Happy New Year to the poor and homeless
My hardship begins. I was greeted in Busan International Ferry terminal by closed ticket windows. Busan to Fukuoka-closed; Busan to Kobe-closed; Busan to Qingtao-closed. Come back on January 5th. Panic set in before I noticed the last window had lights on.
“Is there a boat to Shimonoseki today?” I asked.
“It begins boarding in 15 minutes.” I had made it.
“Can I exchange Won for Yen on the boat?”
“Sure, would you like a ticket?”
Even though Busan seemed like a beautiful city to check out, I was ready to start my journey back home and to see Western Honshu. With my ticket to Shimonoseki I would be waking up to start the final leg of my trip on the southernmost tip of Japan’s big island.
The Japanese leg of the “capitals tour” is to be an experiment in frugality. With the well established reputation as one of the world’s most expensive travel destinations, I have wanted for some time to see how cheaply one can travel here. With my backpack, down sleeping bag, and bivy sack, my goal is to bum my way back to Tokyo seeing the major sites on the way, and spending the fewest Yen in the process. I hope this experience helps future budget travelers deterred by Japan’s notoriously high costs.
When I stepped on the boat I had no idea how extreme my chosen poverty experiment was about to become. I quickly realized that while I could spend Won in the duty free shop, I could not change it. I had 575 yen left over from before and that was it. After dinner I was down to 75 yen and an apple. The boat ride was quite nice and we arrived in Shinonoseki at 9am the next morning, January 2nd. I knew from my last two years in Japan that the country pretty much closes shop for about 4-5 days over New Years, but I overlooked this point in my haste leaving Korea. On the boat I reasoned that I must be able to visit a 7-11 ATM for cash. This is not the case. On the morning of January 2nd I realized that I had 75 yen to my name and no way of getting cash for two full days, the morning of the 4th. The only stroke of luck was being able to buy my discount train ticket on my VISA, so I would be hungry but at least moving. Aside from stations and high class restaurants, Japan is not a very VISA friendly country, and any restaurants that do accept cards would either blow the budget or be closed.
Already hungry from the previous day spent on buses and boats, I accepted this unfortunate turn of events, got on the next train bound for Hiroshima, and began my unchosen fast.
Tags: Capitals tour of Asia, Japan on the cheap
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