We have just had the most amazing trip on the ferry from shanghai to Osaka - it was a 2 day trip but it just flew by!

We met some great travelling companions on the journey over:-

Joe, from Ingleton, who has been on the road for 5 months now travelling through the middle east and;

Akira Hanaki from Kobe who is the marketing director for the Kobe port

It was a trip of firsts - it was the first time we have had Sake, the first time that I had sung Karoke (oh yes we joined in the sunday night ferry karaoke session though I did forget to switch on my microphone for the first half of the song!) and the first time we had both worn a pair of yellow japanese slippers (see the photos for the karoake/yellow slipper combo).

We are now esconced in a hostel in Osaka and can I tell you that it is allegedly the top YH in the world (though they do have an archaic 11pm lights out policy and I'm up against the clock at the moment!!).

We have both had our first Japanese bath or Onsen tonight. This is single sex and involves sitting on a stool and showering yourself down before getting into a hot mineral bath. The idea was to relax but it was so damn hot I had to get out as I had gone bright red!