A rainy day in Canberra.

We are off! Its wet and overcast and somebody is sure that something is up. Travis very kindly dropped us off in the Lexus - his was allegedly too dirty!
What a contrast.

What a contrast to wet, overcast Canberra. Caught up with our friends Urie and Barbara at Alexandra Heads on the Sunshine Coast.
Departing Brisvegas

Our decision to fly out of Brisbane rather than Sydney has been a good one. It allowed us to catch with Rod Chisholm and his daughter Holly last night. Had great night at the Airport Novotel which isRead more
Tokyo in a day

A busy day in Tokyo today. We started off in Narita where we stayed at the Richmond Hotel overnight and then worked our way across to Asakusa by train. We went for a boat trip down the Arakawa RiverRead more
Exploring Nikko

Today we headed north out of Tokyo to Nikko, a mountain region of Japan known for its Shogun heritage. We travelled by train from Asukusa on the Tobu line which took us through outer urban Tokyo andRead more
Waterfall with a difference

Thought we had seen it all but today we caught a lift down to a waterfall! Also promise of some monkey business but alas none to be found.
Anyone for a few Temples?

Spent an interesting couple of hours at the Toshogu Shrine this afternoon. It enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu, a Shogun from the 1600s. Must have been a pretty cool dude. They went to a lot of effort toRead more
Train spotting anyone?

This morning has been all about relocating ourselves by train to Sendai. We started at our hotel at Kinugawa then walked up to the local station at Kosagoe and caught a Tobu train back toRead more
Another first.

In a novel twist, Janet and I had a delicious steak in a "stand up" restaurant today. You had a number of choices - rib eye, sirloin etc which you paid for by the gram. It was then cooked to orderRead more
A Castle, Wedding and a Festival

This afternoon we meandered around Sendai and got more than we bargained for. Visited the Aoba Castle which was built in 1601 and looks out over Sendai. There we ran into a wedding ceremony at theRead more
A great day for a cruise around the Bay

We decided to check out one of the areas affected by the 2011 Tsunami. Matsushima Bay also happens to be one of the iconic sites used to promote Japan. We were there early so managed to beat theRead more
Now we are talking!

We thought that the dude in Nikko was doing pretty well in the history stakes but he was out shone today by Kiyohira, the first lord of the Fujiwara clan. He built the Chūson-ji Temple in around 1100Read more
Another day, another Shinkansen

Today we headed off reasonably early for Aomori via a Hayabusa Shinkansen which moves along at a fair clip of 320 km per hour. If you have never experienced the efficiency of Japanese high speed railRead more
Templed out?

So are we. Given the fine weather in Aomori though we decided to check out Hirosaki Castle. This involved a train and bus journey to Hirosaki and then a short walk to the castle. The original castleRead more
The West Coast.

No not the West Coast Eagles! Rather, we decided to head to the west coast of Japan today. Was looking to get on one of the Joyful Trains - the Shirakami Resort train down to Akita but left our run aRead more
Bright crowded lights of Hakodate

Well folks we have finally made it to Hokkaido. We caught the Shinkansen from Aomori to Hakodate this morning. This part of the Shinkansen system only opened on the 26 of March this year and involvesRead more
Japanese Road Warriors

Well it finally had to happen, we have joined the ranks of the Japanese road commuters. Thanks to Janet's Japanese language skills and more than a modicum of patience we managed to successfully hire aRead more
A stroke of luck

Tonight we explored Sapporo city. Definitely the pick of all the Japanese cities that we have visited so far. Well laid out and vibrant with lots of folk out and about. In a stroke of luck weRead more
The Famous Otaru Canal

Today we took in more of Japan's west coast, we headed up as far as Shakotan and then worked our way back to Otaru which is famous for its canal & glass art. Lots of tunnels along the way and stillRead more
Traditional Japanese Anyone?

Today has been more of traditional Japanese experience. We pointed the trusty Wingroad - well up until the female English GPS operator went on strike, she did eventually return but it took someRead more
Navigating the Chitose Maze

After navigating our way across country from Sapporo to Furano and Biei we finally got stymied in Chitose when we attempted to return the Wingroad to Mr Nissan this afternoon. After a couple of lapsRead more
Malcolm all is forgiven, on our way home

Well folks, we have decided to give Malcolm and Bill another chance and are on our way home. It will be a bit of a marathon though, we left New Chitose Airport at 1355 hr on Jetstar Japan and areRead more
Our A330 has arrived!

Alan finally got things happening for us at the check-in counter and our Qantas A330 aircraft has arrived to take us home. Janet has made one last foray into the Narita Airport crowds to "get rid" ofRead more