Back on the train gang... Three trains with a three minute changeover at Osaka, saw us travelling to the lovely city of Okayama for two nights. Once again, Japanese efficiency saw us arrive at our destination with lots of time to spend in the afternoon sightseeing. Had a look at Korakuen Garden; one of the 'top three landscape gardens in Japan' (Lonely Planet and Japanese tourist info loves to rank things), which were indeed nice. Dean and Eleanor found an iphone and tried to hand it in at the entrance. I think they thought we were giving them one. It was a very confusing exchange. Later, Dean earned his spot on our tour de South East Asia by finding a bookshop across the road from the hotel. Despite my dislike of the Kindle, I had finished ... read more

After the relaxing time in the small town of Kinosaki, Kyoto was back to the reality of a large Japanese city where all your senses are assaulted simultaneously. Not satisfied with written and visual information, verbal instructions, music and other miscellaneous sounds often accompany the written word. Managing to get out of the train station was an achievement. The exit we took led us into a techno department store where even more signs, sounds and visuals confronted us. No wonder many Japanese like going into the outback. They must crave silence sometimes. We spent the afternoon eating (just for something different) and wandering the Gion and Shizo areas. I think Japan is really one large shopping centre linked by subways. Hello Kitty pops up everywhere and I am amazed by the variety of situations this young ... read more

Arrived in the afternoon and, thankfully, it was a short and flat walk to the hotel. Another Japanese style room, complete with everything you didn't know you needed. Hungry, we had a bite to eat in a very ordinary noodle place. Ten items on the menu but all basically variations of the same dish; soba noodles with cabbage. A walk around town revealed Takayama's charms just as tourist brochures promised; a well-preserved historic town. Because we had eaten a late lunch, our dinner options were somewhat limited at 8pm (forgot we were out in the sticks!). We found a Japanese style brasserie where Dean cooked his meal on a leaf over a flame, while Eleanor ate her pork cutlets (crumbed kebabs) in record time. Ear update: the morning's eruption had considerably reduced the discomfort. No need ... read more

Day 1: Landing at Narita, Eleanor was very excited about seeing her dad. We had seen on le news the previous night that Tokyo was going to be hit by a typhoon (well, my rudimentary French picked that up, although Tokyo could have been about to be bought by a tycoon as the predictive text on the tablet seems to think). I hoped our flights wouldn't be delayed but all was well - I think the tycoon purchased some, but not all of Tokyo! We caught an express bus to Shinjuku because I wasn't ready to take on the railways yet and that was easy. Dean was in the hotel foyer doing something unusual for a change - reading a newspaper! Surprised to see us, it was a happy family reunion. He didn't have quite the ... read more

Day 1: Landed at Heathrow after a very long flight of 14 hours (Eleanor was in a slight state of shock, but lollies at Abu Dhabi airport got her through the next seven hours to London). She lost a tooth in her roll on the plane - slightly gross, but we worked through the minor crisis. Christy was there to meet us and we had a great trip on the tube to her house. Lucky we're travelling light! Day 2: After a great night's sleep, we woke to see Fantastic Mr Fox in the backyard while eating breakfast. Nice to know he's alive and well and living in London. We then put on our tourist hats and went sightseeing. Arriving at the London Eye before the crowds meant we didn't have to queue for very long. ... read more