Hi all! Hope everyone's warm and well wherever you all are! We've now been in Japan a whole week, though it feels more like a month with the amount we've been up to! The last few days have been spectacular with the Tanabata festival going on. It's the enormous Star Festival which takes place over 3 days every summer in Sendai and which the city is famous for. It kicked off with a 2-hour long firework display on Saturday evening (putting England's measly 15-3...

OHAYO!!! Japan rocks! We're off to the Tanabata Star Festival tonight, where we'll dress up in kimono and totally blend in with the Japanese locals...! Otherwise we've been soaking up the Japanese culture, mainly in the form of food - these people just keep feeding us, OISHII! we've particularly enjoyed the sushi, indulging in whale, scallop, salmon roe and raw quail egg with fermented soya beans, mmmmm?we've also enjoyed two Onsen already, otherwise known as 'na...

Hi all! Just to say that we`ve arrived safely in Japan! It`s as amazing as ever, even more so coming for the second time, as I`m recognising places and feeling oh-so like a local...(ok so not quite!) The journey started off so well that before we`d even left Heathrow we`d been invited for dinner at a friendly Japanese man`s house! (It`s not as dodgy as it sounds, I promise! He has a wife and family and also lives in Sendai where Jonathan lives - they`r...