Hello!
This is the manager of Tawawa.
Here's a look at the fourth (and final) day of my whirlwind succulent-hunting trip to Korea.
For more details, please see the blog for Day 1 ^ ^
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Wednesday, May 24, 2023
My whirlwind trip, which seemed to fly by, finally reached its last day.
My flight back to Japan was scheduled for 5 PM.
So, even though it was the last day, I had plenty of time.
First, I meticulously repacked the succulents and pots I had purchased on Day 1 and Day 2 in my hotel room.
When bringing plants into Japan from another country, you need to:
① Remove all soil.
② Obtain a phytosanitary certificate in the country where you purchased the plants.
First, let's look at:
① Remove all soil
I had brought kitchen paper, masking tape (hereafter "washi tape"), scissors, and a marker pen from Japan, just in case.
Although the roots of the seedlings had already been trimmed and most of the soil removed, I removed any dead leaves, cleaned around the roots, wrapped each seedling in kitchen paper, secured it with washi tape, and wrote the name on the washi tape with a marker pen.
→ For plant quarantine upon entering Japan, I was told that:
・Even if it's just crushed dry leaves, some quarantine officers might consider it soil.
・If multiple-headed seedlings have separated stems, they might be counted as individual seedlings.
・If the number of plants is even one more than stated on the document, all of them will be confiscated.
・Even if you bring them in any condition, they will be inspected, but packing them individually makes the inspection easier and faster.
Therefore, if you are considering buying succulent seedlings in Korea and bringing them back to Japan, here are some recommended items to bring from Japan:
《Items to bring from Japan》
・Scissors
・Tweezers
・Brush (to remove soil and dead leaves)
・Masking tape (recommended over cellophane tape as you need to open the packaging for quarantine)
・Oil-based marker
・Bag or box for carrying seedlings in your hand luggage
・Kitchen paper (can also be purchased locally)
That's it!
By the way, even if you put the seedlings in your checked luggage, they can still be quarantined upon entry to Japan, but carrying them as hand luggage is better to avoid damage and makes the quarantine process smoother.
After packing both the seedlings and pots, the seedlings went into my hand luggage and the pots into my suitcase.
With my bags packed, I checked out of the hotel and headed to Gimpo Airport!
Although my return flight was in the evening, I didn't know how long it would take to get the phytosanitary certificate, so I first headed to Gimpo Airport, where the plant quarantine office is located. (You can also get a phytosanitary certificate at Incheon Airport!)
I traveled by subway with a large suitcase and a plastic bag filled with succulents lol
I safely arrived at Gimpo Airport Station and walked about 10 minutes from the subway station to the airport building.
The plant quarantine office at Gimpo Airport is at the end of the 1st floor arrival lobby.
Look for the signs with dogs and pineapples.
Huh? It's not there...
I walked back and forth from one end to the other, and finally found it! Lol
The landmark is:
It's at the end of the side with this information desk.
(You can see it faintly behind the information desk)
Follow the dog and pineapple signs,
and proceed to the back of the building.
Turn right at the end of the hallway,
and I finally reached the plant quarantine office.
I entered the office and said, "I need a quarantine certificate to bring Echeveria to Japan," but they didn't understand what Echeveria was lol. I used a translation app and even opened the succulent packaging to show them, and somehow managed to convey my message.
I filled out the application form while looking at an example.
Oh... I didn't count the exact number.
I counted them multiple times in the office and wrote down the exact number.
(As I mentioned above, it's recommended to write a slightly higher number than the exact quantity!)
After submitting the application, I waited a few minutes in the office and successfully received the quarantine certificate!
This is the phytosanitary certificate.
It took about 30 minutes from arriving at the airport until this point.
(There was no one else waiting for a quarantine certificate besides me at the plant quarantine office.)
Since I successfully got the succulents ready to bring back to Japan,
I'll continue my whirlwind trip for another half day until my departure from Korea!
I deposited all my large luggage, including the succulents, at the baggage storage near the plant quarantine office,
and headed to the subway station feeling light.
The succulent shop I was aiming for was just one stop away from Gimpo Airport Station on subway line 9.
It's about a 10-minute walk from the airport to the subway station entrance, but just before that is Lotte Mall Gimpo Airport.
Straight ahead is the subway entrance. To the left is the Lotte Mall entrance.
Since it was around lunchtime, I stopped by for lunch and a quick look around the mall!
How lovely~
I strolled through the spacious shopping mall, casually glancing at stylish general stores and shops that also exist in Japan.
There are also coin lockers, so it's a good place to stop by before returning to Japan!
There was also a huge supermarket that made me think, "Is this America!?"
Souvenirs for myself to enjoy Korean flavors at home, and
Lots of instant ramen, a Korean staple!
Plenty of snacks easy to give as souvenirs.
Matcha flavor, perhaps?
When traveling abroad, supermarkets are also a tourist attraction! ♡︎
Well, it's time for lunch.
For my last Korean meal, I went to a Busan cuisine restaurant that looked delicious on the menu!
It seems to be a restaurant that stir-fries dishes in a pot.
What I ordered was this: stir-fried octopus, entrails, and shrimp.
They allowed me to choose the spice level, which was a blessing for someone like me who can't handle spicy food!
Rice, side dishes, and the main hot pot were set on the table's burner, and cooking began.
It's for one person, but the portion is generous...
The staff did all the cooking in the pot, so all I had to do was wait.
Here's the finished product!
Looks delicious~
It seems you eat the stir-fried contents of the pot over rice.
Topped with bean sprouts and seaweed.
