Buzz Lightyear, geishas and temples …

The carrot we have been dangling for Owen for the last 4 months - a trip to Disney Tokyo is upon us. Arriving to a very cold and rainy Tokyo we braced ourselves for a soggy day, but the gods smiled on Owen, and the sun shone.It goes without saying that Owen loved his day. It was a little surreal however to hear well known Disney characters speaking and singing in Japanese - ' to infinity and beyond ' in Japanese???

We left Tokyo the next morning, bento-boxes packed on one of the fast Shinkasen bullet trains for Hiroshima. The view afforded from Tokyo to Hiroshima is rather drab and left us wondering why we were here. We discovered later that whilst Hiroshima and Nagasaki had suffered the ultimate worst during the war, a huge number of other cities had been systematically flattened by 'normal' bombs in WWII, paving the way for the very modern, industrial landscape that we zoomed through.

Hiroshima is a vibrant city, maybe more so because of its history. We debated whether to take O to the museum, but in the end decided we would. Of course we whizzed past any gruesome images, but in fact the museum was remarkably kid friendly - to scale replicas of the town before and after helping explain things to O.There isn't much to say that isn't obvious when visiting a museum and memorial park of this kind - the most moving part being the children's memorial where millions and millions of tiny colourful origami paper cranes are housed in glass boxes, gifts from kids around the world. The story goes that a child suffering from Leukemia post the bomb vowed to make 10,000 cranes whilst in hospital. She sadly never reached her target so her classmates finished for her - and the crane became a symbol of peace.

Hiroshima sits in a bay in Japans 'inland sea' - a waterway flanked by 100s of islands. One of them, Mihajina is home to a shrine known as the 'floating shrine'- a happy afternoon was whiled away here -dragging J up two cable cars for the view, H being butted by a rabid deer who was desperatelychasing Owens ice-cream - and of course some stunning temples!

Next stop Himeji for its castle. Hmm - we seem to have a knack for getting to places whilst under renovation. Closed to the public, we clambered around the outside a bit, Owen enjoying the chance toplay goodies and baddies!! The first of many of Japans gorgeous gardens sat nearby so we pranced over a few dinky bridges (will they hold European weight??) and stepping stone brooks. It is here that we discovered the wonder of the Japanese food hall - always on the top floor or basement of a shopping mall, these places are a treasure trove of mouth-watering food. J and H went back for seconds of some stunning sugary, glutinous muffin!!

Really, the fun part of Japan is not so much the sights as just wandering around somewhere so utterly different to home. The mix of old and modern iseverywhere - in little glimpses - two geisha entering the tube in Kyoto,a group of ladies with mobile phones in full kimono,conductors in thoroughly modern trains bowing their way in and out of each carriage…

and a Japanese Mr Magorium with a private toy museum, housed in a classic Japanese house in the middle of nowhere who revelled in showing Owen how to play old Japanese games and then, when we had lost track of time, kindly drove us back to the station. Utter kindness.

The image from home of Japanese fashion really is true and not just in Tokyo. The dress sense here is so much more fun - that is not to say that H plans to don a ra-ra miniskirt with over the knee socks readers will be pleased to learn!! We've also been surprised at just how much kimono is worn and the sightings are always delightful.

One Japanese tradition we will be pleased to leave behind are futons! Bloody hell do our backs ache!! An inch thick hard mattress on Tanami matting just isn't man enough for two hefty Brits! The foolish thing is that we have paid handsomely for this 'japanese experience'. Stupid tourists??

Travelling always makes you wander how much you really 'see' of a country as you rarely meet locals in a true context. In Japan in particular I think we will leave feeling that we have not even scratched its very complex surface.

Kyoto has been our home for 4 days and a springboard to a few places - Nara for its temples, Asahgima for its bamboo groves. The Machiya (traditional townhouse) we are staying in is in a warren of tiny streets, all with the minutest of properties, some houses, some exquisite workshops such as a handmade fan shop. Many faceless doors with the tiniest of entries that you would kill to peep your nose into! Maybe this all just adds to Japans allure?

We plan to visit some of Kyotos temples, many of which are unesco sites, but, we have to say we are a little templed out! (heathens!) .As grand as they may be, our most enjoyable temple visit so far is to one not on the map that put on a night visit where the inner garden was lit up with thousands of tiny lights and Owen was given a classic Japanese lantern to carry 'wee-willie-winkie' style -it was quiet, artistic - and maybe a little spiritual? We then hot-footed it to a fabulous meal where we sat on bar stools in a tiny bar for 10 people and had delicious food cooked on a charcoal grill in front of us. A good night was had by all!