We left Tokyo on the Shinkansen with our destination being Hiroshima via Kobe. The journey straight to Hiroshima was only around four hours so we wanted to stop off at Kobe for some food and jump back on the next train and make it to Hiroshima by early evening. As usual the train was exceptionally good and we made it to Kobe for something to eat (Kobe Steak) and then get back on board and head towards Hiroshima. We got there around 6pm and took a taxi to the centre of town as the station is situated in the outskirts of the city. We had not arranged a hotel and found it extremely difficult to get one but on the tenth attempt we found a hotel next to the river. I would strongly recommend booking ahead ... read more

We left Yamanaka and took a old train towards Gotenba to catch the Shinkansen to Tokyo. It was a lovely train journey passing by all these lovely houses up in the hills that had vegetable patches in the front garden. The train journey took just under a couple of hours and then we took the Shinkansen to Tokyo which took just over an hour. We both had chosen to go to the neighborhood of Akihabara that is situated in the Northern area of Tokyo. It is known as the electric district of Tokyo for all the electrical stores that are based there and also for the sleeping capsule hotels there. We went and reserved a capsule each for two nights for around £40 each a night. The capsules themselves are very spacey with a T.V and ... read more

We left London Heathrow in the morning and landed at Charles De Gaul in Paris to get our connecting flight. We decided to fly with Air France and it was a enjoyable flight with a good media database with a screen to yourself also the food was good for airplane food. The flight time was just under 16 hours long which went quite quickly, and some exceptional sights just before landing of the surrounding countryside. After going through immigration at Osaka, which was very brief and easy with the officers being polite and friendly (unlike U.S immigration officers) we went and collected our luggage and rail tickets. The first thing that grabbed my attention was how clean the airport was and with such a clam atmosphere seeming it is a busy airport. We got our ticket ... read more