This post was written in 2008. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.

The older I get and the more time I spend on planes, the more interested I become in airports. Something new opened at Narita, some place at Haneda is supposed to be good, and so on… It’s handy to know your way around. After all, you don’t spend just an hour or two at the airport to catch a flight.
Narita, which I hadn’t used in a while, was hosting some kind of art exhibition.

Pretty artistic, right?

This is part of tourism too, so it’s good that they do it properly. It’ll leave a deep impression on foreign visitors and make them want to come back to Japan.
There were ukiyo-e prints too.

They may be traditional, but I’m not really a fan of that flashy style…
This time, for the first time in ages, I flew from Incheon to Narita on an afternoon flight. Still aching over the Pyeongyang naengmyeon I never got to eat on this trip to Korea, I decided to try the one at Byeokje Galbi. Besides, they only start serving naengmyeon at 11, so I’d never had the chance before. On business trips I always leave on a morning flight.
It’s inside the airport.

It costs 10,000 won. Cheaper than the main restaurant, but expensive in absolute terms. You have to factor in that it’s inside the airport. By the way, in the basement of Incheon Airport there’s a bunsik snack bar for staff where you can eat cheaply. If prices up here don’t suit you, drop by before you check in… Narita and Haneda don’t have anything like that, but they do have well-known restaurants. When I get the chance I should wander around and eat my way through to see which ones are good.
This is how it comes out.

Simple, right? It was a bit inconvenient that you carry it yourself.
Close-up

It’s a well-made Pyeongyang naengmyeon: the toppings are above average and the broth is nicely developed, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy my craving for naengmyeon. The nutty aroma of pure buckwheat noodles and the soft texture that wraps around your tongue just weren’t there. I probably shouldn’t have expected that… It’s a decent-sized meal, and the broth and noodles do taste good, but it didn’t satisfy me. I really should have eaten naengmyeon at a specialist place before I left.
I wanted chogyetang, but it was a real shame that Pyeongnaeok had closed. I went there several times but the timing never worked out, and I haven’t had it even once in the past few years. I hope it comes back someday.

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