Backpacking

much so, as at one point sitting down and watching tuna go round we all found ourselves with eyes closed and nodding off.

We left Osaka and carried onto Kyoto, where we would be overnighting. We selected a guesthouse called Tani house that was miles out - we had to cab it to get there - but what a place!

It was a traditional minshuku, an old wooden building, cold, weathered and beaten, surrounded outside by bamboo trees and rooms kitted out with tatami mats. we had another large room between 5 for only 2000 Yen each with 5 futons laid out around a low central table. The sweet old landlady brought us green tea when we arrived, along with a plate of biscuits and cake, and a free calendar. Bless!

Town was too far to reach, so we went out locally to a Korean barbeque establishment where you could order plates of fresh meat (from various inventive parts of a cow) and veg and fry them in front of you. Tak was in his element with authentic Korean Kimchi and cow guts on offer. Dan was pretty unlucky, having only fried onion, pepper and salad to "feast" on, but that's the price you pay if you suffer from an affliction such as vegetarianism.

We were all pretty knackered, and didn't wish to

annoy the guests in the next room (merely the thickness of a thin wooden sliding door away from us) and so we retired to bed pretty quickly after getting back - fed, watered and happy.

Day 24: 23rd February All Templed Out

Kyoto, Japan

We took a long and uncomfortably hot bus ride into central Kyoto, standing most of the way and towering above the locals. Kyoto is an ancient capital of Japan and its traditional heart - just a quick wander and you'll fall over temples and shrines. We headed up a slope (via a clothes shop, of course) lined with tourist places and pottery shops and stopped at the top for breakfast/lunch in an outdoor, typically Japanese restaurant. We had cold soba noodles delivered on a wooden rack and dipped in a mixture of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and soy sauce - nicer than it sounds.

We headed on to the impressive Buddhist temple complex of Kiyo Mizu Dera, perched high on a hill surrounded by forest, and repeated the wishing ritual again (different wish this time). Some of the others lit joss sticks. We saw women dressed as Geishas (presumably for the tourists rather than for business purposes) and picked our way through