As described by Joe earlier in the blog, our next day was a complete contrast to the previous. This was the first time we had been back together since we had been collected by our hosts, and we were in high spirits as we travelled into Tokyo . What an amazing city. Its simply massive both in all directions. I expected to be impressed but this was way beyond what I had imagined. In true style of our Japanese hosts, we were taken to the top floor of the Imperial Hotel (the oldest hotel in Tokyo) for lunch. Eating a gourmet meal in a panoramic restaurant with the towering city in the background. We felt like royalty and savored every moment. The next place on our whistle stop tour was to the Tsukiji fish market where Angela made friends with an unfortunate tuna. The variety of fresh fish and shellfish on offer was amazing, on a truly massive scale. Our final stop before leaving was the Senso-ji Temple and local markets of Asakusa.
On the way back, Cheema Reeda assured us that we could now relax and look forward to a farewell party when we returned, with no prospect of having to do a presentation. In any case, after a day sightseeing we didn't have our notes or powerpoint kit. We also asked our translator to hold off on the exchanging of club banners until the following day as we hadn't brought any with us. With this reassurance, we relaxed looking forward to a quiet evening. The Japanese are very good at surprises and like to keep you on your toes. As we arrived, Saty explained that we had to do a quick presentation, totally in Japanese and no sooner as we had sat down then they produced their club banners to exchange! Fortunately our grasp of the Japanese language is such now that this was a doddle ... .... Following this meal, they wheeled in the karaoke. Again I don't think we would have survived the public vote. At the end of this meal we were ushered into a separate room and were treated to a second party, and entertained by Geisha's, singing and dancing. Another experience few tourists would get to see. As the saki flowed, David started jamming with the Geisha's on their guitars and Angela, joined in with the dancing. I decided that staying put on the floor was the safest place to be!

The remote cottage was next to a fast flowing river, and the noises I heard during the night, I thought was just the river passing by. How wrong I was. It was a monsoon which had set in and was here for the day. Typical , the first day we were to be outside and it was raining harder than I have ever seen, with no sign of it letting up. In fact, if it had rained in the UK like that then it would have been declared a national disaster with low lying villages disappearing underwater. The Japanese simply shrugged this off and continued as if nothing was wrong sticking rigidly to the schedule. Despite the torrent of rain, we struggled to raise Angela, as this was the first night she hadn't spent sleeping next to her elderly host who apparently snored very loudly! We were taken into the Nikko national park, which I'm sure the views and scenery would have been fantastic, if you could have seen more than 50 metres in front of you. Driving through the park we stopped off at various natural beauty spots, notably the Ryuzu Falls and Kegoa Falls (the highest waterfall in Japan). We then visited the Rinno-Ji Temple and Toshu-gu Shrine. Both absolutely stunning buildings, but we were completely washed out . This did not deter the avid Japanese tourist as we were confronted by a sea of umbrellas everywhere were went! To round the evening off before we returned back to Saitama, we were treated to an Onsen. These are hot natural springs where the locals bathe naked. Although even this isn't as simple as it sounds. There are a string of rules and etiquette to follow before getting into and whilst in the Onsen. After 25 minutes, I was like a lobster and about to pass out so called it a day. Totally relaxed after my first Onsen experience. Throughout this experience, I felt like a hundred pairs of eyes were drilling holes in me as if to say "You're not from round 'ere". On returning back to Mr Okemoto, I was presented with a solid bronze samurai helmet as a gift. As if I didn't have enough problems with the weight of my luggage on the way out, it's going to be even more of a challenge on the way back! A great present if I can get it back.

