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.

Alarm went off at 0645. Ordered American breakfast as could not face more pickles and sticky rice. Scrambled eggs and bacon and 4 cups of coffee so a v good start to the day. Taxi to Kyoto Railway Station for 0800 and caught train to Kansai Airport which is an amazing place and very futuristic looking, incredibly clean and efficient.

Bought a few more last minute presents including sweets and biscuits for the office. Flight uneventful and very long - plenty of space to spread out as the plane wasn't full. Arrived back at Heathrow pretty much on time and caught the Heathrow Express. Went from Kings Cross to Cambridge and got back to Robin's mum's house at 1900. Much needed bath, food and sleep.

Robin didn't go a bundle on the futons even though I thought they were very comfortable. We ended up piling one on top of the other with a duvet in between as well. The whole of the Ryokan was freezing cold so we put all the rather antiquated heaters on. A Japanese woman arrived to put the futons away and then breakfast arrived at 830 am prompt. The only food we recognised was a slice of orange. Everything else was indescribable, although I was thankful to see that there was no raw fish or raw egg. Robin managed to eat all of it though. We both consumed about a gallon of green tea to wash down a wide variety of unidentifiable and inedible objects like pickled cherries and seaweed. The pickled cherries made your mouth shrivel up. We went out to look at the japanese garden and stood in the sun which was much warmer than inside. We found the plumbing, heating and wiring all rather worrying. Trying to work out how to turn the lights on proved to be a bit of a mystery all round. The heated toilet seat was worthy of note as was the rather explicit diagrams on the side of the toilet indicating how it all worked!

We decided to go and find a cafe before sightseeing and were very happy to discover a Starbucks down the road - 'real' food including chocolate chip cookies and coffee! First temple stop - Yasaka Shrine where we were lucky enough to see a Japanese wedding in full swing. I also managed to coax a group of Japanese children into posing for a photo. Weather absolutely beautiful - sunny and warm. Wandered all through the Maruyama Park where there were amazing flower displays and modern sculptures. All the paths were lined by lanterns ready for the start of a festival. We sat by a large pond decorated with bamboo and watched a heron and a turtle basking on a rock in the sun. Saw a second Japanese wedding but this time in westernised dress.

Walked back into the city along one of the main shopping streets which went on for miles of immaculate shops with beautiful window displays. Popped into the Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art which was beautifully presented but little to look at. There was a blossom tree growing into the open air on the fifth floor. Went for lunch at McDonalds but just a bacon and cheese meal this time with no teriyaki. More endless shops from there but this time in long arcades forever with thousands of people everywhere enjoying the sun on a Saturday afternoon. Sat in another branch of Starbucks to top up energy levels. Third cup of decaff in a week - now so used to the routine that it didn't matter when the girl at the counter explained it all in Japanese. I knew she was saying that my coffee would take five minutes and that she would come and find me!

We walked back to the hotel stopping off at a shop to buy some emergency provisions just in case the evening meal proved to be challenging. Once back at the Ryokan, we decided to sample the Japanese wooden bath which was only around four feet by two feet. Dinner proved to be a pleasant surprise as we had beef sukiyaki cooked at our table in our room by the Japanese owners in traditional dress. It was very nice food, even the tofu was OK. We passed on the pickles and soup though.

After dinner we ventured out to try and find the lantern festival taking place in the old town. Unfortunately to no avail - we think we were probably too late. We did see a proper geisha whilst walking through the streets of Kyoto. Also met a very friendly Japanese family, who insisted on taking our photo; I think his hands were as cold as mine judging by the camera shake.

Early start in order to check out of hotel and get cab to Tokyo Station in plenty of time to catch bullet train. Lucky we had lots of time so that Robin could go to the bullet train shop and buy bullet train souvenirs for the team and Em. Station was amazing - immaculately clean with an army of Japanese women in pink uniforms lined up to get the next train ready. The bullet trains look more like aeroplanes than trains - very hi-tech. The platforms are divided into carriage areas so that you can locate where to stand really easily.

