Travel time! We hopped on a plane at Heathrow and sped off on our autumnal getaway.

Twelve hours and two meals later we landed in Seoul. Well, Incheon to be exact. The airport island.

Isaac Toast – A Religious Experience

Our trip started with an overnight in Unseo, close to Incheon international airport. We stayed in Hotel Tour which was right beside the train station and in the heart of an area well served by convenience stores and restaurants. And by well served, I mean multiple convenience stores per block. One even opened on to our hotel lobby. You don’t get much more convenient than that.

Fifty pounds goes a long way in Unseo. Sure it’s not the hottest destination, but for an over night it’s perfectly servicable. Our room in Hotel Tour (nested within the Golden Tulip) had a double and single bed, ensuite bathroom with Japanese style toilet and luxury shower, fridge, robes and slippers. Everything you could need really. The password was emailed to me so we didn’t even have to check in. Convenience is the theme.

Dinner time in Unseo brought a lot of choices but we stuck to a brand we recognised from last time and headed for Isaac Toast (pronounced ee-sak). It’s the number one Christian toasted sandwich shop in our hearts. Come to think of it, it’s the only Christian toasted sandwich shop I’m aware of. A weird platform to base your fast food outlet on, but a decent and ridiculously cheap sandwich awaits. £8.50 got us three substantial sandwiches: a deep cheese potato, a ham and cheese, and a beef bulgabi. They all came with an omelette layer which was surprisingly good. They’re not high end but filling and quite tasty. Most importantly it was a couple of minutes from the hotel. We picked up some soju (the spirit of choice) and a few soft drinks in the CU convenience store attached to the hotel and ate in our room.

A fitful night’s sleep followed with a toddler adjusting to the chaos of travel. The following morning we had a five o’clock start before heading back to the airport for the flight to Naha, Okinawa.

There’s no shortage of food on Korean Air. Even the two hour flight to Okinawa came with a substantial meal. Rice with spicy seafood and vegetables. It’s quite a lot to stomach at nine in the morning, but surprisingly pleasant. I noticed some Korean Air lager cans on the trolley too but breakfast beer doesn’t really appeal to me.

Okinawa

If anyone tells you there isn’t much to do in Naha, they’re failing to see the point of a holiday. Yes you can cram endless activities in until you’re dead on your feet, but the beauty of Japan is that you soak up so much of the culture and life by wandering around cafés and restaurants, convenience stores, markets, and just living in a completely different place. Bringing a toddler does change what you can achieve in any given day, but we’ve still managed to fit in a lot of fun stuff. For example…

Half One

What do you do in the middle of the night in England if you can’t sleep? Lie in bed, restless, waiting for the night to be over.

What about in Japan? Head to the place where someone happily awaits your business. The konbini, of course! One of the great Japanese institutions, nobody does it better. Snacks. Magazines. Essentials. Even fried chicken is available behind the counter of this brightly lit wonderland. We have bought Disneyland tickets from a konbini in Tokyo, and I’ve printed essential forms while on elective. There’s not much they can’t do.

Despite the relaxed pace, we have crammed a fair amount in since arriving on the island. We explored Naha, hired a car and drive up to Mihama and on to Nago and Churaumi aquarium and more. Plenty of stuff to be writing about, but as usual I will proceed in a non-sequitarial fashion.

What’s it going to be next? Café culture in Okinawa? Driving? Who knows?! Stay tuned for more.