The nice thing about traveling from Korea to Japan is the distance. The flight was only an hour and a half, not even enough time for me to properly pass out against the window in my patented airplane-sleeping position. I flew there using Air Peach, a new-ish budget airline which I have no complaints about. It was nothing special, but there were no problems on the way there or the way back. The only thing that might be a problem for the more masculine travelers out there are the airline’s signature colors of fuchsia and orchid, and the fact that you have to fly in a pink plane.
We landed at Osaka-Kansai Terminal 2 right on time at 10:30. I grew up with a mother who was trying to have it all, which meant that I was often dropped off or picked up constantly shuttling me around and dropping me off or picking me up 15 minutes or so behind schedule. As an adult, I have a perverse appreciation for punctuality and no one does it better than the Japanese. A friend of mine lives in Tokyo and speaks Japanese, and he told me that if the subway or bus is running even one minute behind the schedule posted in the station, you can expect the conductor or driver to be apologizing profusely to all the passengers as they board.
Kyoto is about 90 minutes from Osaka so it had been decided that the first night we would stay near the airport. This being my second trip into Osaka-Kansai, I knew that the subway and buses closed pretty early, and that taxis would be ridiculously expensive, so it seemed that this plan would be more of a money- and time-saver for us. Unfortunately, by the time we made it through immigration public transport was closed and we were forced to take a taxi anyways.
Taxis in Japan are the epitome of class, as well they should be for what you end up paying for them. The cars themselves are always black with the drivers’ and front seats covered with white lace doilies. Even if it’s raining outside, the cars are pristine and spotless. The drivers must use their time between fares to clean off road dirt and straighten seat cushions. The hotel we stayed at was called the Hotel Garden Palace and it was only 7 or 8 km away, but by the time we got there the fare had skyrocketed up to almost $50. Compared to Korean taxi prices, where the same distance at the same time of night probably would have run me about $10 max, it was pretty painful.
For an airport hotel, the Garden Palace was comfortable, clean, and functional. The elevators were tiny (another common Japanese thing) and they charged for breakfast, but I slept through that anyways so it didn’t really matter to me. The neighborhood it’s in is a little strange, a cross between an industrial town and a rice paddy, but it was incredibly quiet which is always a welcome change of pace for me. The lobby was also pretty cute, in a kitschy kind of way. I was also pleasantly surprised when I walked into the room and saw that the shower had a bathtub, a practice that I forgot was pretty commonplace in Japan. My favorite part about the hotel by far was the fact that they put traditional Japanese robes in the rooms. It took all of my willpower not to revert to my kleptomania ways and slip one of them into my backpack. That and the pillows were the perfect amount of hard-squishy. I slept like a rock.
Crehan in Korea 