The trip to Osaka is three hours. First stop was still within Tokyo called Shinagawa. Next stop was Atami which followed views of mountains, industrial buildings and houses. Fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean from the train. We loved the tunes that the train made when approaching each stop - talking trains! Third stop - Shizuoka although we could not see Mt Fuji when we went past it because of low cloud. Fourth stop - Hamamatsu and then Nagoya where the station was dwarfed by the biggest Marriott hotel imaginable. Endless mile upon mile of factories and motorways and it is impossible to tell where one place stops and the next starts. Very dull and cloudy in the west so not much to look at. Saw some other UK Bowie fans on the train. Penultimate stop was Kyoto. The train announcement said we would be making a brief stop here. Difficult to tell where all the temples were from the brief encounter with the station but no doubt we will find out tomorrow.

Osaka - totally different to Tokyo. A big industrial and commercial city and none of the class of Tokyo. Hotel room overlooks McDonalds so went there for lunch and had a teriyaki burger, fries and grape fizzy pop. Don't recommend a teriyaki burger. Went for a walk around and found huge electronics dept store with one floor just for cameras but unfortunately not long enough there to spend any money. Joined the e-cafe so Robin could check his email. Got tube back and there is a station right underneath the hotel.

Went to Osakajokoen station and walked up through the park to the venue which is next to the 16th century castle. Met JunJun and picked up the tickets again successsfully. Very plush venue and we had first row seats at the left of the stage. Bowie was stunning, phenomenal and awesome and if anything even better than Tuesday in Tokyo. Great songs, great band and fabulous noisy crowd - much more rock'n'roll than Tokyo and lots of leather jackets and jeans and punk haircuts. 'Bring Me The Disco King' was stunning as ever but we were just a few feet from him as he sang it off his gantry above us. Also he finally got the words completely right for 'Quicksand' which made it even better. After show ended we met up again and flocked in several taxis to the Bowie fans' party at the 'Little Wonder' cafe. Amazing place tucked away in a side street but packed out with Bowie memorabilia - posters, books, magazines, CDs and more. A lot of items were hand made by the people who run the cafe. About 20 people turned up and chatted while octopus doughballs were cooked. Another first.

Osaka Setlist

01 Rebel Rebel
02 Hang On To Yourself
03 New Killer Star
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 All The Young Dudes
07 China Girl
08 Reality
09 5:15 The Angels Have Gone
10 The Man Who Sold The World
11 Hallo Spaceboy
12 Sunday
13 Heathen (The Rays)
14 Under Pressure
15 Slip Away
16 Looking For Water
17 Quicksand
18 The Loneliest Guy
19 Be My Wife
20 Sound And Vision
21 Ashes To Ashes
22 I'm Afraid of Americans
23 "Heroes"

(Encore)
24 Bring Me The Disco King
25 A New Career In A New Town
26 Five Years
27 Suffragette City
28 Ziggy Stardust

Breakfast at Hotel Toyo and then subway to Shin-Osaka station where we caught the bullet train to Kyoto. Taxi from the massive Kyoto station complex to the ryokan through tiny backstreets with stone flag pavements, lanterns and antique shops. Couldn't check in so left our bags and walked by the river to the station and then got completely lost on the subway trying to get back to the station. There are only two lines on the Kyoto subway so this takes some doing.

Had a superb chinese lunch on the 11th floor of the department store on top of the station. Rather bizarre eating chinese food in Japan but we were anxious to eat something filling before returning to the Ryokan for a traditional Japanese dinner. Feeling a bit tired after all the late night excitement of the post concert Little Wonder party last night - think temple sightseeing might be tomorrow. Robin continues to be captivated by the fact that everything in Japan talks to you including today's latest revelation, a talking bus stop! Robin attempted to record a talking tube station on his camera.

After lunch we went to the roof garden of Kyoto Station. Amazing views over Kyoto and out to surrounding mountains, although very grey, dull and much colder than in Tokyo. Shopped in station dept store obviously owned by Japan Railways - JR Isetan. Impressive shop with abundance of shop assistants dressed in purple tartan outfits with short culottes and tartan berets. Bought souvenirs, all of which were beautifully wrapped. We then went to the second shopping centre in the station where we bought more Japanese souvenirs, again all beautifully wrapped.

