Nami Island

Nami Island was supposedly the setting of the Korean drama Endless Love: Winter Sonata, but I didn't know about it until my wife and I were planning our itinerary in Korea. As I did my research, it turned out that people go there not only to see the drama's setting, but because the place is really nice, so I agreed to have it in our itinerary even though it's quite far from Seoul.

To get there, we followed the instructions from this forum post. We started at Myeongdong Station of Line 4 and rode the train in the direction of Chungmuro. We transferred to Line 1 at Dongdaemun to Cheongnyangni. From Cheongnyangni, we transferred to a train going to Sambong, then transferred again at that station going to Gapyeong. It was a very long ride that took about 2 hours, but I think the cause was the train delay in Cheongnyangni. There were announcements in the PA system, but we weren't able to understand, so we just waited there.

Gapyeong Station

From Gapyeong station, we took a short taxi ride to the ferry terminal, and the fare was KRW 2,900. At the ferry terminal, we bought the "Entry Visa" to Naminara Republic at KRW 8,000 per person. This includes the round-trip ferry ride.

After the short ferry ride, we got a map and started walking around the whole island, following the path right in the middle of the island.

When it was time to have lunch, we had chicken barbecue at the restaurant below. The total bill was KRW 28,000 - KRW 2,000 for the two drinks and KRW 26,000 for the meal.

After that quick lunch, we continued following the original path at the middle of the island and just went with the crowd.

After we're done, we just went back to the ferry terminal and got a taxi at the terminal just across Family Mart. However, instead of taking the same trains going back to Seoul, we took an express train going to Cheongnyangni, which cost us a total of KRW 8,000. It was much faster because it stopped only in PyeongnaeHopyeong between Gapyeong and Cheongnyangni. From Cheongnyangni, we transferred to Line 1 of the subway back to downtown Seoul.

N Seoul Tower and Teddy Bear Museum

The N Seoul Tower houses an observatory overlooking the Seoul city landscape and the Teddy Bear Museum. We got there via the Namsan Cable Car. A round-trip ticket costs KRW8,000 per person.

To go to the cable car station, the closest subway station is Myeongdong Station of Line 4. Go out through Exit 3 and walk towards Pacific Hotel. Turn left at that hotel and walk straight until the road turns left but a stairway is straight ahead. At the top of that stairway is the cable car station.

You can visit either the observatory, the museum or both. We got the observatory+museum package, and it's KRW 14,000 per person. They suggested to visit the Teddy Bear Museum first before heading to the observatory, and so we did.

After the museum, we went to the observatory. The quick elevator ride leads to the actual observatory that features a 360-degree view of Seoul. The glass window shows the directions and distances of different cities around the world.

At the foot of the tower is the Locks of Love, where couples place their own locks as a symbol of their unity. My wife and I weren't able to bring our own locks, but we weren't interested to put some locks anyway. Here are some useful links:

N Seoul Tower official website
Teddy Bear Museum
You can also search here.

Roppongi (六本木)

The Roppongi district is known for its nightlife, and I think any foreigner, especially one that does not have a firm grasp of Nihongo, would want to be here. It seems like just by walking around, you'll be able to meet someone from your home country. I think that's how abundant the foreigners are here, and most of them speak English. One of the Softbank branches with English-speaking staff is located here (near Exit 6 of the Roppongi station (六本木駅). One of the few Catholic churches with English masses is also found here, called Franciscan Chapel Center (フランシスカンチャペルセンターカトリック教会).

Roppongi station is accessible via the Tokyo subway networks. 2 lines go through here - the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (東京メトロ日比谷線) and the Toei Oedo Line (都営大江戸線). Though for some people, Tokyo clubs and bars are synonymous with Roppongi, just walking around even in daytime can already be satisfying.

The diversity.

From the station, going towards the north and you'll get to Tokyo Midtown (東京ミッドタウン), towards the south is the Tokyo Tower (東京タワー), though you'll probably get just a glimpse of it, but you'll likely reach Don Quijote (ドンキホーテ); and to the west is Roppongi Hills (六本木ヒルズ). At night, party-goers roam around the bright lights of Roppongi.