Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Sapa]

I'm just curious about how much it costs to get a ferry to Japan. I have got prices on flights from Seoul to Tokyo at around $350. If your heading to Tokyo would it end up being more expensive to get down to Busan then Ferry it to Japan and on to Tokyo? Are there many amazing sights on the way up to Tokyo that would be worth a stopover?

[bangbayed]

Best trip I had to Japan was going to Busan, taking the overnight ferry to Shimonoseki, and using the Japan Rail Pass that I purchased in Korea and going to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Takeshima for two weeks. The ferry cost around 120,000 won, if I remember, for one way. This was the cheapest ticket and you get to sleep in a big communal room like you'd see in a jjimjil bang. If you pay a little more you can get a more private room.

I totally recommend the Rail pass if you want to see more than one or two cities in Japan. Trains are great but expensive. With the rail pass, you can even hop on the bullet trains anytime.

[Xuanzang]

[otto]

Took the PanStar ferry from Busan to Osaka this past summer. We got Kansai area rail passes that we used to get to Kyoto, Nara and Himeji. I would definitely recommend the PanStar if you are interested in the Kansai area, but I don't know if it would make much sense for Tokyo, since you would have to take a bus or train onwards from Osaka.

[sojourner1]

It's like $250 return for the Beetle between Busan and Fukoaka and then trains would cost that much more if not more to go to Tokyo and other further away places. This makes flying from Seoul to Narita most practical. I understand it's running around 350,000 return after tax right now.

Another, but unconventional (and cheaper!)way to do it would be to...

From the East coast such as in Gangwon-do, you could use a rubber raft left over from last Summer's Emart purchase and retrofit a 50cc scooter engine and model airplane propeller on a steel rod to make a miniature long tail boat if you have the extra vacation time spare in getting there at only 3 MPH. If this is too slow, you can use a 125cc Daelim motor bike engine with a 6 inch boat propeller connected to a 1/2 inch diameter steel drive shaft. If this still yet is too slow, you could mount a car engine on a handcrafted wooden boat for a real long tail boat. Just be sure to keep warm while you're dodging ice chunks and at the half way point, tell Dokdo, "Hello sparkling!"

If you find the Beetle boat to be over priced or simply don't want to risk your life dodging ice chunks on a raft in the Eastern Sea, then you can fly comfortably on a Boeing jet to conquer inconvenient hops like this for less heard earned dosh than you think.

[doc_ido]

The slow Busan-Fukuoka boat goes for the W80,000 range each way, but you then have to consider the Fukuoka-wherever you want to go cost (the overnight bus is Y15,000).

[TeeBee]

I've just been through a major effort to find the cheapest way to travel to Tokyo. Originally I was going to take the PanStar Ferry, but I found a flight with Northwest Airlines from Incheon to Tokyo for 360,000 won. The cheapest way to get there by FAR!

Otherwise the PanStar ferry will set you back about 250,000 won return from Busan to Osaka. You can then get an overnight bus from Osaka to Tokyo for about 5,000 yen each way. That's about 75,000 won at current exchange rates.

If you add in the train tickets from Seoul to Busan (about 100,000 won return), this trip to Tokyo will set you back about 500,000 won.

At the moment the 7-day Japan Rail pass is costing close to 440,000 won (28,300 yen). Not sure if it's worth it at the moment.

[Donghae]

[Donghae]