Completely exhausted we headed for Starbucks to get second cup of decaff coffee in week. Small and packed Starbucks we were amazed to find ourselves sitting next to a woman called Eri from Bowienet, who we had met at the concert in Osaka the night before. Eri had been to the Bowie press conference in Tokyo and had recorded the whole interview with Bowie. She asked us to check her written transcript and listen to the recording. Eri was planning to publish the interview on Bowienet. She showed us some photos of when she had met Bowie in New York and had been on stage with him.

We then returned to the Ryokan on the tube, checked in and had our traditional japanese meal served. Our room was on the ground floor with doors opening onto the Sukiya style garden with lime trees over 150 years old. After our showers in what was described as a westernised bathroom but contained an extremely short wooden bath, we dressed in kimonos and tabi (socks) ready for our dinner which was served very promptly at 1900 by a Japanese woman in traditional dress. The food comprised of much beautifully presented but very tasteless food - we thought it was very disappointing after all the build up. The evening started to take on signs of a Brian Rix farce as the Japanese woman kept coming in and out to clear the room and put down our futons. We got a fit of the giggles and could not stop laughing. The Japanese woman seemed very concerned about not being able to find us a night light and eventually returned with one that she plugged in. Meanwhile Robin had located the other light which he pointed out to her. She seemed to find this very funny and unplugged the existing light to replace it. We heard her going off up the corridor laughing loudly to herself! Once we thought it was safe to come out we locked the door and had some much needed beer.

Lazy start to day and long breakfast and wrote postcards. Walked down to Shiba-koen station and got train to Yotsuya and then wandered backstreets.

Lovely soup and noodle lunch in very up market station food hall. Weather absolutely stunning - warmest day so far. Feels like Spring. Made after lunch purchase of perfume and aftershave as it turned out to be considerably cheaper than even duty free at Heathrow. Caught different tube line Marunouchi - to Shinjuku area of Tokyo. I pressed my nose up against the glass counters inside Tiffanys and dreamt of being Holly Golightly. Also went into Gucci but it didn't get our vote.

Next stop - the National Gardens. Gardens were lovely and magnolia blossoms starting to show. Met some talking gates, a taking drinks machine and, finally, an entire talking park which played 'Auld Lang Syne' as we left. Should have brought a tape recorder instead of a camera ...

Ponds had carp, heron and possibly a cormorant. Walked back to subway and went to Tokyo International Forum which was typically space age. Finally found a Starbucks so could get some decaffinated coffee at last, although the man serving advised it would take three or four minutes - he then forgot to bring it! Headed back to the tube via Tokyo's financial district and past the main railway station. Passed a talking bank and some talking trees. We opted for a Japanese meal in the hotel - interesting food. Very bland, lots of chewy, tasteless substances. Robin managed to eat more of the sashimi than I did - neither of us ate the thing that looked very like a garden snail! Washed it all down with large bottles of excellent Asahi beer. Packed our cases ready to leave for Osaka in the morning.

Day Three - Tuesday 9th March

Sampled cold green tea fresh from the vending machine. Not for the faint hearted and definitely reminiscent of an unmentionable substance! More sausages and bacon for breakfast at the hotel so set off very happy. Wandered through the streets of Tokyo past the World Trade Center and towards the Sumida river. Stunning views across the Sumida river to the Rainbow Bridge with the planes taking off in the distance. Beautiful cityscapes. Walked some distance around the Hama-rikyu Gardens - an official hunting ground for the Tokugawa Shogunate in the 17th century. Gardens were lovely with a few of the the trees just coming into blossom.

Took river boat trip on the Sumida - forty minutes under 12 different bridges. Fascinating buildings including weird golden flame designed by French designer Philip Starck.

Got off the boat at Asakusa and found another dept store where we managed to order some food - shrimp egg fried rice in a cafe using the tried and tested method of pointing at the plastic food in the display cabinet outside! Robin continues to be captivated by the tuneful doors on the tube trains on the blue line and is threatening to record the sound using one of his techno whizzy cameras tomorrow!

