Howdy all! Well, finally I get to start relaying my experiences of South Korea from last year to you. Japan had been a packed two weeks, but it came time to leave the somewhat at least familiar surrounds of the Land of the Rising Sun and move along to the country closest to it, South Korea.

I was excited at the prospect of avoiding another flight, which would have been a short one, to get to Busan because there were a couple of ferry services to Busan from Fukuoka. So that worked out well! The most regular and importantly fastest ferry was run by Japan Rail and was called the ‘Queen Beetle’.

In sad news it appears to no longer be running as of the second half of 2024. Japan Rail are citing a ‘water seepage’ issue which they cannot resolve. Which is a bummer because it was a great way to get from one country to another. There is the Camellia Line Ferry, but this is not a high speed ferry and takes nearly 12 hours. So this is not ideal and faced between this and flying I would almost certainly have chosen to fly. For reference, the Queen Beetle did the crossing in 3h30m to 4 hours. It’s a hellova difference.

I bought the ticket online in advance through the JR website, which is not always easy. The fares varied from day to day and time to time, I paid 14,600yen which was around $150AUD at the time or $100USD. Some sailings were around 9,000yen, others were over 20,000 yen, so it really depended on demand I guess.

There’s a bus from Hakata station to the ferry terminal, which I took. I think the Camellia Line also departs from the same terminal. There weren’t many checking in, and I was greeted once I went through the doors by enthusiastic staff offering me a sea sickness pill. I didn’t need it, it wasn’t that choppy. I’ve never felt particularly seasick before actually, although I’ve never been on a cruise per se, although I do get quite car sick when I’m not driving, particularly in the back seat.

Once checked in I went to the viewing area at the top of the terminal building which was great for a few pre departure shots of the ferry. This was a morning departure (9am) and there really weren’t a lot of people taking the ferry. Passport control was way faster than any airport, so there was a lot of downtime waiting to board the ferry and not much in the terminal building to do or even look at.

Once boarding began it was a covered walk to the ferry. The weather was okay but by the end of the journey in South Korea it was really raining! The main cabin was packed with seats, but to be fair perhaps one in five were taken, if that. I naturally had secured me a window! And had no-one next to me.

The toilets were clean and spacious, the snack bar wasn’t too bad and from memory they accepted card because I had exchanged all my Yen to South Korean Won at the ferry terminal and the only cash they took it turned out was, you guessed it, YEN. I grabbed some karaage (fried chicken) which was decent and served as my lunch.

Naturally we departed on time. The seat was comfortable enough with decent if not outstanding legroom and there was a cute safety video featuring kids to watch as we moved out of the Fukuoka International Ferry Terminal. It was gloomy and cloudy outside, there were a few islands here and there before hitting the open seas.

Not a lot to do on the journey so I used my laptop and devices to keep me entertained. I think the journey would be more interesting on a clear day, but as you get closer to Korea there are a few pretty little islands, some with high rise apartments as you get super close and you know the journey is coming to an end.

We arrived on time, in the rain, but a covered walkway again to the terminal building and a fast process through immigration and BANG! Just like that you are in Busan, South Korea. To fly would have taken me longer with all the processes and getting into and out of the city. From the ferry terminal in Busan there is a 10-15 minute covered walk to the Busan station, or taxis from the terminal into town, I opted for the first one!

Hopefully this service resumes in 2025, but from what I am reading on the interweb, it does not seem likely at all. I think it’s the perfect way to get between two cities, but as I say in the vlog, with so few passengers it’s hard to see how they turn a profit which probably means there isn’t a lot of motivation to get the service happening again.

Thanks for popping by and giving today’s blog a read! Take care wherever you are in the world – May the Journey Never End!