I love both entrails and octopus, so it was really delicious!!!
Well, enough detours, now it's off to the succulent shop!
I took subway line 9 to Gaehwa Station, one stop away from Gimpo Airport Station.
Gaehwa Station also had coin lockers!
After exiting from exit 2 of the clean station,
With a bus rotary and a large parking lot on my left,
I continued straight.
After passing the rotary in front of the station, it suddenly became a farm road lol
Continue straight here.
Please be careful as there is no sidewalk.
I was anxious about what lay ahead, but then I saw a sign.
I can't read it...
But! I opened the Google Translate app and pointed my phone at it...
I can read it!
So convenient~
However, I can't read vertical text.
When I took a picture with the Korean app Papago,
Ta-da!
Vertical text was also translated.
And it's much clearer!
I tried out apps like that, and headed to Myungwon Da-yook, which was also written on the sign.
As I continued straight down the farm road, I saw it on my left.
This is the entrance to Myungwon Da-yook.
This is a collective farm with many vinyl greenhouses.
Myungwon Da-yook was in one corner of it.
This Myungwon Da-yook store occupied eight vinyl greenhouses. Half of it was a "keeping place," a rental space for individual collectors to store their plants (off-limits to visitors) rather than plants for sale. The other half was a space for plants for sale and the store's collection plants (not for purchase).
A photo from the entrance.
The store owners, a man and a woman in their 50s-70s, didn't speak English...
I asked if I could take pictures, but they said "no" (although they might not have fully understood me! lol).
But I couldn't read the Korean names of the seedlings, so I asked if I could at least use a translation app.
I desperately tried to read the names of the seedlings using the translation app I had tried earlier while walking around the greenhouse again and again and again...
Again and again...lol
They sold various types of succulents, including Echeveria, as well as cacti and agaves.
While there were more common varieties than rare Echeveria, I felt that magnificent seedlings could be obtained for a slightly cheaper price than in Japan!
I purchased some seedlings and asked them to remove the soil because I was taking them back to Japan. They kindly and carefully removed the soil and packed them securely.
I ended up buying more even though I had already received the phytosanitary certificate lol.
(At that time, I didn't know that if the number of seedlings written on the certificate was even slightly over, all of them would be confiscated at the plant quarantine office upon entry to Japan.)
Myungwon Da-yook
Address: 530-3 Gaehwa-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul
Nearest Station: Gaehwa Station, Line 9
As I was strolling around the neighborhood and peering into other greenhouses,
The shop at the entrance of the collective greenhouses was preparing for its June opening.
They noticed me peeking in, kindly called out to me, and let me see inside the greenhouse!
This shop mainly dealt with caudex plants and South African plants.
The owner's wife was about my age and had taught in Canada, so her English was perfect!!
She showed me plants and shared some stories.
She said that caudex plants and African plants have been popular in Korea recently.
Grateful for the wonderful encounter, I continued to explore the surrounding farms a bit more.
I found another succulent shop in the adjacent complex of greenhouses!
Surprisingly, the owner of this shop could speak Japanese! Lol
After chatting a lot while looking at succulents...
Oh no! I'm out of time!
I told the shop owner that my flight was approaching, and
hurriedly headed back to the station to return to Gimpo Airport!
By the way, I also saw succulents in the greenhouse next door!
However, I didn't have time to look, so I just took a distant photo ^^;
Phew.
Somehow, I made it back to the airport just in time for my flight,
and decided to get a new quarantine certificate just in case.
(I hadn't considered the number on the document to be that important lol)
As I was heading to the quarantine office,
I passed the kind lady in the hallway who had helped me explain the Echeveria earlier and issued the certificate.
When I told her, "I ended up buying more,"
she gave a wry smile, went back to her office, and issued a new certificate for me.
Thank you!
After retrieving my large luggage with the Korean pots and my hand luggage with the succulents from the storage, I finally departed Korea!
The departure procedure was sooo easy lol
Bidding farewell to Seoul in the evening,
Hello, evening Tokyo!
Well, my succulent journey isn't over yet.
Not until I clear quarantine!
Being nervous about my first quarantine, after clearing immigration and before picking up my checked baggage, I headed to the plant quarantine office!
At Haneda Airport, the quarantine office is on the same floor as the baggage claim carousels for checked luggage. There are people all over the floor with quarantine notices, so if you ask, they'll tell you right away.
Thank goodness for my native language~
Naturally, I didn't have time to take pictures, so this is a distant shot of the plant quarantine office.
Well, as I wrote above, a strict (but the quarantine officers were kind!) and thorough inspection was conducted here.
I brought in 66 succulents, and 20 were randomly selected. I unwrapped each one from its kitchen paper and showed the seedling.
My heart pounded every time a speck of brown powder fell off lol
I finally got the OK, and after hearing the precautions for next time, I successfully passed quarantine!
It took about 20 minutes.
Finally, I received my checked luggage containing the Korean pots, which was almost declared lost, from the airport staff who were probably looking for its owner, completed customs procedures, and with that, my succulent-hunting trip to Korea concluded.
Thank you for reading my long travelogue to the end!!
My next trip to Korea will be in the fall!
I look forward to it again^ ^
Please find the Korean succulent-hunting trip series below.
- Korean Succulent-Hunting Trip - Day 1
- Korean Succulent-Hunting Trip - Day 2 (Morning)
- Korean Succulent-Hunting Trip - Day 2 (Afternoon)
- Korean Succulent-Hunting Trip - Day 3
- Korean Succulent-Hunting Trip - Day 4 (Final Day) ← You are here
