The weak yen, increased flight prices – and my own fluctuating desire for international travel – meant we didn’t do any long-haul flights this summer. Instead, after spending a few days in Seoul back in April, we decided to head back to South Korea, this time to Busan. I love the paradoxical nature of Korea – how it can seem so similar to Japan one minute, yet so vastly different the next. Having lived in Japan for so long now, life feels very normal here, and so these two recent trips to Korea were a nice little refresh.
After a short two-hour flight from Tokyo we landed in Busan, a coastal city right at the bottom of South Korea. I had been once before, way back in 2004, but I couldn’t remember it at all. 
After landing at Gimhae International Airport, we needed to make our way to Haeundae beach where our hotel was. Since we had to change trains anyway at Sasang, we decided to leave the station to grab some food and have a look about. As a result, our introduction to Busan was very local – a cute restaurant where the staff members were eating their own lunch at the opposite table. 
Once again, I fell in love with the aesthetic of everything right from the off: the colours and style of this coffee machine outside the restaurant ❤️ 
Sasang was actually an industrial area – lots of workshops and mechanic places etc… 
No tourists at all about, just a random area filled with old engines, the smell of petrol, and cool signage. 
It was cool to see the train passing by above the city. 
Haeundae beach is the most famous beach in Busan. We decided to stay here since we wanted to be right beside the ocean, something we don’t get to see every day in Tokyo. When I first arrived I was worried it was going to be too built up, but the beach was immaculate and there were lots of local eateries nearby. I think because we went at the end of June, before the summer crowds arrived, it felt very relaxed. It was nice to walk on the beach barefoot at night… 
And see the sunrise in the morning. 
I associate Korea with faded pastel colours. I loved seeing random scenes like this… 
And this… 
Even this! 
Like in Tokyo, we enjoyed finding lots of old arcades and alleyways to explore 
As well as time for a few random selfies 👀 
Choryang was a nice and quiet local area that we enjoyed getting lost in. 
Surrounded by mountainous views, there were lots of churches and side streets. 
Kimchi in the market… 
And with our lunch.
This cod soup (daegu tang) was deceivingly spicy – even the locals were coughing with every slurp. It wasn’t so much the spice level itself but the vapours from the chili that hit the back of your throat when you are trying to drink the soup. I still think about this meal a lot, and even went back to the place and ate it again on my own one day when Mrs IKIMASHO wasn’t so hungry. Really good.
I liked this almost dystopian scene as we were walking to another dinner spot… 
A full rotisserie chicken that had been cut in half, and squashed down upon rice that had been cooked crispy on a hot plate. Eaten with your fingers with BBQ/hot sauces. Again, a meal I think about often! 
Always something to see in a shop window… 
Or looking up at the buildings themselves. This one messed with my head. 
Suyeong Paldo Market not far from Suyeong station. No idea how we ended up here, no doubt simply from me just searching for some traditional market. Very similar to SE Asia with meat and fish sold on the street. This was a fun walk. 
Mrs IKIMASHO couldn’t resist buying some bread. 
Walking around this neighbourhood we saw barley sun-drying on the pavement. Once the sun thoroughly dries the stalks out, the shopkeeper will go through the milling process so the grains are ready to use. You can see bottles on the table at the start of the video – the most common use for all these dried grains is to mix it with white rice before cooking.
Short clip: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1030218466271762
Local life in Busan, South Korea 
I’d like to draw this someday. 
Galbitang – beef short rib soup. Comfort food at its very best, not strong at all, just nourishing and delicate. 
We saw this little guy down by the beach one day. 
Too cute! 
100% would stay at Haeundae again! At night it felt lively, but not too crowded. There was a nice breeze, and the whole place was lit up. I was surprised to see a Snickers ice cream in the convenience store, I hadn’t had one of those in about 20 years 🙂 
A short ten-minute minute walk from the beach brought us to a little port, with lots of fishing activity. 
It offered a different view of the area. 
Can you spot us?
This was a really fun trip and I would love to go back to Busan whenever we get the chance.
IKIMASHO! 
Thanks! Lots of interesting photos. My wife is teaching herself Korean and the most interesting part for me is that she can sound out the words and have no idea what they mean (just like me and Japanese, most of the time). We spent quite a long lay-over in Korea on one of our trips from Japan to Canada. It was interesting but I long to go back to Malaysia or Singapore— especially for the food! James