Lazy morning and went to the bagel shop for breakfast where the staff were pleased to see us. One of the girls in the cafe gave us a message from the girl who had served us the night before; she wanted to say hello to us which was very sweet. Took more bagels with us for lunch. Checked out of hotel and took taxi to station for the 12:00 from Kochi up to Okayama. Went back up the valley through the same amazing scenery and then north through much flatter land with rice and vegetable crops. Saw many herons looking for food in ponds and riverbeds and a buzzard making off with its lunch from a field right next to the train.
Jumped straight on a bullet train at Okayama and we were back in Osaka in 40 minutes. Last leg was another train to Kansai airport and we checked into hotel tired and hot after being cooped up in trains all day. Had uninspired Japanese version of Italian pasta in the airport and then wandered around a bit before heading back to our room. Airport at Kansai is built on a man made island and is accessed by a single bridge a couple of miles long. Hotel room we were in was facing the second terminal strip which is still being built. A single rectangle of grey stones being filled in one truckful at a time. Immense machines were shifting stones and breaking rocks throughout the night.

Bought tourist bus tickets at the hotel and caught the bus to Godaisan which is an ornamental garden on top of a hill overlooking the river estuary. Bus ride was very scary going up hairpin bends hundreds of feet above the city but worth it when we reached the top. There was a viewing platform at the top and we could see all over the city and over the mountains and out to the Pacific. So high up that we were looking down onto the buzzards that were circling over the harbour.

We got back on the next bus and carried on past the temple to Katsurahama to see the sea. We got off the bus at the edge of some woods and followed a signed path down to the beach. It was very steep and led down through some beautiful woods filled with camellia trees. When we reached the bottom we found ourselves in front of the most stunning beach with grey gravelly sand and turquoise sea stretching on forever. The sun was so warm we were able to lie on the beach and also paddle in the water; it was pretty cold though. We spent about an hour or so soaking up the sun, eating a weird Japanese version of a vanilla ice cream and taking photos of the lovely views. We then walked up over the clifftops to look at the beach on the other side. There was a small shrine right on the very edge of the cliffs from which we took some more photos. We walked back down to get a drink and I had a strawberry icecream out of a vending machine - very strange, although it tasted great. Explored a few tatty gift shops and then headed back up to meet the last bus back to Kochi. Steep climb back the way the bus had come and lovely views across sea, estuary and hills. Reached Kochi feeling very hungry after sea air so enjoyed bagel and fries in a cafe. Went to the Internet cafe again and filled bag with takeaway food for hotel room picnic.

Checked out of the hotel and got the local train to Awa Iekeda where we changed for another local train down to Kochi.

This was really spectacular as the line followed the river down through the mountains. One minute we were over the river on a bridge and the next running next to the main road but all the time shuttling along several hundreds of feet above huge rocks and crystal clear water. Eventually the line came down to the valley where the land is so flat that much of it has been flooded for rice growing.
Kochi is a small town which is very relaxed and it has a tiny tramline network with some quaint 1950s style trams. Many palm trees on the main roads too. After checking at the tourist information office we got a taxi to the Hotel New Hankyu and checked in for 2 nights. Walked through the gardens to look at the castle which was very pretty and had the ground floor directly open to the gardens. A quick look round the shopping centre and a cup of coffee and a cake in the Daimaru department store and then back to the hotel to get a meal and watch the Japan vs. Bahrain match on TV.

Woke up to beautiful sunny day and had brief breakfast in hotel restaurant. There was a drunken man ordering his third beer at 9:30 am. An unusual sight not only for the time of day but also for Japan. After breakfast we set off for the cable cars to go up Mt Bizan, Robin having decided that he could conquer his fear long enough to cope with the six minute ride. The building from which we took the cable car was also home to a very nice souvenir shop and the Awa Odori dance theatre. We had a cable car to ourselves and were behind two very excited, giggling japanese girls who took our photo from their cable car in front of us. Robin did well to survive this terrifying experience and seemed to control his fear by gripping my right hand and wrist. Seems unlikely that I will ever be able to write again. He did evntually manage to open his eyes long enough to glimpse the absolutely stunning panoramic views across Tokushima and out to sea. We arrived safely at the top and were very glad that we braved the scary ride because the views were magnificent. As the sun was shining across the city we took some good photos. We walked all around the top of the mountain taking in fabulous views in all directions. It was possible to see many of the rivers coming into the city from the sea - we managed to count seven from one viewing point. We set off to walk back down to ground level and picked the first path we saw. It was extremely steep at the top and in some places there was even a rope to hold on to. Some of the path went down by what would be waterfalls. It levelled out a bit more towards the bottom and we ended up in some sort of very old cemetery where some stones had been up-endd by tree roots. After the cemetery we went into a temple which had the mot exquisite gardens complete with moss gardens, raked gravel, carp ponds and blossms . Walked back to the town centre and got a big supply of delicious cakes from a patisserie and then stopped for lunch in a student cafe. We had cheese and potato pizzas and coffee. We walked around the shopping arcades and bought som souvenirs and then walked round to the castle gardens. We checked our mails at a cafe near the station. In the evening we went to see the Awa Ododi dance display at the theatre which was very colourful and noisy but we decided against getting up on stage and joining in ourselves.

Checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the ferry port in Wakayama. Two tickets from the machine at 1800 Yen each and we got on board what seemd like a mobile sauna. It was 28 degrees inside and not a breath of air. Many people chose to lie on the floor and sleep but we sat up to look ouf of the window and watch inane game shows on TV. Set off OK but waters of the Inland Sea were a little choppy and we soon felt queasy especially in the stuffy heat. Drank some refreshing iced peach juice which helped a bit but only 2 hours at sea and arrived at Tokushima bang on time. We joined the queue outside for the bus and stood on the bus for ages to get to the city centre with 30 others who didn't bat an eye at us or our huge cases. We decided to get off where it looked busy which turned out to be one stop around the corner from the station anyway. Main lessons about riding the bus in Japan - get on at the back and leave at the front and pay when you get offand not when you get on. Also remember that a non-step bus is different from a non-stop bus.

We walked into the huge Hotel Clement on top of the station and took a double room on the 16th floor with view over the city and Mt Bizan.

Went to the Sogo department store after a brief stop for a sandwich and a burger. Stocked up on Miss Kitty trinkets for Emily and Snoopy cookis for Sarah. Too worn out by ferry journey to do anything else except go for cheap and disgusting Chinese meal in station shopping centre.

Packed up at the New Otani hotel, settled bills and emptied deposit box. Took a taxi to Shin-Osaka station to catch a local train to Wakayama which only took an hour. Ate a delicious bento box en route and saw some countryside at last with many houses growing an orange tree in their garden.

No sign of a tourist office at Wakayama but were spotted by a resident American who pointed us in the direction of the station hotel called Hotel Granvia. It seemed ok, if a little drab, so we checked in. Our room was smaller than in Osaka but cosy and with typically complicated shower/bath and electronic bidet.

As the castle seemed to be Wakayama's main attraction we set off there. On the way we met an Irish girl working here as a teacher who showed us the way to a cheap internet cafe in a shopping arcade so we checked mail, bank accounts, football scores and weather forecast - all for 100 Yen.

Wakayama seemed like a ghost town after Osaka; hardly anyone on the streets and the railway station and streets played calming music just to make sure nobody got too excited.

The castle had some small gardens and had been completely rebuilt so no need for slippers this time. The view from the top was worth the walk and we could see to the sea and looked down on herons and eagles flying around.

Back to the hotel for a soak in the bath and then off for dinner. Vast array of restaurants in shopping centre adjoining the hotel. We spotted one that had plastic okonimayake and gyoza on display so we opted for that one. It turned out to be the best meal so far and was served by a very cheery girl who did her best to speak in English. The gyoza were so good we ordered a third portion to share between us. We washed our meal down with an Asahi beer and then went back to our room to write postcards and get some sleep.

Lazy morning and went for a swim before breakfast. There was a sort of Japanese car boot sale in the park where you could buy designer childrens clothes very cheaply. It was a great example of japanese organisation as each person had their blue tarpaulin laid out in a square marked on the ground with white string. Those people selling had gone to a great deal of trouble to make their goods look attractive, laying them out nicely, hanging them on rails and presenting them in clear plastic wrapping.

Off to do some more shopping in department stores and sandwiches in a very English type cafe with japanese girls waiting at table dressed in black dresses with white lace collars. We found ourselves eating ham and egg sarnies complete with mayonnaise and tomato ketchup and watching japanese women consume green tea ice cream sodas and green tea flavoured cake. After lunch we caught the tube south of the city centre to Nagai to the Nagai Stadium to see the local team, Cerezo Osaka play Shimizu S-Pulse in the Nabisco Cup. Shimizu won 2-0 and were the better team by far. Although a huge stadium only 6,000 people turned out which did not make for the sort of atmosphere found at a British footy match and all very civilised apart from the two very noisy groups at each end. Osaka made plenty of noise but Shimizu were the winners again since their fans had the best drummers and the best songs. The fans were incredibly co-ordinated and there were people whose main job seemed to be to lead the singing. Cerezo's fans became very tedious as they sang the same song repeatedly for the whole of the second half. It was a colourful match to look at as the strips were pink and blue and silver grey and orange respectively.

