Well It's time for our last blog in Japan which makes me very sad- we have truly loved it here.

On Monday we had one final destination before we left the Kansai region and that was Kobe for lunch...it sounds strange but their beef is world famous! Lots of people (including us before we left) think that the super tender beef is called Wagyu but actually Kobe is the one that is the super special tender one- the rumours about it are everywhere but some people say that the cows are massaged, played relaxing music and given sake or beer to drink which produces a unique marbling. Whatever happens to them they produce a mighty fine steak- even for someone who has been pescatarian for ages like me! We enjoyed it in Teppanyaki form- cooked right in front of us on a hot plate. The restaurant itself was a real find. We just asked this guy on the street "Kobe teppanyaki?" he replied "ha" (the universal word for everything- yes, ok, here you go, jump etc) and ran off down this side street with us following him. We then came to a lift in the side of a building that had a funny smell. At this point I looked at Charles and said "maybe we'll come back" but the guy shook his head and gestured that we should see upstairs first. When we reached the 5th floor we were glad we followed him because we were in a place full of locals that looked amazing- some luck! After enjoying the most tender meat we will probably ever eat in our lifetime we got back on the Shinkansen to come back to Tokyo.

For some reason that night neither of us could sleep and this was not good news- because yesterday we had to get up at 4am to head to Tsukiji fish market. The market handles more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny whitebait to 300kg tuna, from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar. Overall, more than 700,000 metric tons of seafood are handled every year at the three seafood markets in Tokyo, with a total value in excess of 600 billion yen (approximately 6 billion pounds). Tsukiji alone handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood per day. The tuna auctions are the thing to see and they are only on from 5-6.30am. We managed to find our way through the huge sprawling rows and rows of stalls and not get killed by one of the super fast moving carts until we found the auction place. We managed to get in for a second before we were chucked out by the police as visitors are not allowed (after some stupid ones actually touched the fish and got in the way taking photos) but we could still see it all under the shutters. The tuna were colossal. i mean I can describe it but you really can't imagine it- massive beasts that take four men to lift. The sad fact is that it is bluefin which is actually an endangered species- not that you would think that by looking at the amount on offer- the were lined up row after row. All of the men in the auction had baseball caps with their number stuck on the front and a huge crowd of them moved with the auctioneer from fish to fish. When one was sold the shutters were opened and they would come out with it on a cart.

We followed the cart to the middlemen's stalls and watched in amazment as they cut it up from huge corpse to chunks of steak- it took a few men to lift each piece as it was quartered and the tools that they used were about 2 metres long. We then continued walking through the market soaking up the sights and sounds- the biggest scallops we'd ever seen, fresh red octopus, tonnes of prawns and then went ot the roof of the next door carpark to get a view of the entire sight. It was still pitch dark when we got up there and it afforded us a beautiful view of the city as well as all of the activity below us. Eventually we tired of looking at the fish and fancied actually eating some so decided to try a very famous sushi place even if that does sound weird at half six in the morning! We made our way to Sushi-Dai which had been recommended as the best- it is a tiny little shop with just 12 stools in it and the queue was around the corner- however we knew it was the best stuff we were ever likely to eat so joined the back of it. 1hour 50mins later my toes were like blocks of ice and I'd spent the last 20 minutes with my nose pressed to the window and the sushi chefs inside laughing at me when 2 people finally left and it was our turn- hooray!

We were welcomed with lots of shouts of Yasshaimasae and went in and chose the small set menu- 7 pieces plus a roll and miso soup. We had no idea what we would get and the chef made it in front of us piece by piece and put it straight onto the table in front of us with a huge smile. I cannot describe to you how good it was- the fish melted in your mouth and every single one gave us a massive smile. We had two types of tuna Tuna- magurozuke,which is marinated tuna and o-toro (fattiest of the fatty tuna) (the only time in my life I will ever eat bluefin I promise) aji (mackerel,) Tai (red snapper,) suzuki (sea bass) Ebi- prawn and the last one was anago (sea eel, steamed…I think) the texture it's so soft that it just disintegrates- even for two of us a bit squeamish about eel! The light and fluffiness is incredible. . was out of this world- people say that everyone who loves sushi should make a pilgramage here in their lifetime and I am inclined to agree- it was an amazing experience and one I am going to crave every time I want sushi in the future. I think even if you didn't like sushi this could convert you.

From one extremely exciting experienc to another we then headed to Ryoguku for the..............SUMO!!!!!!! We are really lucky because it is only on twice a year for 15 days so we timed it just right for our visit! As soon as we got out of the station there were wrestlers everywhere in their kimono with their topknots and platform wooden flip flops. We walked to the station and bought the cheapest unreserved seat tickets at 2,000Yen (about 15quid) When we got in the stadium we realised that we could actually sit anywhere as it was practically empty early in the day so we sat in the front row tatami mats for a couple of hours enjoying the action up close! In the end we spent the whole day there and never actually went to our section right at the back of the balcony as noone checked at all- as long as someone hadn't paid for the seats you were in it was fine!

The amazing thing about sumo is how quick it is- in fact they spend 10 times the length of the actual fight staring each other out at the beginning- even looking like they are going to start a couple of times and then getting up and going back to their corner! When it does begin it is over in seconds- as soon as one foot is placed out of the ring or any body part touches the floor. It was brilliant to watch- all of the old traditions have been retained and the costumes of the judges and referees are beautiful- of course the sumo wrestlers in their funny pants look pretty hilarious too! We watched 6 hours without getting bored and left there with wll of the drums beating after the closing ceremony- extremely tired after our very long day but very very happy!

Today we got up a little later and went to the very efficient post office to send back some souvenirs- it was actually cheaper than some of the parcels we have sent from other countries which really suprised us. We then had a yummy bento box for lunch and headed for the Ginza district to see the famous Sony showroom. We had been told about it by lots of people as a place where you can play with all the latest gadgets that aren't even out there- it was a little dissapointing but probably because we were expecting too much! There were four floors of stuff though and then a 3D theatre which was pretty cool.

From there we came to Korakuen to Tokyo Dome city- a theme park in the middle of town and a shopping centre! We spent another hour or so looking at the fantastic tat shops and then rode the huge rollercoaster that is in top of the building called the Thunder Dolphin- I think it was the fastest rollercoaster I have ever been on in my life- it was amazingly quick as it shot through and over the city- quite an experience! We then whiled away the rest of the afternoon playing funny arcade games in Japanese! So now it is dinner time and we are going to go back to our favourite restaurant which we are really excited about- tomorrow China, a new chapter and we will be really sad to leave this super bright, very exciting country where the people are the friendliest we have met anywhere and will go a mile to help you, even though they don't speak a word of your language. We will miss welcoming cries every time we go anywhere and shouts of Arigato when we leave...

Sayonara Japan....