Seoul's Incheon Airport: A Tourist Destination On Its Own!

For pretty much every tourist, flying in to Korea means flying in to Incheon Airport, about an hour east of Seoul. My impression of airports is probably about the same as any other American. They're a hassle, they're expensive, they're out of the way, and while you have to get there early there's nothing to do at or near them.

Well, Incheon has a few of those things down quite well. It is a good bit out of the way (all major, modern airports are, I suppose), though the trains are very convenient to downtown Seoul. Food is a bit pricey, but souvenirs are unbelievably overpriced. And yes, there is that whole "Security" thing, and Customs and Immigration, though all three of those modern inconveniences are quickly expedited at Incheon.

But Incheon is a nice place to be!

 It starts with this spacious train terminal. There are souvenir shops and restaurants found here, as well as some money exchange counters. Before passing through security, there is some additional shopping and food places, of course. About three minutes away, at the Hyatt Regency, there's a casino for you to blow away that extra won burning a hole in your pocket.

Several restaurants and the free internet cafes are open 24 hours a day. There is a golf course and seven gardens located throughout the airport.

 Inside security, there are several other restaurants open 24 hours a day, including this franchise of the Charlie Brown Cafe. Luggage storage and lockers are relatively inexpensive. The airport has a skating rink and a spa, and for those with a limited amount of time in transit, there are tours lasting from one to eight hours.

 There are lots of lounges scattered around the airport, and they are placed in such a way that they're quite peaceful. This area was located upstairs off the main concourse, and was quiet and relatively secluded - the perfect place to take a nap (or spend the night if you're so unlucky).

I went up to that lounge area because I had some more time to kill and I saw a sign for a museum. That museum turned out to be brief, but informative.

 I like old maps, and this massive one of a palace is one of the first things I saw.

 Traditional clothing...

 This is the Pagoda of Sakyamuni, from Bulguksa Temple. It was built in the mid-8th century. Well, this isn't, it's a 1/3 scale replica. But for those who can't get to Gyeongju to see the original, it's a good cultural taste.

 More art!

 This wall is covered in Korean writing, called Hangul. It must say something important. There are several stations with audio-visual displays to see and hear traditional dances and instruments.

 This panorama shot came out fairly well!

 Bang a gong. I'm sure you could if you wanted to, but since I was the only person in the museum and it was quiet inside, I thought it might be a bit disruptive.

At the end of the museum, there are a few "hands on" experiences. I chose the paper rubbing and name writing using hangul characters. I tried on my own and was fairly close, though I probably should have asked for help to get it right! Oh well, next time.

Speaking of hands-on, the best part of Incheon Airport is the Traditional Cultural Experience centers. There are three locations, and I understand they offer different experiences at each center on any given day. The location I visited had two options, and I chose the option to make a paper mache box. They give you the hanji (traditional paper) pieces pre-cut, and a pressboard/cardboard box. You just need to use traditional glue made from potatoes - it's edible! - to put the colored pieces on the box.

It's simple and easy to do, which makes it fun! You don't have much opportunity to "customize" the box but I was okay with that - I'm good at procedures and directions. The best part: I did something fairly traditional, I got to experience something, and it was all free! Yes, free! They check your ticket to verify you have time and that you're actually leaving (you must be a foreigner) and give you the materials.

Other crafts projects include hanji making, Dancheong (painting), Najeon (mother of pearl work), making cell phone straps, fans, and square pincushions, and folk painting. Another blogger posted about painting and dressing traditional dolls and making woodblock prints. I'd love to try pretty much all of those!

In addition to the crafts, you might be able to try on traditional clothing and take a photo, or see a traditional music performance. You can also buy traditional goods made by master craftsmen.

Sure, the airport is the place you go to get away from somewhere. But I'll be sure to allow extra time on my next visit at the airport too!

Narita Airport: getting there and what to expect

My Taiwan trip has officially begun. I've started writing this post thousands of feet above the ground... Actually there is a bit of turbulence right now. Thanks to the iPhone I don't have to worry much about spelling errors while typing this post out.

This is my first international vacation trip from Japan, and a few things are worth mentioning as I am in transit to my destination.

I took limited/express commuter rail (my cheapest option) the whole way from Koshigaya to the airport. The cheapest option took about an hour and 45 minutes, while taking the SkyAccess express train would have cost me about 2.5 times more and still would have involved 85-90 minutes of travel.

So why would someone choose SkyAccess? Well, you get a guaranteed, nice seat. The trip is smoother, and for anyone traveling anywhere along the Yamanote line, or transferring to trains heading out of Tokyo, there would be considerable time savings. I lucked out in that the Keisei Main Line which serves the airport also serves a station along my main line. Well, close - I had to make a quick transfer (three minute wait on the same platform) from local to express a few stations down the line.

Oddly enough, they check for ID when you get off the train at the airport. No big deal - just have your passport or alien registration card ready. There isn't a big security check at this point. I'm sure there's some reason for it.

The Narita Airport is big and can be confusing. Be sure you go to the correct terminal depending on your airline, then the correct floor for international vs domestic flights. However once you get moving there's a natural flow to the direction you travel. If you've flown before things won't be too different.

The real item of note is immigration. As a foreigner with an alien registration card, I need a special reentry permit before I leave. This is a little different from even a couple months ago. Now you fill out a small card at the airport and give it to the immigration officer. Note: fill this out before you get in line. They're available at the little tables next to the support columns.

Once you've passed security and customs (pretty quickly for me in an afternoon flight) there aren't too many eating options. You can buy plenty of perfume, liquor and tobacco duty-free though! And there are sure to be a few people you forgot to buy souvenirs for, and there's at least one shop for that. I found one with four favors of Kit Kat, including one I never had before. Sakura (cherry) flavor has eluded me for six months, but I had my first today. It was pretty good! But not as good as strawberry.

The airport is spacious and for the international terminal remarkably un-crowded. It's certainly a different feel from SFO or ATL, that's for sure.

Boarding then is pretty smooth, just like US airports.

And then you taxi the long way out to your runway and off you go!

Coming up next (probably), flying on Japan Airlines.