Fitting in Seoul visit into Japan trip

Hi there,

I'll be travelling with my wife to Japan this November/December (my 3rd visit, her 1st). We would like to fit in a short 4-5 day visit to Seoul into our itinerary, and I'm looking for suggestions from people who may have done this - how to not lose too much time travelling. Here's the current plan:

25 Nov -> fly into Narita (flight is booked, coming all the way from Europe so definitely would not want to travel to Seoul straight away)
26-29 Nov -> Tokyo
30 Nov - 6 Dec -> Kyoto (use it as a base to travel to Osaka, Nara etc.)
7 Dec - 11 Dec -> Book a return flight from Kansai airport to Seoul, explore Seoul
12 Dec - evening flight home from Narita Airport

From what I've seen Kansai airport has the cheapest and shortest flights to Seoul, Tokyo seemed almost twice as expensive.

Is there a better/more efficient way to do this?

Also I'm trying to figure out whether the JR pass will be worth for our visit, and for which days?

Thanks in advance

We travelled from Seoul to Nagoya earlier this year (to fulfil my long-held desire to visit Meiji Mura) before travelling within Japan and ultimately home to Australia.

It's sensible to travel from where you are in Japan to Seoul. I take it you'll then fly from Seoul to Narita to finish your holiday? Be worth checking the prices to fly direct v take the return flight to Kansai then travel to Narita.

There's been big changes to JR pass pricing. I don't know when they kick in but it's unlikely that even the existing pricing will be worth it for a one way trip from Tokyo to Kyoto, even with side trips.

Enjoy your holiday!

Is it a good idea? No.

One day in Seoul and wasting two days for travel.

Is three days you can spending in Japan.

Cancel that. Somehow I read 1 and not 5 days.

The most efficient way in terms of time and tiredness is simply to go from Narita to Seoul on arrival, 25th will be a wasted day anywhere after the long flight so you might as well get the travelling done and also save a a airport-> city round trip.

I did exactly that last year, from Switzerland to Narita then onwards to Seoul then back to Japan 3 days later to start the rest of the trip( vast majority of the time in Japan).

JR pass definitely not worth it with the new pricing from October 1st. However, if you buy the JR pass voucher abroad this month at the old price you have 3 months to exchange it in Japan. Even then the only way the pass would be worth it is with a 7 day pass so you�fd have to do the Tokyo-Kansai trip within 7 days and that would be touch and go, there is a JR pass calculator on this site you can check with .

Even with the current pricing, the JR pass wouldn't be worth it for your trip.

If your flight arrives late, just spend the night at a hotel near Narita, take an early flight to Seoul and a return flight to Osaka. Start your Japan trip there, end in Tokyo.

If your flight arrives early, you can consider staying one night near a station linked to Haneda airport, and explore the city a bit.

A train ticket between Tokyo and Osaka is about 13,000 yens. Unless the flights from Tokyo are more expensive than that, you should fly out from Tokyo.

Sure you can't change your flight?

Easiest/cheapest/most efficient way of visiting Korea and Japan from Europe is to fly Korean Air and stop over in Korea on the way there/back to/from Japan.

Seoul is a big hub, with Korean Air flights to several places in Japan so you can also avoid the need to be in Tokyo twice (or even at all, if it's not in your travel plans).

We've done it before. UK to Seoul direct, a few days in Seoul then a short flight to a regional Japanese airport, then a couple of weeks in Japan and a flight back to the UK from Kyushu, changing at Seoul, but all through-ticketed on the same airline and with convenient transfer time so it was hassle-free.

@Winter Visitor
Unless on very expensive flexible tickets from Europe, it costs a lot to change, the only opportunity is if the airline changes the times of the flights then you can change the flights for free, otherwise not worth trying.

Back in about 2012 we went from Kansai to Seoul at about the same time, then back again before leaving. I cant help much with logistics.

While the trip is only about 2 or 3 hours, you do lose pretty much a day or the better part of a day with customs etc, though Incheon airport was really quick to get through (but a fair hike from Seoul itself). We then came back and stayed at Namba overnight before our trip home from Kansai.

It was also amazingly cold in Seoul (at one point -17 celsius from memory), and icy on the footpaths so you'd go flying if you step on a metal grate. I dont think I've ever been that cold before or since, and in the city it felt colder with the shade and the wind being channelled between buildings. Every part of my face was leaking. I was a very unattractive man.

That said, the food was fantastic, assuming you like spicy food. And accommodation was cheap. I recommend Rak-ko-jae for a few nights, it is a Hanok, very pretty, they have one in Seoul and one in the country. And Nami Island was our favorite place (an island in the Han River with art everywhere), the hotel there is fantastic.

I'd go again, but maybe try during autumn which I guess would be October. It was way too cold in December.

I agree with @Denis C that his suggestion to travel from Narita to Seoul on arrival is the most efficient way. @perkz can also save time and money by not having to do an airport transfer.

I'll remember his suggestion in mind when I'm planning my own trip.