Our first experience of Japan without the help of John and Carely, and although we occasionally stumbled when it came to eating (usually opting for something a little more Western), we quickly settled into the Japanese way of things. Admittedly, if it hadn't been for the fact that Nagasaki had been the victim of the world's 2nd nuclear bomb (a fact that Ali didn't know much to my surprise), then I wouldn't recommend coming here as there isn't a huge amount to se...

Temples temples temples temples temples.....deep breath.....temples temples temples!Nuff said!

Well, we safely made it to Fukuoka, after an 11 hour flight to Tokyo, a 7 hour train journey (and lots of pulling strange faces while we try and figure out where the hell we're going)!Thank God for our friends, John and Carley....without their guidance, we wouldn't have a clue what to eat or how to navigate the underground! (We also wouldn't have had several evenings of excessive drinking, but that's another story).Today was our first adventure into Fukuoka on o...

Again, like Nagasaki, the only reason really for coming here is because of The Bomb - there is the haunting A-Dome (the ruins of a building that was directly under the bomb when it exploded), as well as a memorial and museum about the events before and after. On a lighter note, I did enjoy Hiroshima a lot more than Nagasaki (perhaps simply because it is bigger with a bit more going on). We did get to visit a traditional Japanese castle, Carp Castle, which was g...

Oh the Mount Fuji experience!! When we arrived we couldn't even see the mountain due to the bad weather (and our plans to go up it were seriously put in jeopardy). However, the next day we were greeted with blue skies.....our hike up the mountain was back on! Now, as it was no longer officially climbing season, the number of buses that take you up to the 5th station (the highest point that you can drive to and the most common starting point for climbing) were ...