Backpacking

the better of us and we retired inside to the warmth of the cabin.

On the bus back, the Koreans we'd met earlier got on and sat near us. Instead of shouting names of random Man United players, this time

they spent the time examining my nose (I was oblivious, so this is according to Emma) They probably hadn't seen one so big. The Korean next to me turned to me with a beaming smile and said "Very Handsome!" I hoped he had been talking about the view, but I doubted it. "Well, thank you very much" was the only thing that came to my lips.

We noticed a stark contrast between quiet Hakone and bustling Tokyo. On returning we experienced another Japanese food institution: the okonomi-yaki. We sat cross-legged around a table with a huge built-in hot plate and order bowls of "pancake" mix containing an egg, and fillings such as onions, bean sprouts, cheese and meat. This was mixed and then splodged on the hotplate, cooked for about 5 minutes, then flipped, cooked again and served up with herbs, mayo, a Japanese style brown sauce and fish flakes. After Tak initially showing us what to do, we all had a go at cooking (Lost in Translation quote: "What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?"). The pancakes were great and it was a hell of a lot of

fun - the 8th floor restaurant was smoky and packed with overzealous and sozzled amateur chefs. We were in the corner, thankfully near to the fire escape - which was a rope/pulley thing you had to firstly self-assemble, and then descend 8 floors!

We then moved on to a pricey Irish bar (4 quid 50 for a pint of Guiness, anyone?). We got our money's worth by ordering a run of lethally strong Long Island Iced Teas, filled to damn near the top of the glass with spirits with a drizzle of mixer. That's the way! These drinks seemed to have the curious property of making long tube rides home infinitely more fun. Suddenly, the ring handholds became Olympic rings we could perform acrobatic on, and August, arms stretched between two rings on opposite sides of the carriage, happily proclaimed she was Jesus! My best behaviour ambassadorial role certainly was nowhere to be seen this evening - no more Ferreo Rochers for me...

Day 19: 18th February From the barrel of a smoking train

Matsumoto, Japan

I got up earlier than the rest and headed out to see to a few things. I had paid attention to the