) into 6,600 yen($56.26). {You can see how these banks make their money, nicking 4% off the top.}

The flight itself was uneventful. We flew over clouds all the way. It was damp and foggy in Inchon and the same in Osaka. But it was the peak of Cherry Blossom Viewing and the park around Osaka Castle was just loaded with picnickers.

There is also a section of the park which is rather tightly packed with blue plastic tarp tents. It looks like this is where the recyclers and day labourers live, i.e. homeless people. Most seem to be middle-aged to elderly men. There's a sprinkling of younger fellows. I saw a number of ingenious uses of blue plastic tarp, some in conjunction with "insulating" an ancient pop-up trailer or family-sized camping tent. (A clue to lost executive positions?) There were also possessions stored outside the tent proper. Most looked like pickings, but a rosewood bureau in it's own little tent was a sad look at former affluence. Apparently they are grudgingly accepted by the local authorities; I only saw one that looked like it had been pulled down. A man was wandering around, looking dazed, fingering items which were strewn in a 20-foot circle around the former location of a tent. His tent had been in a more open area of Forest Park, close to the walkway where many picnic-goers were entering the park. My guess is that they "made an example" of this one.

From here, I caught a glimpse of the Castle, which looks from a distance a little bit like one of those gingerbread summer estates in Kennebunk. It's painted white with a green roof, and gold and black trim. There are gold dolphins on the points of the gable ends. And Whoo Boy! Are there lots of gable ends and some to spare. [That's why it reminded me of one of those ever-expanding Kennebunk "cottages."] Looks as if the original plan was one massive three-storey building, but it got add-ons until it was eight floors high. There are 5 separate roof-eaves lines. The gable-ends make triangles of strength that put the floor weight out on top of the bearing walls.

This stone confection was "floating" on a sea of cherry blossoms the day I was there. I got some good photos (click here) of the enormous fire-scarred stones used for the foundation, surrounded by some large healthy old cherry trees whose branches seemed to hug the rocks. (Radiating warmth from sun-heated stones seems to attract cherry branches.)

"Shogun" was based on the life of the man who had this fortress built. I really liked the holographs showing scenes in his life. He was a "wild and crazy guy" as well as a talented general. When the facinating museum closed at 5 p.m., I headed back to Osaka-jo-koen rapid transit station with time to spare to catch my flight home. But I made a goofup in my transfer at Ten-no-ji and wound up in Nara at 7 p.m. when my plane was revving up at Kansai Airport! "This sure doesn't look like Kansai, Toto."

A couple young Japanese men who spoke some English made sure that I got off at Tennoji and made the right transfer (to track 16) for the trip to the airport. I hopped on car #3, thinking that the first three cars had been good to get me to Tennoji on the trip out. About halfway there, there came a blast over the loudspeaker that got my heart racing again. The first 5 cars were going to uncouple from the train and go elsewhere. Gahk! I scuttled back to the 5th car and found the back door locked. No way to get to the other section unless the train stopped!

Just when I was about to cry from frustration, they announced in English that they would stop before uncoupling. You want to know I was the first off that front section of the train and onto the back (airport scion) like a shot.

Perhaps the most disheartening moment was when I reached the fourth floor at the airport and found all the Asiana Air Lines clerks had gone home. I went down to the Customs gal on the second floor and told her the bare bones of my story: "Went to Osaka Castle and made a wrong change on the rapid transit coming back. Ended up in Nara instead of here." (Nara is just about as far away from the airport as you can get on the rapid transit line.) She found me an Air Nippon customer service lady who was very sweet and efficient. Within a few minutes, she had me on an Air Nippon flight leaving at 10 a.m. the next day. Then she got me a blanket and permission to sleep on the seats in the terminal. When I asked about the ticket cost, she smiled and said "No charge." Wow!! I thanked her profusely and settled in about 20 meters from some restrooms.

It was 9:25 p.m., and I'd had no supper, so I got a brown curry in the food court. It wasn't the best, but it filled the hole for 924 yen. And it's smell reminded me of Doe's house, so it was a sort of comfort food.

It was a real pleasure having Stephen King's "On Writing" to keep me company and keep "the committee in my head" from screwing up my acceptance and serenity.

I dozed on and off from midnight till 4:15 a.m. Had to keep waking up to chang position on the sweaty plastic seats. Finally I got smart and laid on top of the blanket and slept solidly till 6:15.

Got up, did a quick lavatory washup and change of garments below the waist. Sure was glad I'd brought along a change of pants and socks. Then I hit the coffee shop. Two teeny cups of coffee and an order of toast cost 1050 yen (over 11,000 won), outrageous, but I needed something. I made sure to save 400 yen for departure tax, which is what I'm used to paying when I take the ferry at Hakata Harbour.

At 8 a.m. the Air Nippon desk opened. When I went to check in, I was shocked to learn that airline passengers have to pay 2,000 yen plus a surcharge. Another of those lovely ANA ladies (Air Nippon) came and walked me through this final shearing. I traded in all the rest of my cash, except for one chunwon and 9 bagwons to get on the flight to Inchon. [That's US$1.52] I'm hoping to use the manwon I put in my CHB account to buy a bus ticket to Seoul. I'll have to hike the mile or so from the Hyatt to the subway, unless another bus-stop is closer, but I've got enough for a subway ride home (where my subway pass is safely sitting).

Take-off this morning was as smooth as silk. Passengers from two Air Nippon and one Asiana flight found themselves hearded onto this ANA plane and it's possibly one-third full. (SARS is scaring a lot of folks.)

I'm seated over the wing and I must say it's a funny feeling to glance the length of it and see a big red disc painted. Just like a WWII Zero!

The stewardesses are very nice, some from each of the 3 flights. A couple of them work for ANA but have Corean flags on their name tags.

My ears tell me we're pretty close to landing, so I'll put this away and add more later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later: I got my manwon out of the ATM and met a lady at the bus ticket booth who lives just over the hill from Anam. She saw to it that I got on a bus that took me to Korea University and all I had to do was walk across campus to get home. She's a clinical social worker, one of the very few who work in a public elementary school here in Seoul.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Trails!

~ Sil in Corea

previous - next

http://www.newdream.org/

Free clicks save land at http://www.therainforestsite.com

Copyright 2001,2002, et al. Sillama1 (Andrew knows my real name, and you will suffer from rectal boils if you take anything from this site.)

Fight Spam! Click Here!