Spent the next few days dodging showers and heavy rain; such a shame, as when the sun does pop out the island looks beautiful. Making the best of it we read books, play scrabble and hit the beach whenever the weather permits. The house and the people we are staying with are lovely, and the room spacious which is such a bonus in Japan - so it sort of makes up for the rain. Catching the 10.45 flight to Tokyo we land at 13.30 to expected torrential rain (it was ra...

Waking up refreshed and ready to start the day I look across at David who looks really tired. Poor thing - jet lag had got hold of him and he'd been up half the night counting sheep. Heading out to Asakusa, the oldest part of the city. Tokyo's most venerable Buddhist temple Senso-ji stands here whose towering worship hall is filled with a continual throng of petitioners and holiday makers. Like all great historic sites there is an abundance of stalls mostly sell...

It's true what they say about space being a premium in Tokyo - our room though comfortable is tiny - there is just about enough space to move around without bumping into one another. However, you need a degree to master the toilets, they come with warm seats and a selection of water jets to keep you clean and fresh as well as a built in air freshener and a button you can press to mask the noise of you having a tinkle. Following a refreshing shower we take a ...