Tokyo take 2! Our final stop before heading home. For our first night back in the capital, we checked into a capsule hotel. What a weird affair! Your bags stay downstairs in a locker, and you walk up with your pjs in arm to find your little capsule. They're hard to describe - like bunk beds I guess but you get your own private section with everything inside including a TV. We opted for a double and it was surprisingly comfortable! The next morning we exp...

The Shinkansen got us to Hiroshima in super speedy time, arriving exactly when expected at 18.31. If only English trains could be so efficient! Once again, we dumped our bags and headed out for dinner (it's all about food with us). Max found us a little local restaurant where, after getting a broken version of the Japanese menu from the waitress, Max ordered sashimi and Steph ordered grilled salmon. The sashimi came out as a tiny plate of raw squid, cuttlefis...

We're absolutely loving Japan! The next stop for us was Osaka - apologies in advance, this might be a bit of a dull blog as there's not a great deal to do in Osaka apart from explore the city. So, we got a local train from Kyoto to Osaka which only took about an hour. It's great experiencing first hand the efficiency that Japan prides itself on - even the local trains are on time to the second. It was late afternoon when we arrived, so after dumping our bag...

Today marks 6 months since we left for our travels. It's safe to say it has flown by! (Not that we don't miss you all of course). From Tokyo we got the Shinkansen to our next stop, Kyoto. The train reached speeds of up to 300kph (186mph) and glided silently along. When the ticket inspector made his way through each carriage, at the end before moving to the next carriage he would turn around, bow, and then continue on his way. South Eastern and First Capital...

Konichiwa from Japan! We arrived at Tokyo Airport after a long day travelling missing the China gang. Somehow we figured out how to get the train to our hotel in Akasukabashi and were asleep not long after. Our first impression of Japan is what a friendly, polite place it is; from the airport we had 2 people come up to us and offer help. We also noticed that on the train, people are incredibly considerate when talking on their phone - they speak so quietly yo...