As is the way with hostels, I bumped into two other backpackers and joined forces for the day. My companions were French, so I got some language practice in as well (yes, I know, I'm a geek). The Emperor's summer residence was entirely destroyed by Anglo-French troops in the 1890s, so what is there now has been reconstructed since. And they have done an excellent job. The palace complex is an enormous maze of passages and steps, pagodas, temples and "gardens" (mostly rock-filled courtyards to my European eye). The first few buildings are built up into a cliff face, so we climbed up as far as we could at the start and then went down from there. The views over Beijing were quite something. Most of the buildings were closed to the public, and those that ... read more

I thought that, coming from Japan, the culture shock might be smaller. I realised my Mandarin was woefully inept (read: non-existent) after the 4-hour flight sat next to a charming couple who made repeated attempts to communicate with me but, even with copious use of the phrasebook, didn't get far. About the only thing we agreed on was: kempei-cheers! Beijing aeroport was as most aeroports are: spacious, largely white and functional. The city itself is pure chaos, much like London - certainly the traffic is a little like London, although the traffic rules are flexibly enforced which makes for some interesting car journeys! There are thousands of bicycles here, often laden with passengers or goods - anything from building equipment to laundy, sometimes with a trailer and sometimes not. I was struck by how the chaotic ... read more

Had a great day today at the Mizusawa Junior High's sports festival. The kids were incredibly enthusiastic and you could tell that they had worked really hard in the lead up to today. There were three teams: red, yellow and blue. Each team had a poster with their team animal (fox for red, tiger for yellow and eagle for blue) and their own distinctive cheer to support the ones performing. They were judged on the cheer and the poster as well as on their sports prowess. The posters were extremely impressive - I thought they had been done professionally. And the cheers were sometimes impressive and often hillarious - and they kept at it all day long! I find the concept of a cheer to support your team - every runner, not just those who come ... read more

Today I took the train to Hiraizumi - a 20 minute ride from my base in Mizusawa and a quaint little town that (incidentally) happens to be a world heritage site. Undeterred by the rain, I sallied forth and was not disappointed. My first stop was to a Cave Temple called Takkoku-no-Iwaya Bishamon-Do (try saying that to the bus driver and getting it right!). Cave Temple is a little misleading as the main temple is in fact a free-standing raised wooden structure whose supports are built into a natural cave. The building as it stands today is a reconstruction as the original temple and the first replacement both burned down (for once, therefore, I was grateful for the rain). As I am slowly learning - most "temples" in fact consist of a temple-complex: a fenced-off area ... read more

I've eaten various different foods since arriving in LA. Most of them not what I'd think of as 'American' cuisine, but then Los Angeles is apparently not a typical city and so the food isn't really representative. Plus, there are restaurants here (eg the Cuban restaurant I went to) that would be hard to find, if they existed at all, in the UK. Today I was taken to lunch at the much-praised Korean barbecue, which lived up to the hype and was delicious. We sat at a table with a central metal panel sunken in, over a gas flame. You were served with three plates of beef - two wafer-thin cuts, one marinaded, one plain, and one plate of thicker cuts, but still small enough to fit in a mouthful - and an array of side ... read more