Although Sarah's been to Japan before, being the same neck of the woods she decided to fly back with me so we could travel around together for a week. We arrived in Tokyo Saturday night and had a surprise welcome from Soran at the airport who said earlier he would be waiting for us at home. It felt great to be back in Japan and sat around the little coffee table in the living room drinking and laughing with the parents. Sarah got along really well with them and I was surprised she could actually communicate better than I could because Japanese has borrowed so many Chinese characters so she can read a little Japanese already. We spent Sunday with the family and went into Shibuya in the night.

We went to a huge store called 109 which was a complete circus of teenage girls manically shopping. Each one of the girls working and shopping could have been models; tall, skinny, superbly dressed, immaculate makeup, and there were 6 floors of the shop with hundreds of drop dead gorgeous people. We felt totally underdressed just to go shopping. The Japanese must wander why westerners look like such slobs compared to them. We went to the Pink Cow for burritos and Sarah nearly had a heart attack she couldn't believe how great the food was. We headed to Soran's bar for some drinks before running for the last night train. Soran was working until 6am so it was a shame we couldn't have spent more time together.

We left for our travelling barely with a plan. I was meant to sort out where we were going in China but I was having too much fun. I thought there would be a set route which all travellers do that pick out the main sights for you: The Banana Pancake trail in South East Asia, The Gringo Trail in South America, and The Overland Nairobi to Cape Town route in Africa, everywhere has one. But like everything, Japan doesn't follow the pattern. In a lot of ways it is totally a conformist culture but compared to the rest of the world, Japan is a planet of its own.

We left on the bullet train to Kobe in the south, the train stations are like airports and you board the gleaming white trains like you would an airplane and sit down in the most spacious comfortable seats. We got some gorgeous bento boxes and I tried to find a vegetarian one for Sarah but deep hidden in the rice were baby octopus which freaked Sarah out. Hereafter she demanded we would only be eating Italian food! We found a cheap and cheerful hostel for Japan though about £25 for a dorm bed would be the cheapest you would find anywhere. Got ourselves down town to find an Italian with nothing in English, I had to phone Soran to talk to the waiters to ask him for a vegetarian dish that didn't contain mushrooms which is extremely hard one, because they don't understand "no meat" and two, mushrooms are in everything. Oy vey what a palaver!

We took a cable car up to the mountains which had panoramic views over the ocean. On top of the mountain were beautiful gardens growing herbs and flowers and massive glass dome greenhouses that resembled The Eden project. There was also a lavender field where you could pick your own lavender. The whole thing was like a national trust property crossed with the Eden Project but on a totally whole new level of cleanliness and perfection. We took the train to Osaka and sat down to eat our lunch but 10 minutes later, the next thing we know were in Osaka already scrambling off the train clutching our drinks and bento boxes as we expected a much longer journey for a 60 mile trip. These bullet trains are awesome, they travel at 300km/h, have a yearly delay of 36 seconds and since operation in the 1960s there has never been a crash.

We visited probably the world's best aquarium which has a tank covering the whole floor and 4 stories high with two massive whale sharks and a manta ray with a span of 3 meters. It was so exciting to see whale sharks again after swimming with them off the coast of Mozambique last year. They're such beautiful creatures. We found a hostel in Osaka which resembled more of a high school crossed with a high security prison. They might as well of handed us orange overalls on check in. Curfew was midnight and we were on the 10th floor so after midnight the lift stops running. I had to run back from the bar where I was watching South Africa beat France just in time and got back and couldn't even get another drink anywhere, it felt like a school trip.

They woke us up at 8am with an intercom somewhere hidden in our room to hello good morning breakfast is served (you also had to pay for breakfast, as well as your towel and everything else extra) and also we need to be thinking about getting ready to leave at 10. At 10 sharp the intercom came on again giving you instructions to leave but bring your linen to reception, don't forget your toothbrush and remember to check under the bed. It was ridiculous how they really didn't expect us to think for ourselves. I hate HI hostels there the same all over the world but this was by far the worst.

We visited the Palace in Osaka and took a boat trip around the rivers in the city it was lovely. Osaka is very different to Tokyo, it's known for the gruff and brazen people and it's even a little dirty on the streets. You can walk down the road smoking a cigarette and even eating which I've never seen anyone do in Tokyo. People are really friendly too and English seems a lot more widely spoken although maybe there level is the same as Tokyoites but Osaka-jin (Osaka people) are just a lot more out there and aren't afraid to speak English even if there get something wrong.

We took a train to Kyoto and spent hours wandering around trying to find somewhere to stay and finally found a little hotel which was like a Japanese EasyJet hotel; it was so cheap but had all the necessities in the room even free internet, no frills Japaneseness. We spent the rest of our time in Kyoto trying to find an Italian restaurant. Oh yes we have come all the way to Kyoto the land of temples to walk round trying to find an Italian! By this point I was fed up with Sarah's vegetarianism! Although that night, I probably did had the best Italian dinner I'd had in 6 months!

I found an izakaya afterwards and sat down and scrapped enough change for a beer and before I know it I'm buddies with all these old Japanese men and their wives buying me drinks and ordering so much food for me, and really weird things like stinky yams, odd pickles, chicken gizzards and hearts by the 3rd round of chicken gizzard I'd had enough and as its impolite to refuse I ended up sticking a whole load of skewered chicken gizzard in my purse and made an exit after realising I was far too drunk to find my way back to the hotel!

This week was not just about travelling round Japan and seeing the sights, it was about me wanting to spend more time with Sarah. We couldn't be more different. Apart from food we shop differently, I'm looking for vintage T-shirts while she likes girly dresses, she hates my reggae and hip hop and I hate her moody British Alternative rock. If we were to go out she wants to go clubbing while I want to drink at bars. She likes friends who she can have intelligent conversations with while I want friends I can let loose and have fun with and she doesn't drink while I drink too much. We've always had our differences but I had fun with her reminiscing of old holidays, funny moments growing up and the crazy things our family have done. I'm really glad we spent the time together and hope she enjoyed herself too.