I have to say I've loved Hong Kong - it's just a shame that our visit here has been cut short because of the trains. We were hoping to come here on Saturday the 15th but it was fully booked when we went for our tickets so we had to come on the 17th. Our accommodation is classic - we are in the 'Mirador Mansions' on the 13th floor - but do not be mistaken by the name this is no mansion! Every time the door opens at a different floor you hold your breath to see wh...

Shanghai is a mixed up, crazy kind of place. It's like it's at a crossroads in its development. In Pudong (new Shanghai)you have the high rise business buildings, huge new roads, big new houses and smart new entertainment complexes then over the river in Puxi (Old Shanghai) you have a complete mixture of old and new. Shanghai is hosting Expo 2012 so it's undergoing some serious redevelopment and restoration at the moment. The Bund could be nice but as well as th...

Kobe marked the end of our visit to Japan and what an ending! On the ferry out to Japan we met a chap called Akira, marketing director for Kobe port, who asked Joe, David and I to contact him when we arrived in Kobe.So on our last night we all went out for a meal ofShabu Shabu - this is a pot of boiling water which is placed in the middle of the table into which you put raw vegetables, meat and noodles. When they are cooked you take them out with your chopsticks ...

Osaka is like a mini Tokyo - we quite liked it as it is small enough to get around and gives you a bit of the madness of Tokyo but on a smaller scale (though D did liken the nighttime Dotombori area to Blackpool). We were apparently staying in a 'bad' area in Osaka and were warned to be careful after 10pm but to be honest, other than there being a soup kitchen next door, we felt perfectly safe - this is Japan after all - how can you not feel safe!!!In fact we th...

David here, thought id better do my bit towards the blog, as Ann`s busy uploading the photos from the last few days, well we decided to get out of the madness of Tokyo on Monday and go and see the view of Mt Fuji from a place called Hakone which is out west from Tokyo and takes a good 2 hours by train. We showed up mid to late morning and read that it was the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu Parade and was packed out (Basically national Culture Day holiday with locals dres...