September 14 - 16, 2016

For the Chuseok holiday (aka Thanksgiving or Mid-Autumn Festival) we took a ferry from Busan to Tsushima, Japan (대마도) for a few days of cycling, beaching, and camping. We took a ferry for 153,000₩ a person roundtrip from the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal to the Hitakatsu (比田勝) entry port. 

There were a few fees at both ferry terminals, a fuel and oil surcharge and even a terminal tax, so make sure you have both extra Korean won and Japanese yen before both departures. Having already took the ferry to Fukuoka in February and experienced this earlier, these additional charges didn’t surprise me much.

Note: We also rented a “pocket wifi” device in Korea to take with us in Japan so we had internet. It was 18,815₩ for all three days and ten devices could connect to it at once. 

Tsushima is a long and a narrow island which lies in the Tsushima strait. It’s actually closer to Korea (50 km from Busan) than Japan (138 km from Fukuoka). And, obviously, they cater to Korean tourists because a lot of signage is in Korean. The entire island extends about 82 km north to south, and about 18 km east to west.

We had so much fun! We didn’t take any expensive taxis or tour buses. Instead, we rented bikes from Chinguya (친구야), 1000¥ a day for an electric-assist bike or 800¥ a day for a regular bike. I’d recommend getting the e-bike (to help you get up the massive hills) and make your reservations (in Korean only) early as they have the cheapest prices in the area. Then, you just walk there from the ferry terminal to pick up your rentals.

It’s so great to have the freedom of riding around the beautiful island. We camped by Miuda Beach. The camping site at 대마도 미우다 캠핑장 costs 1500¥ a day. Then, it’s up to you how much camping gear you want to bring or rent. A tent rental is 3600¥ a day. It’s a massive, sturdy tent that fits 6 people, a bit like sardines. The tent rental includes a lantern and everything you need for cooking, like pots, pans, a knife, cutting board, and utensils. You can also rent a sleep bag for 500¥, a BBQ set (grill + tongs) for 500¥, gas for a burner for 700¥, and 3kg of charcoal for 600¥.

It’s such a great trip, I can’t recommend it enough. We cruised on coastal roads, in small towns, and by rice paddies with minimal auto traffic. We saw villages, forests, streams, mountains, parks, and temples. The beach was beautiful and mostly secluded (other than a few tour buses shuttling people here for 10 minutes at a time). We ate delicious Japanese food and even went to a Korean viewpoint where I’m pretty sure I could see the mountains of Busan!