Returned to Namba after the match to check some details at the tourist office and get some money from the bank. We were pleasantly surprised when on our third attempt we finally managed to extract some cash from the international ATM. Got supplies of fresh salad and cakes from the department store for evning meal. The food hall was heaving as everyone was fighting for knockdown food for their weekend food. It felt like being in the middle of a Saturday market so great was the noise from everyone. It was starting to feel very claustrophobic so we headed back to the hotel once we managed to find our way into one of the 25 entrances to Namba station.

Really cold but sunny and we were up early to battle through the Osaka rush hour to get the bullet train to Nagoya. An hour later at Nagoya we got the local train for 50 minutes to the end of the line and finally the local tube thing to the Expo site. It was incredibly cold and very windy so probably only 1 or 2 degrees. The Expo site is huge and would take days to explore fully.

We visited some of the pavillions - India, Mexico, central America - and had some chicken and chips to warm up but everywhere in the open air was just too cold to wait in line for. The queue to see the woolly mammoth was 2 hours long at 4pm but we did see some small robots. We decided to call it a day and headed back to Osaka by various trains and went to find food near to Namba. Three helpings of okinomayaki washed down with cold beer did the trick and we also went for a walk around Dotombori again to watch the young and trendy people go past.

Tube to JR Namba to go to Nara but got off at Namba instead so had to get Kintetsu line to a different station in Nara. Nice scenic journey up through the hills and a Starbucks at the station to relax with.

Lovely warm sunny day after the previous two days and very pretty open park spaces to walk around. All the park area is occupied by the local deer who are extremely tame and quite happy to come and eat out of your hand especially if your hand is full of deer crackers which are on sale for 150 yen a packet. Favourite deer tactic is to wait near to a deer cracker vendor and then jump on the person who opens the first packet of crackers.

Walked back down to the town centre and had a truly disgusting chicken sandwich before stopping at a 100 Yen shop for some gifts and finally to JR station for slow train to Kyoto and get out of the freezing rain.

Jumped on a bullet train in Kyoto and back in Osaka in 20 minutes so in time to find excellent model shop where he gave us 30% off since he was so pleased to see a customer. Had a Macdonalds in the station and then took the subway to Umeda where we went to internet cafe to check email and weather forecasts. Very cold night and did laundry order back at the hotel.

Had breakfast at a reasonable hour and set off by tube to Shin-Osaka station to catch a bullet train to Himeji. The bullet train lived up to expectations and we enjoyed the luxury of first class. It was more like travelling by plane than train. It was very quiet and I slept all the way. Robin listened to his iPod.

Really wet and miserable in Himeji but we were determined to see the castle so climbed up through the rain through all the winding passages an gates that got smaller in turn to make it ever harder to get through. Once inside the main building we had to take our shoes off and xhuffle onwards in slippers carrying our shoes in a carrier bag. Freezing cold inside too so quite an ordeal.

Once back on ground level we headed for the nearest cafe and a welcome bowl of steaming noodles with beef, deep-fried tofu and shredded kelp washed down with green tea. Decided not to do any more sight-seeing and got back on a bullet train to go to Kyoto for a coffee. Enjoyed nice restful hour on bullet train once the ticket inspector was happy that we were sat in the correct seats; amusing really given that the whole carriage was virtually empty.

Arrived in Kyoto and set off to find Starbucks to get a warming cup of coffee. Managed to get fairly lost in the shopping malls but eventually rediscovered Starbucks after about 50 minutes of wandering around which just goes to show how big the station's shopping area is. We then visited JR Isetan department store. Thrilled to find Snoopy in the toy department. Then bought sushi in the food hall down in the basement to take back to the hotel for our supper. Very impressed to find that the cashier equipped us with chopsticks too. Caught the bullet train and were back in Osaka in 20 minutes. Sushi was excellent, although white fish inedible.

Wet day so lazed around the hotel and checked our emails. Went to the aquarium and saw spectacular fish from all over the world including porpoises, a whale shark and huge Japanese crabs. We were also entertained by otters, dolphins and penguins, all of which were well practised at playing to the crowds. The aquarium was very well designed and we went deeper under water as we walked round. After the aquarium we had some lunch in an italian cafe and then went to watch a 3d film at the Imax cinema. The 3d effect made me rather queasy.

