And so we reach the end of our trip to Japan. We've finished off our last couple of days in Tokyo before flying out of Narita on the 21st March to Shanghai. Monday morning we set out for the local fishmarket. The place is filled with hundreds of different types of fish, freshly caught and the smell in the air won't let you forget that. We tip toed around the different stalls avoiding puddles of ice and fish juice and trying to figure out what we were looking at....

After the disappointment of not seeing one of the main things we came here to see (Mt Fuji), we have been keeping a close eye on the weather over the Lakes area ready to zip back asap. The "opportune moment" came after leaving Osaka, the forecast was clear skies and sun, and even though it meant a good 5 hours of travel and spending more money we decided to take the chance. It well and truely paid off!!! We got back to Lake Kawaguchiko and the same host...

A few days before arriving in Osaka we had been told that a sumo tournament would be taking place during our visit, and so was top of our list of things to see. We arrived at our hostel at around midday and were welcomed by snow....again!!! After checking in we headed out to find the sumo gymnasium and hopefully get some tickets. Osaka however, was bigger than it appeared on the map and by the time we got there all the tickets had gone. After wandering through t...

Our first day in Hiroshima was bright and sunny. Finally felt like it was spring, with the first signs of cherry blossom appearing.....something not to be missed by our camera! The little island just off Hiroshima is called miyajima and was recommended as a must do day trip. The journey there was free courtesy of our JR passes and the approach to the island, via ferry, was pleasant in the sun. We got off the ferry to more wild deer and the smell of freshly cook...

So we made it out of the snow and down into the rain!! We took 1 very capable bus through the snow and then a second one to Mishima where we activated our railpasses. And railpasses mean bullet trains!!!! We took the bullet train to Kyoto....great way to travel. Kyoto has a lot of shrines and temples so we visited a few before heading out further afield to see something different. Our favourite temple was the golden pavillion (Rokuon-ji Temple), which looked am...