Our first two days have been fantastic and we have crammed in a lot of eating! We were met at the airport by my old friend Tasuku who took us to his girlfriend Mayumi`s family home. I stayed there on my last visit and it was wonderful　to see her family again. Immediately her mum gave us homemade plum wine and beautiful litttle rice crackers in the shape of autumn leaves. Then we drove to the supermarket and gave Darren his first taste of Japanese food en mass.His eyes were out on stalks in the sushi section! Back at Mayumi`s house we had a sushi and sashimi feast and I tried Chinese sticky yam, sandwiched with umeboshi (sour plum) and deep fried in tempura batter. Despite swaying from tiredness we set off for the centre of Tokyo and after dropping our bags off at the lovely hostel we scaled the Roppongi Hills-not leafy green hills but a skyscraper with an amazing view of Tokyo from the 54th floor. Our fantasic hosts then treated us to dinner in a yaki tori restaurant (see photo). Yaki tori are kebabs grilled until the chicken is deliciously tender. After a starter of grileld green peppers, ginko beans and cucumber with sweet miso paste we had chicken with spring onion, chicken breast in sweet sticky sauce, balls of mince chicken, chicken liver (well I didn`t but the others did!), chicken skin (lovely and crispy) and chicken wings. Just when Darren (washing down the food with ice cold asahi beer) and I though the meal　 was over Mayumi ordered the most amazing chicken soup, miso soup and two rice bowls. Mayumio and Tsuku couldn`t have given us a better first day in Japan and we tumbled into bed with happy tummies for a long sleep.

Today we met up with Darren`s cousin Andrea who is over here with her husband Danny on a business trip. I took them to the Meiji jingu shrine-a wonderful spot of calm in the middle of Tokyo. On the way I introduced them to a favourite sweet of mine-almonds covered in thick chocolate and polished until they gleam like horse chesnuts. After soaking in the charm of the shrine we headed to Harajuku-the cools kids hangout where I bought some bunny socks! Lunch was an amazingly bargainous set menu in a Napalese curry house. For about 8pounds I had a mango lassi, butter chicken curry, enormous naan and little mini rice, coleslaw and a little fruit raita dessert. Stuffed, we headed off to the see the skyscrapers in Shinjuku Out of nostalgia I took Darren and Andrea to the lobby of the towering Keio Plaza the place I stayed in when I first arrived in Japan 10 years ago. Then we zoomed up to the 42 floor of the tokyo Metropolitan building to see another view of Tokyo sprawling as far as the eye can see and beyond. After a quick drink with danny we went our seperate ways and Darren and I dined at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Darren tried all sorts included who white baits with little beedy eyes. He is much braver than me- not only will he eat little fish with eyes but he even tried and liked natto (fermented soy beans)! I am writing this after an hour of karaoke-Darren was suitably impressed by my karaoke repertoire which includes Belinda Carlisle, Guns and Roses and Cyndi Lauper. I was equally impressed with his Green day rendition but we both agreed James Brown`s Sex machine might not make it in his karaoke repertoire! Off to bed now!