A pleasant view of one of the gaurd towers which punctuated the outer wall of the Palace. I found Tokyo to be a very exciting city, lots of hussle and bustle, something grabbing your attention all the time. We managed to see every major district of Tokyo even if it was only for an hour or two. Each one had it's own distinct feel and often as not it's own particular type of crazy. Shibuya for example plays host to the tanned and bleach blonde variety.

We took the shinkansen to Kyoto, a journeyof 8hours by regular train but only two and a half with the Nozomi super express. The Nozomi super express is the fastest of the skinkansen train services and the trains reach speeds of 300 km.hr! The Shinkansen typify Japanese attention to detail and desire for perfection, there have been zero fatalities in the 42 years of service (despite one derailing due to an earthquake) and during 2003 the average lateness was only 12 seconds . Boarding the train is also a very precise operation, one must wait at the designated stop on the station platform according to your car and seat number and when the train stops the door you need to enter via is exactly in front of you. The above picture is of Kiyomizu Dera in Kyoto, one of the two temples we saw there. Kyoto has many, many temples but we had a tight schedule and lots of see and do!This picture is slightly out of chronological order. We went to see kabuki in Tokyo (at the Kabuki za theatre in Ginza). It was interesting and visually alluring but not gripping, the English language headphones did help immensely, I would have had no idea what was going on without them. What was unusual was the cat calls (kakegoe) from the audience. The cries are of encouragement or appreciation and there seem to be particular points during the performance when these calls are acceptable.

We took a day trip north of Kyoto to a Holy mountain and town which share the name Kurama. It was easily the most pleasant day of the whole trip. A gentle hike took us to the top of the mountain, along the way we passed many beautiful temples and shrines before we got to the main temple at the top which was bathed in sunlight (after the shade of the wooded mountainside) and surrounded by Cherry blossoms (sakura) which were in glorious bloom. Unlike in Tokyo and Kyoto there were very few westerners about and the place felt less 'touristy'. This photograph was taken near the bottom; I was attracted to the sunlight on the red of a Japanese maple tree.

Sorry, another out of order photograph. This one of a pretty little street in Kyoto, such a contrast to the towering glass and steel of Tokyo!

Taking a photo break during the accent of Mt.Kurama. One my favourite things about Japanese gardens and landscaping are the elegant bridges. I think they have a very natural shape to them.

At the top! This was my first experience of Japanese Sakura, the okinawan variety is somewhat different and I am sorry to say not quite as pretty. The Japanese Sakura manage to be both more delicate and more richly opulent.

Nestled at the foot of Mt.Kurama is the village bearing the same name. The buildings were all wooden and very traditional and the main road (only road) had a stream running along it. Kurama has a natural spring and therefore an Onsen (Japanese hot spring bath). I have wanted to visit an Onsen since visiting Japan and I wasn't disappointed. Lying naked in the hot spring water surrounded by the beautiful mountain scenery, what could be better to sooth a footsore and tired soul. I think on future trips to the mainland of Japan I will give the big cities a miss and seek out places such as Kurama.

The final picture shows a 700 series Shinkansen, the type we used to and from Kyoto. After Kyoto we returned to Tokyo and pulled an all-nighter before returning to Okinawa. This was not planned but our digs in Kyoto turned out to be a bit pants so we decided to be adventurous. Okinawa did seem like another (poorer) country upon returning from mainland Japan but it did feel good to be back to nice friendly relaxed Okinawa.