Including Hong Kong in our itinerary gave us a chance to visit Kay, one of our Host UK students, as well as getting hold of our visa for China. Flying in from Japan we were surprised to find a country which was predominantly green and mountainous, albeit for a few skyscrapers here and there! Well okay, there were more than a few, but we're pleased to report the mountains are still ahead in the great land snatch game of property development. Kay's mum had been ver...

As our Airbnb fiat was close to the Buffaloes baseball stadium we couldn't miss the chance to go along to watch a game. Even though we were only at the flat for a week we managed to coincide with the Buffaloes game against Tokyo Tigers. We chose two of the cheapest tickets at £17 each and were worried we would be high up "in the gods", but we needn't have worried. We still had a good view, and for close up we could check out the action in the big screens. As...

Nara was one of the busiest places we visited. Famous for its wild deer which wander the streets amongst the temples and roam the parkland, the place was also packed with school groups and tourists. Walking from the station towards the hub of the temples it didn't take long to find some great photo shots. Having visited many temples already on the trip we were feeling noticeably templed out, so didn't linger too long in the temple enclaves. Instead we headed towa...

You can't visit Japan without experiencing the thermal spring water in an Onsen. What we hadn't reckoned on was the need to be naked. I'd always assumed it was just sitting in some warm water in your cozzie. This one however had different rules. We travelled by train to Shirahama, a coastal town in Wakayama prefecture. A short bus ride from the station took us to the Onsen, a small basic looking place with segregated male and female areas, which overlooked the se...

Kobe was one of our favourite places. Despite the big commercial area the city had a nice atmosphere. Maybe visiting the herb garden first had relaxed us, but we could definitely have stayed longer exploring the various streets and alleys. The Kobe herb garden turned out to be a real delight. A beautifully landscaped collection of gardens cascading down the hillside, they smelt divine. We took the cable car to the top of the hillside which gave us a birds eye vie...