I’d heard the name Nami Island plenty of times, but I never thought the day would come when I’d actually go.

The ferry dock

It’s an island, so you go across by boat.

The weather was lovely.

The view as we arrived

Is this a lighthouse?

There was something a bit odd about it, so I took a photo. You can see the dock off in the distance too.

A snowman there to greet us..

I’m not sure how many people still remember Winter Sonata, but Nami Island was the drama’s setting, so the snowmen are still around.

The metasequoia lane

I’d say this path is the island’s biggest trademark.

The Winter Sonata filming location

I imagine a lot of Japanese visitors come here.

The riverside

The scenery really is lovely. Amazing that someone thought to turn a place like this into something close to a theme park.

Jangseung totem poles

They were unusual enough that I took a photo.

An exhibition

There were some pretty good works on show.

They sell churros too.

I bought some as a snack.

There are cafes as well.

I’d assumed an old place like this would be run-down, but the restaurants and cafes are very modern and spotless.

A hill with snow still on it

There are a few sculptures around too.

The bakery

The bread was quite serious as well. It feels like they’ve got pretty much everything you’d want.

Back at the dock again

It seems like a good island for a day-long loop of walking around, eating and drinking. The facilities are better than I expected and the grounds are wide enough that it’s nice for a stroll. If you’re in your twenties it’d make a good date spot. Then again, if you asked me whether it’s worth making the trip when you’re not even a Winter Sonata fan, I couldn’t really say.. Anyway, I didn’t have high expectations, but it was better than I thought..

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む