Hey guys, I am in a new Country so thought I would write a new blog. Currently in Kyoto at the moment. Really nice & peaceful place even though the weather is terrible (wet & cold at mo)! Really enjoying Japan, it is so different, not even going to attempt to try & understand the culture - just enjoy!

In my final weeks in Hong Kong I went to the outlying islands (Lantau, Lamma & Cheung Chau) there which was a different scene to the concrete jungle of Hong Kong. There were lots of beaches & countryside - nice to get some fresh air!! On my third week I went to Macau which was good - a gambling city that has a Porteguese & Chinese influence. It was a great trip, unfortunatly I was wearing shorts on the trip so was not allowed in the casinos' to gamble. Never mind I am sure I would have wasted my money. Also this was during the Easter holidays in HK where they have 5 day weekend off - extremely difficult to get ferry tickets to & from Macau. I feel that I explored Kowloon & Hong Kong Island to an extreme extent & have got used to my surroundings. Probably stayed a bit too long, and advise a 5 day trip is just needed for HK but overall it was a good experience.

Arrived in Tokyo on the previous Saturday & did not have any problems in finding the hostel & settling down. Stayed in an area called Ikebukuro which has a huge train underground station. I would say this is about a km wide from West to East exit. I have got lost quite a few times just in the underground exit areas! So far I have not got lost on the trains yet! I have visited various parks/temples/shops/exhibitions while in Tokyo. My particular favourite was the Sony building which showed various gadgets which I've not seen the like of. The girls here are extremely beautiful & I get overwhelmed by their looks & how they dress - basically stunning! I came down to Kyoto yesterday via the bullet train. The bullet train was so smooth & fast it felt grand - this was a definite must for me to travel on this train. Have not seen too much of Kyoto yet due to bad weather but hopefully next few days will be good for touristy weather. I met up with an old school friend called Yuji last night, have not seen for 10 years - was really amazing to meet & catch up after so long. Will try & report again before I leave Japan to Australia. Take care.