under another sun

Up in the dark at 5:30 in Makinohara. Having packed discovered that Toby and Romy were up, Hiroko had cooked us breakfast and made tea, Hitome had arrived thinking she was going to drive us to the station. Bade a sleepy but fond farewell to Hiroko, who had been wonderfully hospitable as usual and to Hitome, who Lorraine invited to stay with us in Brighton. And of course Toby who it is always hard to say goodbye to. We were driven to Kakegawa station by Eitero, who seems to have become as fond of us as we have of him. He returned last night laden with gifts for example. He is mad for cars and we saw him driving two of them. He has a curious hunched stance when driving, and frequently opts for the no hands steering wheel technique. This morning he showed us clips of Lorraine, Romy and Hiroko singing last night in the karaoke bar. Lorraine cringing at her rendition of a Mumford & Sons tune. Kakegawa statino smelled strangely of drains, but Romy helped us with the tickets, and Eita...

Chilled over Siberia An epic journey. Up at 5:30am to shower and complete packing, followed by a hearty breakfast cooked by Hiroko. Then Toby, Romy and I were driven sleepily to Shizuoka shinkansen station by Hiroko. The moon was big and still full and Mount Fuji was clear and pink in the dawn. It was if Japan was making sure it would be remembered. I was sorry to say goodbye to Hiroko in Shizuoka. She has been wonderfully hospitable and I've got on with her extremely well. Despite the train being busy we managed to get seats next to each other, and bulleted into Tokyo, with Toby and me taking photos of Mt Fuji from the window. At Tokyo Romy guided us through the huge mazy station and put me on the airport train. Toby kindly hefting my case about as my back and leg were still somewhat rubbish. Fond farewells to Toby and Romy. Not sure which country we'll all meet up again in, but that all adds to the fun. Then an hour's ride to the airport. I had checked in online and my...