One of most surreal experiences I had when visiting Japan was the strong feeling of déjà vu when looking at an area I had never been to before.

It happened an hour or so after a train journey from the airport. My girlfriend was taking me somewhere, I didn't ask where. I was left feeling too zombie like after the flight to be able to think properly. After arriving at the destination, taking some steps and walking out onto a street. I had a feeling of déjà vu and exclaimed "Hey, I recognise this place, isn't your house in that direction?". A good many months ago I had spent a few hours every now and then looking at the area my girlfriend lives in. I found it rather interesting being able to do a virtual tour of Japan in this way. More...

Well after my two weeks and two days in Japan I'm back in England and arrived on the 25th August at around 8AM. The jet lag is mostly gone but I'm still not used to the climate. I remember when I first arrived in Japan I thought the airport was incredibly stuffy. It was a clingy type of heat that you could almost swallow. It felt quite uncomfortable to breath. I decided to go outside the airport to get some fresh air. That's when a wall of heat much warmer and much more stuffy than the one inside the airport hit me. That was probably my first surprise. It was almost similar to being in a sauna. I wanted to go somewhere cooler but it wasn't an option. You just have to endure it. After the first week of continually repeating "Wow, I can't believe how hot it is!" I began to get used to it. More...

At last, my chance to visit Japan (and my girlfriend) is here! Just about to set off to catch a plane at Birmingham International airport for 9:20AM. Off to Paris then on to Narita. I've never flown before so nothing like jumping in at the deep end with a 6,333 mile journey on my own.

Farewell!