We reach Japan (via Hong Kong)

The last couple of days have been pretty exhausting and we haven't even started walking yet.

The flight from London to Hong Kong went smoothly and we were looked after very well (thank you Cathay Pacific) but a 12 hour flight is still a 12 hour flight. The in-flight system tells you if there is not enough time to watch a film before landing and so I watched Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men on fast forward for the final hour. Watching it at x2 doesn't really do it justice but it's still one of my favourite films of all time.

By the time we arrived at Hong Kong airport it was 6pm local time (GMT+8) so we checked in to our hotel in Kowloon and headed out for a beer in one of the local bars at eye-watering prices. The following morning we headed over to Hong Kong Island on the Star Ferry described by National Geographic as one of the 50 places of a lifetime to visit. Even in the rain it was a fantastic way to cross Victoria Harbour on historic ferryboats for less than HK$3 per person (they cost about £0.27 pence). From the landing pier it was just a short walk into the centre of town.

Star Ferry

We spent the first couple of hours wandering about, getting stiff necks from gazing up to marvel at the height of the buildings.There is serious high-end shopping to be had here for those with the money and the inclination and the centre of Hong Kong is one massive luxury shopping mall. As neither of us has a fixed address anymore, buying anything seemed pretty pointless even if we could afford it (which we couldn't) and so we soon tired of this and hopped on one of Hong Kong's lovely double decker trams which have been running along these streets for over a hundred years, choosing the one to North Point for no better reason than it was less crowded than the others so we got a seat on the top deck. (The trams are all a flat fare of HK$23 (£0.21) and you need to put the correct money in the box as you won't get change.)

Central Hong Kong

Hong Kong tram

North Point turned out to be interesting with a busy wet market on Chun Yeung Street crammed with butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers, their wares piled high. The fish was fresh, much of it was still swimming around, including one unfortunate eel whose back half had already been sold. Butchers sold every part of the animal here with nothing wasted although I have to say pigs nose didn't really appeal to me.

On the way back into town we worried how we were going to get off the packed tram. We were standing right at the back where you enter but you have to exit from the front and we couldn't see how we would ever get through the throng of standing passengers. We asked a woman standing next to us and she laughed. 'Follow me, I'll show you what to do'. She began gently pushing her way through the narrow tram - 'Excuse me, I need to get off soon, excuse me' until suddenly we were at the front of the tram. So that's how it's done!

Window in St John's 

Anglican Church

One of four surviving gas lights 

in Hong Kong

Erecting bamboo scaffolding 

Mick warming his hands!

In the afternoon we rode Peak Tram which is not actually a tram but a funicular railway which climbs 1.4km up Victoria Peak rising 400 metres in a series of climbs which reminded me of a roller coaster.

At the top you can ascend through a shopping mall to reach the Sky Terrace which is 428m above sea level. Mick checked his new watch - if it still said we were under the sea there was something wrong! (see post for 12 March). It more or less tallied much to his relief. It was tipping with rain by now so I didn't spend too long outside but the view of Hong Kong from up here was fantastic. Lugard Road and Harlech Road form a circular route around the peak and as the sun went down and the rain eased, we followed the path and enjoyed great views of Hong Kong and Kowloon by night with the coloured neon skyscrapers providing a wonderful light show. Mick found the path challenging with his vertigo so we decided to head back to the visitor centre and rode the railway back down the mountain. On the descent everyone is facing backwards and the sensation of a rollercoaster was even stronger this time!

Hong Kong skyline

Hong Kong at night

Hong Kong skyline with Kowloon behind

Colonial post box

Our plane was due to leave at 8am the following morning and so we had figured it wasn't worth a second nights' accommodation. Now, after walking some 25km today we wondered whether this had been the right choice. We had nowhere to stay tonight and we had 12 hours to kill. In the end it worked out ok. We found a nice restaurant and dawdled here a while and then dawdled in a bar for a bit longer. At midnight we returned to the hotel where we had stayed the previous night, collected our backpacks and caught a taxi to the airport. We only had another 8 hour wait until the plane departed! More time to read my book which should have been read months, no, years ago (see post for 12 March again).

The flight from Hong Kong to Kansai Osaka was less than three hours and passed quickly. The steward seemed a little worried when we ordered the Chinese breakfast of chicken congee rather than English egg and sausage. 'I will show you,' she said. She brought one of them on its little tray and asked me to lift the lid so I could see the food, a kind of chicken and rice porridge. 'Ok?' she asked? We nodded, yes fine, and she seemed satisfied. We had both had enough of English breakfasts and the congee was delicious.

As we flew over Shikoku the clouds disappeared and we had an incredible view of the island from high above. Miniscule boats criss-crossed tiny harbours leaving white trails across the green sea and tiny houses and streets lined the edge of the coast. This was Cape Ashizuri. We would be arriving here by foot, we hoped, in a few weeks time. We were at that point both  gripped by the same feeling of trepidation, the same question in our minds, 'Can we really walk around this island?' At that moment it seemed utterly implausible and incredibly daunting, even though we had walked it before.

We crossed the mysterious dark green mountains of central Shikoku and the wide, flat plains alongside the mighty Yoshino river. Then, as we left Shikoku, we could see the Great Naruto Bridge and underneath, the swirling waters of the Naruto whirlpools. Now it was only 7.30am but later today countless tourists would walk onto the bridge and, standing on glass panels, gaze down at the frothy white spirals that form here, just as we had done five years ago.

We flew over Awaji Island where on the east coast we could see the enormous towering white statue of Kannon. Finally. we landed at Kansai and disembarked. A small delay at immigration where the officer was curious as to why we would be here for three months and then we reached the concourse. This time I knew better than to join the massive queue in the JR (Japan Railways) office to buy a ticket - the machines have a button for English and are straightforward to use. As we speed into Osaka on the airport express train I am so pleased to be back here in Japan.