After a week here I'm already wanting to stay here for the whole year, this place is stunning! Tokyo is an unbelievable city, everywhere you look is dripping in neon or banners with Japanese lettering on. The buildings are so impressive, on one hand there are ancient temples amidst tranquil gardens, but then on the skyline are the most futuristic skyscrapers you've ever seen. As with all places, it's the little things that really attract you to a country. Everywhere seems so clean here, especially after England. Tokyo can be really hectic in parts, especially on or around the Tube, but people just seem really calm, friendly and polite. There's alot of bowing going on here and for the most part I really like it, it just seems nice when you say hello or thankyou, to do a small nod of your head. In some of the shops or restaurants you go in, they virtually bend to the waist, which is a bit much, but generally its good stuff. Here's a wierd thing I didn't ever expect to hear in Tokyo....Crows! It's really odd, walking through Tokyo and then hearing the cawing of a crow? Haven't really noticed any of them here in Hiroshima yet. Hiroshima seems really nice, alot quieter than Tokyo, but again, a nice friendly atmosphere. The main reason we came here was to see Alex and Eremi obviously and great it is to see them to. Alex is his usual stupid self, more Alan Partridge than man and is looking after us very well, thanks Dad! This is the only photo of Alex I had where his eyes weren't shut and he was still resembling something approximating human form :) It's really nice just to chill out here and relax. Gonna start doing some touristy things soon. There's a castle to go and have a look at and a museum about Manga comics ( Sorry Sam ) he he. We're having a 2 hour Japanese lesson today, so I will finally be able to say "Take me to the Robots".

Obviously, it's pretty wierd walking around here knowing that a nuclear bomb exploded 60 years ago. We went to the A-bomb museum yesterday and a pretty sobering experience it was to. There's basically only one building ( the A-bomb Dome ) still standing and that's been left as a memorial and that tells you just how completely flattened this city was. You can stand virtually underneath where the bomb would have gone off and it's just generally a really odd experience being in this famous city.
Will post more fascinating insites into Japanese life soon ;) Well, maybe Sam will :) and i'll leave you with a little slide show from Tokyo.