I never quite got on with the old design; I’m not sure I get on with this one either. Such is life.

Whilst in Japan, Jason and I took a trip to the area north of Tokyo, Tohoku, and to Hokkaido, the northern most island in the Japanese chain.

In a feet of organisation I am unlikely to match, Jason has created a map of the trip, utilising Google maps and some technical know-how to embed a map into his site.

I wrote a diary during the trip; what follows are some edited and redrafted highlights from there.

When asked about the food in Japan, I have to catch myself before I enter a reverie of pleasurable remembrance. Virtually every meal felt like a feast.

Jason set himself a goal — unachievable but laudable — of presenting me will all the myriad of cuisines available in Japan. The stereotype of Japan as a nation of sushi lovers is accurate, but there are innumerable other foodstuffs the Japanese enjoy. Again, having a man on the ground improved my stay immeasurably.

After an estimated twenty or so hours of traveling, I get off the Keisei Skyliner and find Jason thankfully waiting by the exit of Ueno station. The journey from the Airport to Tokyo on the Skyliner has gently introduced me to Japan, with views of the city and the patter of Japanese voices.

It’s getting on for lunchtime by the time I’ve dropped my bags at Jason’s from the station; the flat is a convenient five minute walk. Lunch means it is time for my first meal in Japan. We pick a restaurant from several dozen as we walk towards Akihabara, a Korean Barbecue. This particular genre involves our cooking slices of beef on a burner in the centre of the table, and is sweeping Tokyo according to my guidebook.

I’m back from Japan — I had an amazing trip. Many, many thanks to Jason for putting me up and showing me places and food stuffs I would not have been able to see without his intelligent accompaniment to my general bemusement.

I will try to write a similar narrative as I wrote for my trip to Andalucia earlier this year, hopefully over the coming week. I have to filter my photos down first, and get them onto flickr.