12:17. Kana, Chie and Yuka proudly holding the pepper mill my brother gave to Chie.

12:17. Chie's Dad having a quick nap.

12:21. Time for me to leave the family home now. Just time for a couple of pictures before I go...

12:21. They're all very busy people, so it's not so often to see all of the Moriwakis in one place at one time!

12:44. This is in Chie's grandparents house (her mother's parents). This is a shrine to Chie's great grandparents.

13:15. Me, Kana and Chie's Mum with Chie's grandparents.

13:16. Same again but with Chie instead of Kana.

17:04. After a length delay caused by a minor car accident on the way to the station, we finally get on the Shinkansen bound for Osaka.

17:04. Chie eating Anpan (bread with red bean paste).

17:04. Me drinking beer, or maybe happoh-shu, I can never tell the difference.

18:32. Me and Chie on the Shinkansen. These trains are absolutely marvellous (although a tad expensive), and make me ashamed to have to go back to England and use the poor excuse for public transport we have.

18:32. A sneaky look at the rest of the carriage, shortly before arriving at Osaka. The journey took about an hour and a half. An equivalent journey in England would be more like three hours (scheduled), but in reality quite possibly half an hour late, and take half an hour longer than expected. That's before we even start to mention how much more leg room there is on the Shinkansen, how comfortable it is, how smooth and quiet it is, how regular it is, how much better the safety record is, how much better the on-board facilities are... I could go on...

18:42. In Shin-Osaka station. Looks like my friend Leon has left his mark on Japan!

18:44. Chie waiting at a station.

18:57. For some reason I wanted to get a picture of all the people on this platform, so I got Chie to take a picture of me as an excuse.

19:25. ...if you've ever wanted to know what an underground train looks like in Japan.