This weekend was action packed to say the least. A group of us travelled to Minakami, north west of Tokyo, to do some white water rafting and canyoning. We almost didn't make it as there was an earthquake on Saturday morning which meant all the shinkansens had stopped and were delayed. We ended up getting on the wrong train and going hours out of our way AND I left my bag on the train with all my clothes in! Someone handed it in so I was able to pick it up on the way home - phew - only in Japan! We were staying in a lovely lodge nestled in the mountains, it was very strange to see all the ski slopes where I had been snowboarding now covered in grass. We were up early on the Sunday for rafting, although it has been rainy season the river was quite low so we did run aground on the rocks a few times and had to get out and push (too much for breakfast perhaps?!). Canyoning in the afternoon was adrenaline-filled to say the least. Canyoning is basically sliding down and jumping off rapids and waterfalls, the head first slides were the most hair-raising but luckily all our teeth were intact and I even managed a forward somersault off the last jump! We returned home exhausted but already planning our return to Minakami.
More pictures in the gallery.

The whole school went Japanese on Friday. All the children and staff came dressed in Japanese outfits ranging from sumos to samurais! Some of the cleaning staff very kindly lent me a beautiful kimono for the day. It involved having two 'dressers' to wrap the swathes of fabric round me and took about twenty minutes to be fully 'bound'. It was surprisingly comfortable and I felt quite sad to be back in my regular clothes at the end of the day! The children had a huge range of activities to take part in including Japanese dancing (bon odori), origami, watching anime, making yaki soba (noodle dish) and a special Japanese comedy show.
More pictures in the gallery.

In Japan they don't celebrate Easter but springtime in Japan is when everything goes Cherry Blossom (Sakura) crazy. The cherry blossom is Japan's unofficial national flower. It has been celebrated for many centuries and takes a very prominent position in Japanese culture. Around late March the whole nation excitedly waits for the first buds to appear on cherry trees. The 'sakura-zensen, the 'cherry-blossom-front' works slowly northwards from the south islands until it finally reaches the northern tip of Hokkaido in May and the whole process is broadcast on television rather like a weather report showing different areas of the country as various shades of pink depending on the status of their cherry blossoms. Accompanying the front are hanami, the 'flower-viewing' parties celebrating these short-lived blooms. Everywhere in Tokyo is pink at the moment; even the Kit Kats have gone pink!

During the Easter holidays I went to Hong Kong to visit my friend Ailsa (another Gateshead immigrant). It was fantastic, I guess I'd always imagined that Hong Kong would be fairly similar to Tokyo but it is very different indeed. Hong Kong is like a stretched city; all the buildings seem to be at least 20 storeys high - it reminded me of something from a graphic novel. Everyone speaks English which is very different to Tokyo and makes it a lot easy to get around but at the same time asects of Hong Kong like the little backstreets selling tradional Chinese food and wares and the heady smell of incense make it feel more like Asian city than Tokyo; it reminded me more of Bangkok in that way. While I was there I indulged in much shopping - they have Marks and Spencer! - and stocked up on some English food products (Bisto and custard powder) that I can't get here.

All over Hong Kong there are places offering reflexology and pedicures etc and my friend said I had to try the Shanghai pedicure which was quite an experience. I was settled down in a large leather arm chair, ginger tea in hand and feet soaking in a steaming, fragranced tub when this tiny Chinese man came in carrying a spot light and a roll of leather under his arm. Upon unfurling the leather I could see that it contained a variety of tools that looked suspiciously like scalpels; I suddenly began to feel very uneasy! He plucked one of my feet from it's blissful bath and held it up to the spot light whereupon he studied it carefully while making small gasping sounds - cue embarrassed, apologetic smiles. He then took one of the scalpels from its case and began scraping what seemed like layers and layers of skin from my foot - cue more embarrassed smiles. He repeated the process on my other foot before holding them both proudly up to the spot light while smiling and nodding enthusiastically at me. My feet were as smooth as the proverbial baby's bottom and I was about an inch shorter but I do highly recommend the Shanghai Pedicure.

During my stay in Hong Kong the Rugby 7s tournament was on which is where rugby union teams from all over the world compete in teams of 7s over three days. It was a brilliant event and the atmosphee in the stadium was fantastic. On the Saturday everyone in the South Stand dresses up; we were pirates but there were some other very interesting costumes such as the Smurfs and the Jamaican bob sled team!

I didn't get much time for sight seeing (shopping and rugby being the priorities!) but I will definitely be back in Hong Kong before long to see what else it has to offer.

During a visit from a friend we visited Tsukiji market which was quite an experience! After it's been fished out of the sea and before it turns up on your sashimi plate, most of Tokyo's seafood transits through Tsukiji Produce and Fish Market. This gigantic pulsating heart at the centre of Tokyo's gastronomic system pumps at an incredible, frenetic, fish-fuelled pace. Workers yell, slice blocks of ice, haul gigantic bluefin tuna, spit, laugh, bone an eel, yell some more. It was amazing to watch these tiny Japanese men and men literally sawing through frozen tuna carcasses that were twice the size of them. Tsukiji handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood per day ranging from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna, from cheap seaweed to very expensive caviar. In 2001 a 200kg bluefin tuna sold for a record-breaking £85 000 at the on site auction area of Tsukiji. This was definitely a Tokyo sight worth getting up at 5am for!