Went to look around Den Den Town which is the electronics district and saw millions of tiny devices on sale in a bizarre jungle of overcrowded shops. Some had as many as six floors of electronics on show all piled on top of each other haphazardly. Found some interesting Bowie bootleg CDs in a tiny shop but little else.

Very wet night so stayed in hotel and eat Chinese food and watched TV and wrote our postcards.

Started the day with a swim again and big breakfast then walked up to the castle through the grounds. Lovely sunny day and a public holiday so very busy. We climbed all the way to the top to see the view from the top over the city. We came back down to get a river boat up to Osaka Amenity Park and saw the main city areas from sea level. The river boat had a collapsible roof to fit under the low bridges.

OAP was very eerie place and almost deserted with some extremely upmarket shops and a basement section of incomprehensible Japanese restaurants but we found an excellent local cafe for a lunch of dumplings and noodles and cold oolong tea. Didn't take to the oolong tea much; must be an acquired taste.

Next stop was the Apple store at Shinsaibashi but no free internet access at this one. We went to the Daimaru department store instead and had cakes and a disgustingly strong green tea. We got some presents for people and looked at designer clothes from Paul Smith, Chanel etc.

Walked for miles through endless covered arcades of trendy shops which were thronged with bizarrely dressed Japanese teenagers with their Louis Vuitton handbags and high heels. We came out at Dotonbori where the river emerges in a pool of neon lights.

Found a Starbucks and sat there in the window people-watching to recover.

Up early to go for a swim in the hotel pool. We had to cover up our tattoos with elastoplast so we will need plenty of that by the end of the week. Pool was very nice and quiet. We also spent a short while in the jacuzzi which was about 40 degrees.

Went for a walk around the castle gardens to see the plum trees in early blossom. Not fully blooming yet for another week but very pretty nevertheless and enough to have all the locals out for their picnics under the trees. Lots of japanese admiring the blossom too and practising their photography.

Late leaving the hotel to go and meet Jun Jun and got lost finding the local tube station whih turned out to be just 5 minutes walk away and got more lost finding Junjun's hotel so we were an hour late and she thought we were coming the following day so had gone wihout us. Hotel staff were very helpful and gave a written map to the taxi driver and he got lost too but we eventually arrived at the Little Wonder cafe to meet friends who welcomed us like long-lost family. Green tea and homemade cakes were served and we talked about football and Bowie. We handed over gifts of Bowie CDs and DVDs and other memorabilia and were given some more cake to take away. I had to show my tattoo and some people even took photo of it !

We got a lift back to the city centre and went to Tower Records to get football tickets and CDs. Went into huge underground shopping city to in a cafe to get onomikayake - a speciality of Osaka. We eventually found somewhere and had a delicious meal of a sort of pancake fried with bacon, cabbage, leeks, prawns and noodles. On the way out Sarah managed to trigger the emergency alarm in the Japanese-style toilet by pressing the wrong button; she thought it was the flush! Spent some time wandering around in a ginormous underground shopping centre full of clothes and cosmetic shops as well as many different types of eatery. We were quite relieved to come up for air after a while.

Up at 5am to get a lift to the airport. flight to Frankfurt was late leaving and arriving so no time all to hang around at Frankfurt airport. 10 hour flight to Osaka was uneventful but on a much more cramped plane than last year. route from Germany took us over Warsaw, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Ulan Bator, Beijing and south Korea.

landed at kansai on a lovely sunny morning and nice to get some fresh air after 15 hours in airports and on planes. Checked in for rail passes at the station and then caught train to Osaka and taxi to hotel. Slept all afternoon to get some rest. Hotel is very smart and we have a big room on the 13th floor overlooking the castle and park. Bit unlucky to be on the 13th floor but as the japanese think 4 is the unlucky number guess we shouldn't worry about it. The hotel has something like 15 places to eat in it so we are not going to go hungry whilst we are here. Like many places in Japan, the hotel is overrun with little uniformed men and women scuttling around being super helpful so no danger of suffering poor service here.

Ate some noodles at one of the hotel restaurants and picked up some useful tips on how loudly to slurp. Bravely embarked on a large bowl of soba noodles with some cooked rare duck and spring onions, all floating in something resembling brown hot water. It was heavy going but reasonably edible. Robin had chicken [barely cooked] with rice and egg, the latter also barely cooked. He said he was ready for another meal when he'd finished.

We ventured out on the tube to the shopping area at Umeda. It was buzzing with young people eating out and doing their shopping plus lots of very noisy amusement arcades. We were delighted to find a Starbucks and availed ourselves of two large decaff coffees. The place was packed with young people plus we were the only westerners.