Off to Mount Fuji we go. It was named after a camera film company you know…..
We had to get a train and then another train and then another and then a fourth one for good luck which also went backwards just to add to the excitement. Must admit, it wasn’t a bad sight to see. Mount Fuji that is, not the train. Wouldn’t be too keen on walking up it but nice to look at all the same. That’s Mount Fuji again, not the train.

Spent the following day around the lake, seeing the sights. (Looking at Mount Fuji from slightly different angles). It was Kaila’s birthday too so tried to find a birthday cake but we had to make do with ice cream. We went to see some bats in a bat cave and we saw, er, two. Yup, two little black things hanging upside down. There were more posters of Batman than actual bats. Again, people taking pictures of a cherry tree in blossom. What is that about?

Next day off to the big smoke – Tokyo. It’s not that smoky there actually. A few big tall buildings, lots of neon lights, lots of people, an English pub with haggis pizza and a bit of getting lost. We had hoped to go up the Sky Tower but the queue! My goodness! A 6 hour wait. But they had trampolines and bouncy castles so Kaila was happy.

We then went to a park and golly gosh, I now understand about this cherry blossom thing. The park was choc a bloc with the stuff. Pinks and whites galore all over the place. How many photos can you take? Quite a lot as it turns out. There are rugs to sit on, people having parties, meetings, drinking, eating, kicking the trees to get blossom on themselves. That’s ultra lucky . So we partook in Hanami and enjoyed it quite splendidly.

Off the the big zebra crossing where up to 1000 people can cross at one time and to look at the trillion and six video screens with adverts, programs, sports games and music blaring out. Ah, Japan. We did like you.

Next day off to the airport and with a lump in my throat, we headed to England and home. I have enjoyed my travels; meeting new people, trying new grass, seeing new fields. But there comes a time when you have to earn more money. It was grey and rainy when we landed at Heathrow so it was nice to know that somethings never change.

I do hope you have enjoyed my ‘bleatings’ over the past few weeks. I have to go through the 6-7 thousand photos and videos we have. Yes, really. I will be putting a few more up over time and writing a bit more. Not sure when the next 5 month trip is but it’ll be documented here.

Thank you for reading and looking at the photos and the remarks you’ve sent me. I feel a very lucky lamb to have been on such a trip and a lucky lamb to share it with Kaila.

Back to Kyoto and off to the park. There was one lone cherry tree in full blossom and everyone was taking pictures of it. Lovely, I grant you but I have one in my back garden so I’m not overly impressed. Maybe they’re a bit rare over here?

Did a bit of temple visiting and walked through some bamboo woods which were quite impressive actually for long, tall bits of wood. Off to the castle to see lots of carp in the moat. I must say these gardens over here are extremely neat and tidy but then so is pretty much everywhere and everyone.

A train ride into the mountains for a stop in Matsumoto to see another old castle and to go the the second hand shop to buy scarves, gloves and hats. Vest tops and shorts aren’t keeping us very warm in freezing conditions.

Next day, off to Hakuba for skiing! So much snow! Which is just as well I suppose. A lovely sunny day on our first and second day. And a lot of melting snow in town. Kaila was a superstar and snow ploughed all the way down the hill by herself. Or almost until she fell over. Unfortunately I couldn’t actually ski due to having no bones in my body to keep my balance. Personally I would have thought that was a good thing as then I can’t break any.

That was our winter, the three days of skiing and quite enough thank you. Brrrrrrr.

8 hour bus trip to Cambodia? Don’t mind if I do. One good thing about having The White One (Kaila), is that we didn’t have to pay a bribe, oh sorry, I mean admin fee, to the immigration officials to let us through.

We like Phnom Penh. Lots of little alleyways and streets with blossomy trees, cafes and shops. And then big, smelly, noisy big roads too.

I had a bath and sunbathed to get dry whilst Rob and Kaila swam in the pool. Yes, another bargain hotel. Alissa went to a museum but she said it wasn’t suitable for lambs or children as it was where people had done yucky things to other people 40 odd years ago.

We then had to get an overnight two flights to get to Fukuoka so had about 10 minutes sleep. But, oh my goodness, the toilets!!! Warm seats, flushing sounds to cover your noise, washing your bits, no need to touch anything as its all done by hand movement. We like very much.

Delish noodles with a bit of seaweed, a bit of squid, a bit of ginger, a bit of this and a bit of that. Tasty beyond belief!

Nightmare with trying to book hotels though as we have no plans and it is not the done thing to book for the next night. Should have booked weeks ago. Fortunately a lovely receptionist helped us out a bit and sorted out a couple of nights before we had to re-mortgage the house and sell all our belongings. It’s a shame as I am fluent in Japanese but because I can’t talk, I can’t help out.

So, if you’re planning to come to Japan, book ahead! I would come to Japan. Everyone is helpful, kind, polite and lovely. It is clean, efficient and friendly. There is no rubbish anywhere and mysteriously there are no rubbish bins…..

We went to Kinosaki, the onsen town, and stayed in a ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel). Now, this hotel room had a low table and two chairs with no legs. That was it.
Erm, I’d kind of quite like a blanket or something at least.

Anyway, Rob, Alissa and Kaila got dressed up in a kimono-y thing and clip cloppy wooden sandals to go to the onsen (hot baths). They didn’t have anything to fit me. We got to one of these onsens and all you need to do is strip off to your birthday suit and jump in the hot water. Simple. (They don’t do mixed ones Mr Moorcraft). Then off to have sabu-sabu and terriyaki before stopping in a teeny, tiny pub for sake. I mean tiny. There was 9 people in there and it was getting squished.

Back to our room and there were futons and duvets! Where did they come from? Magic. Had a very good nights sleep thank you very much. So much so that we overslept the next morning and had them knocking on our door to check out. Must have been the comfortable futon. Not the sake……