This morning we checked out of our hotel in Nagoya, but not before taking a picture of the emergency torch that every hotel room is meant to have in case of fire or earthquake. We caught the Skinkansen to Kyoto and then hailed a taxi to take us to the Kyoto Kokusai Hotel. It was right opposite Nijo-jo (the equivalent of the Tower of London) and quite a plush place. It reminded Joan of 1960's Bond films. Check- in was 1pm so we left our bags and crossed the road t...

Friday morning: made our way to Suzuka circuit which was easier than we thought as we caught the MIE train to Koba which stops at Suzuka Ino station. The race track is an easy 15 minute walk but it was extremely hot. At the circuit there was very little shade and we melt5ed slowly during 3 hours of free pracice. We walked half way round the course and saw many of its famous features. By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted and cobbled a meal toget...

Back at the Ryokan Eishinkan, we were both feeling queasy though we hadn't swapped this info with each other. It was nearly 24 hours since we ate the meal at Oshima and had not eaten much since. On reflection we think there might have been some fish or shellfish stock in the meal which had made us ill. (When the hostess had brought the food to the table, the spinach had fish flakes on it - a common dressing in Japan.) Neither of us wanted to stray far, and it was...

Last night we had a relaxing time after dinner. We both had a traditional hot bath in the hotel. These baths are large stone affairs. Etiquette requires that you change into a yukata (lightweight kimono) and proceed to the communal bathing area. Before getting into the bath you undress, put your clothes in a basket and then proceed to a showering area, where you do the cleaning bit. Once you are washed completely, you proceed to the bath, which was a big stone co...

We left Ryokan Eishinkan about 7.30. The owner gave us breakfast and coffee to take away.We were dropped off at Takeshiba Pier and managed to sort out tickets to Oshima. East Coast Mainline couldn't have cost more! To add insult to injury we then had to pay an 2000 yen extra for oversize luggage! Aboard the hydrofoil, we headed the 120 km across Tokyo bay to the island of Oshima. Why were we going? Well, Mihari-yama, which basically is the island, is the world's...