Lunch Break by Seoul Bike: A Jamba Juice Açaí Bowl on a Riverside Deck by the Han

Tuesday lunch. I was not at my desk; I was on a bench in front of the Han River.

I picked up an açaí bowl at the Jamba Juice in Yongsan Station's I'Park Mall, then rode along the river toward Oksu Station. Eat on a bench, ride back. That was the plan, and that was lunch.

When it comes to bikes, it has to be a Ttareungyi.

A wall of apartments across the water

The river opens up in front of the bench. The water is calm, and on the far bank high-rise apartments stand shoulder to shoulder like a wall. The sky is grey cloud from end to end.

My bench: the riverbank next to Gangbyeon-buk-ro (the north-bank expressway) in Bogwang-dong, Yongsan-gu, between Banpo Bridge and Hannam Bridge, on the north-bank stretch heading toward Oksu.

What came out of the Jamba bag

Out of the bag came one clear cup with a lid, full of purple açaí, with some smeared on the inside of the lid. Mango and granola show just underneath. Behind it, blurred: the railing, the river and the buildings across the water.

Lid off, the toppings sit piled to one side of the purple açaí: granola, a yellow cube of mango, coconut chips, chia seeds and a single blueberry. Under the chia seeds are slices that look like banana. The spoon is white plastic.

The white paper bag under the cup says Jamba in orange script.

The bike, by the railing

I sat on a riverside deck with a red floor. There is a wooden bench, and beyond the metal railing, willows lean out toward the water. The Ttareungyi (따릉이) is parked tight against the railing: green wheel rims, the plate on the front of the basket.

Turn toward the railing and the river shows between the willow branches, a bridge crossing it far off. Below the deck is a slope of rocks and brush.

Look up: clouds, edge to edge

With the açaí bowl nearly at the bottom, I looked up. Small puffs of cloud were packed across the whole sky, white light leaking through the gaps: what people call a mackerel sky. Along the very bottom, the apartments across the river stood in silhouette.

The bottom of the cup

I held the cup up to the sky. The side reads hello sunshine, the inside is streaked with purple, and a little açaí is left at the bottom.

I set the nearly empty cup and the spoon down on the bag. Just past 12:30. Back on the Ttareungyi, and back I went.

The lunch route

• 📅 Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026, about fifteen minutes on the riverbank from around 12:20
• 🥣 Lunch: one açaí bowl from Jamba Juice at Yongsan Station I'Park Mall
• 🚲 Getting there: Ttareungyi from Yongsan Station along the river toward Oksu, and back
• 📍 Bench: riverside deck next to Gangbyeon-buk-ro, Bogwang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (north bank between Banpo Bridge and Hannam Bridge)
• ☁️ Weather: overcast, the whole sky covered in small clouds
• 🗺️ Map: Open in Google Maps

Jayden's verdict

An açaí bowl, a riverside bench, and back. When it comes to bikes, it has to be a Ttareungyi!

• Highlight: an açaí bowl on a willow-lined riverside deck, under a mackerel sky
• Route: Jamba Juice at Yongsan I'Park Mall → Ttareungyi → riverside bench toward Oksu → back again
• Tip: take it to go from Yongsan I'Park Mall and hop on a Ttareungyi, and you can eat on the riverbank and be back within your lunch break.
• Next: that week I went to the river at lunch on Wednesday and Thursday too.