Greetings!

I`ve been very slack updating this, so apologies! Ed and I headed to Osaka as a typhoon was hitting so daytime was a bit of a washout! Not a problem as Osaka is definitely more of a nightime city. Two excellent nights out and some bad hangovers later... I did eat lots of okonomiyaki, my favourite japanese food by a mile, a japanese style pancake stuffed with meat, fish, veg and cabbage. Delicious.

We then headed for Kyoto, in the midst of the Gion Matsuri, a huge festival. They cordoned off the main streets and pedestrianised the centre and everyone went nuts. Huge floats, thousands of lanterns, so much food! We just walked from food stall to food stall, picking up beers along the way. It was like a carnival and a lot of the women were dressed up in kimonos. I even spotted a geisha or two! We checked out some stunning temples including the golden pavillion in the picture above. Kyoto`s a stunning city, packed with temples, huge green spaces and fantastic food. Ed forced some conveyor belt sushi on me and it wasn`t that bad... I doubt it`ll become a regular part of my diet...

But do try taka yaki if you`re ever out here. They`re like rolled up balls of okonomiyaki with octopus balls inside them and smothered in sauce. And that`s a ball of octopus meat, not an octopus testicle if anyone was confused..

More to come...

Lerve

Jonny