After every high must come a low and mine happened at approximately 8pm today...

We got the train to Takamatsu in Shikoku today, taking in the excellent views of the clear blue skies (pretty much the first time it's not been cloudy and muggy since we've been in Japan), the hills and the sea. It was a 2.5 hour journey and we'd primarily gone there to see Ritsurin-koen (a park that there was an amazing picture of in the Lonely Planet guide).

Our body clocks and internal calendars have totally stop functioning now so it took us a good few minutes to work out why most of the shops and restaurants seemed to be shut - it's Sunday. Fortunately we found a supermarket, bought provisions and ate lunch in the grounds of Takamatsu-jo (the castle). After that we got on a bus to the park and it was definitely worth the trip.

It's an Edo-style walking garden dating from the mid-1600s and was this huge succession of stunning ponds, bridges, tea houses and islands, surrounded by foliage in all different vivid shades of green, set against the backdrop of Shiun-Zan mountain. We spent about an hour and a half there, taking in the scenery and being typically snap happy.

After that we went back to the station and had a drink in a nearby cafe before getting the train back to Matsuyama. About 20 minutes away from arriving home I realised I'd lost my camera. Can't articulate how gutted I am. I got the train station to check the train and to ring Takamatsu station to check if anyone has handed it in. No luck. But Japanese people are ridiculously honest so I don't think it was stolen.

So I've added another 2.5 hours onto our journey tomorrow because the lads have kindly agreed to let me go back to the cafe to see if I left it there. I literally have a 30minute window between trains to leg it and see if I can get it back (assuming it was left there). So keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm not really entertaining the thought that I've lost it for good so tomorrow could either be the best day or the worst day in the world depending on Takamatsu.

Our entire day will be travelling: get the 8.11 train to Takamatsu, then the 11.09 to Okayama, back on the bullet to Osaka at 12.28 and then we've got to get to Koyasan in the mountains. We're hoping to be at our next hostel by 5pm...

Sorry about the boring blog today, am slightly deflated...

Love you and miss you all x x x