Second night at the Budokan was just as surreal as the first. Walking through the gates of what looks like a Japanese palace did not have the same feel as the NEC in Birmingham or getting off the Jubilee Line at Wembley Arena. Tonight was unbelievable. The man and his band really rocked opening with 'Rebel Rebel' followed by 'Hang Onto Yourself'. Bowie offered to come back to Japan to play the whole of 'Low'. We met JunJun again who said she cried in 'Quicksand' last night. We also met some more Bowienetters from England - easy to spot because at least a foot taller than anyone else in the crowd. When we left we were starving so we had the Japanese equivalent of hot dogs : noodles cooked with cabbage, onions and soy sauce from one of many street vendors. Catching the tube proved challenging as we failed dismally to purchase tickets for the right line and had to resort to arm waving and pointing. However we eventually managed to get back to the hotel with no major disasters.

Full Tokyo Setlist
01 Rebel Rebel
02 Hang On To Yourself
03 New Killer Star
04 Fashion
05 Cactus
06 All The Young Dudes
07 China Girl
08 Reality
09 5:15 The Angels Have Gone
10 The Man Who Sold The World
11 Hallo Spaceboy
12 Sunday
13 Heathen (The Rays)
14 Under Pressure
15 Slip Away
16 Looking For Water
17 Quicksand
18 The Loneliest Guy
19 Afraid
20 Be My Wife
21 A New Career In A New Town
22 Ashes To Ashes
23 I'm Afraid of Americans
24 "Heroes"

(Encore)
25 Bring Me The Disco King
26 Five Years
27 Fall Dog Bombs The Moon
28 Suffragette City
29 Ziggy Stardust

Big breakfast at hotel and glorious sunny day. Went to Zojoyi temple and Shiba Park and then tube to Ginza with very friendly help from locals. It was interesting watching people come into the temple and pray. Coins were thrown into a large wooden box with slats on the top and then some sort of incense powder was sprinkled on to the smouldering ashes. There were rows of tiny statues representing the souls of stillborn children each holding plastic windmills.

Robin was very successful in his attempts to order us some lunch in a cafe in the basement of a dept store. This involved arm waving and pointing at the plastic food in the window. Shortly after two bacon and egg sandwiches arrived. HMV Store was pretty impressive - we both managed to spend some money with little difficulty. Had a look around the basement food halls in the department store which were fabulous. Ladies in subway were shouting against each other to sell their chocolates and biscuits.

Dashed back to hotel for quick change before heading to the Budokan to meet JunJun and collect our tickets. Found JunJun very easily and she took us to the ticket office where we were successful in getting our tickets for both Tokyo concerts. Two very happy and relieved people. Bowie was awesome to use Robin's favourite adjective. We were six rows from the front and met some people from Bowienet who had also come over from Europe as well as two who had just been around Australia and seen all the shows there for two weeks. How do these people find the time and money ? Highlights included three tracks from 'Low' plus 'Quicksand' off 'Hunky Dory'. The man really rocked as did his band. Concert started at 7:30pm and was over by 9:30pm so we went home on the tube with all the people coming home from work. Lots of street vendors outside afterwards with little stalls selling photos and keyrings by gaslight - photos won't do it justice.

Full setlist from Tokyo

01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
03 Fame
04 Cactus
05 All The Young Dudes
06 China Girl
07 Never Get Old
08 The Loneliest Guy
09 The Man Who Sold The World
10 Hallo Spaceboy
11 Sunday
12 Heathen (The Rays)
13 Under Pressure
14 Life On Mars?
15 Looking For Water
16 Quicksand
17 Days
18 Sound And Vision
19 Be My Wife
20 A New Career In A New Town
21 Ashes To Ashes
22 I'm Afraid of Americans
23 "Heroes"

(Encore)
24 Five Years
25 Suffragette City
26 Ziggy Stardust

Train Cambridge to Liverpool St, tube to Paddington, train to Heathrow. Flew over Hamburg, Stockholm, St Petersburg and all the way across Russia and Siberia until Khabarovsk and then south over Japan. Read More...