Due to lack of internet access I have been unable to update the blog until now, but have tried to maintain this diary to give a fair reflection of our movements since my last posting.
Following our fantastic first night swimming in saki, there were some interesting creatures that arrived for breakfast the following morning. This was served in a very bright, 17th floor restaurant on the roof of the hotel overlooking Saitama city. Unprecedented views, but not for the faint hearted who do not like heights, especially if already not too steady on our feet. Playing it safe with bacon and eggs rather than raw fish that could have tipped the balance. As we met in the lobby before our first public meeting of Rotarians, some interesting revelations came to light as a result of the following night. Our glorious cheema reeda setting the pace by deciding that he needed to go to the toilet during the night but being slightly groggy (due to jet lag) and without his glasses (very short sighted) missed the toilet door and ended up in the corridor with his room door shutting behind him. Stranded on the 13th floor there was no option David had no other than to make the journey down to reception in his underwear to ask to be let back into his room. A brave man indeed. Fortunately, there was no one to see his predicament but I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when he was trying to explain himself. I have woken many nights since laughing uncontrollably as I have thought of this. It has to be said Joe looked the worse I have seen him, but in true GSE spirit he came through. If anything these experiences have bonded the team, and gave us the strength to do a impromptu presentation completely in Japanese to 130 Rotarians and business men which went down very well.
Following the national anthems, presentations and delightful meal, we ventured out into Saitama and spent some time looking around the John Lennon museum. There is a strong connection between this area and the 1180 district due to The Beatles.
Then the time came to leave the relative safety and comfort of one anothers company and venture out to meet our host families. I was hosted by the Okemoto family. An elderly couple whose grasp of English is limited but that is not to say that we have not tried to communicate to each other. I have since found out that in this area Mr Okemoto is an extremely influential person, a very successful businessman and one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. He is known locally amongst the Rotary community as “The King”.
I was introduced to his son’s family, including his grandson Yoshiki who had spent some time in a English school and was fortunately able to speak a little more English. We all went out for a meal. This was no ordinary meal, but a “Ryotei”. Held in a private room of a restaurant overlooking the Saitama skyline, I was treated to the most amazing Japanese cuisine, “Kaseiki” normally only reserved for politicians and the business elite. Following a selection of sashimi and other delicacies including a whole baby octopus (mind over matter), the star of the show came in. There were special hot plates in the table which we used to heat a pan. You then selected your meat of vegetables, cooked them in this pan for about 15 seconds and then ate them with a selection of dipping sauces. Delicious.
A miscommunication in a conversation held during this meal was to be my demise when coming down for breakfast the following day. I thought they asked, “What do you eat in England?”. How surprised was I when along with rice, eggs and fish for breakfast, I was given potatoes, carrots, broccoli and 6 sausages! Not wanting to appear rude, I ploughed in. This was the first but not the last miscommunication.
Following breakfast, I left and picked up Angela en route for our first vocational day. First stop, Saitama Prefecture Headquarters where we were met by the Deputy Chief of the force, and exchanged gifts. An interesting statement from this important police figure head. “We do not tape record interviews of suspects as we do not believe that they will tell the truth if it is being recorded!” Amazing. Something that we in England stopped doing in 1984, much to the disgust of the old timers whose interviewing techniques were similar to those used on Life on Mars and not suited to this method of interviewing. I went on to tell him the benefits to their investigations if this was introduced. He also stated that in the most technological country in the world, CCTV was not very widespread due to human rights legislation, and stated that the UK was leading the way in the use of CCTV in investigations and that the Japanese police should look to the UK to develop this.
From here we went to Urawa police station, where we were met by the Chief of the Police Station and given a tour of the station, seeing the interview rooms, CID offices, control room and the patrol cars. One great gadget they had was a button in the patrol car that when deployed to an emergency, it will work out the best way to get to the incident and turn all of the traffic lights to green to make their route faster. We were then photographed and had our fingerprints taken so no chance of getting up to mischief now in Japan.
The tour was brisk as we had a tight schedule which had to be adhered to, so we were whisked off to Saitama police academy. Here we enjoyed the students doing practicing judo and kendo as part of their training. They even let us have a go, which wasn’t a good idea given Angela’s state of mind and was waving the sword around. She almost took the poor lads head off. It was interesting to see that there is no dedicated CSI department in Japan, and that all of the police officers are trained in CSI skills and evidence recovery. I think we benefit from having a dedicated unit. Before we left we had a Q & A session with heads of the leading departments, sharing ideas on how to improve the service we deliver. We weren’t sure on all of the answers we gave, but were very convincing in our responses.
Following our tour around police academy, we were taken away by car to Mr Okemotos summer house, a 2 hour drive away from Saitama, near the Nikon country park. Some miscommunication that left Angela without any change of clothing or necessities. We salvaged the situation by persuading them to stop off at her hist family’s house to collect some things. Fortunately for once, I had got the right end of the stick and had packed an overnight bag. We were told that that evening we were to have a bbq, so for 2 hours I dreamt of a burger. Don’t get me wrong, I love fish but just for a bit of home comforts that is what I imagined. On arriving at the summer house in the middle of nowhere, we were taken into the kitchen, to find a bbq in the middle of the room. But no, there were no burgers, but a load of roasting fish on sticks, around an open fire. The meal was wonderful, with a few challenges along the way, but once you had got over the fact that most of what you were eating you were eating was looking at you, and a few saki’s to wash it down we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. To cap it off, they even found a karaoke machine in this desserted place and we killed the famous Beatles song “Yesterday’. The problem we have now is that they think we love karaoke. They don’t realize that you have to be sloshed to actually even consider having a go in the UK. I don’t even think John & Edward would have been concerned at our efforts.

My new career as an international singing sensation...

hmmmm... okay. That may be about as close to the truth as I am to winning gold at London 2012.

However, we did participate in one type of international event yesterday. An international Karaoke sing off between the UK and Japan! It was a close run race... as tense as the Liverpool / Everton derby. Both sides facing each other down like the gladiators of ancient Rome. Eyes locked across the battlefield, a beautiful traditional Japanese restaurant, ready to do battle. We brandished our weapons, they glinted in the soft light as they were pulled from their "non scratch, anti dust" sheathes. Elvis, Tom Jones, The Beatles... titans of musical history, selected and cast into the fray.

First up it was David "The Meer cat" Bathers... team leader. Honorable representative of District 1180 and secret crooner. He wowed the audience with his silky rendition of "are you lonesome tonight"... women swooned, men broke down in tears, cats ran in fear.

Next up came Mr Ashahi San... our guide through Tokyo that day... he took the floor confidently with a rendition of "let it be" by the Beatles drawing on the very sprit of Liverpool to power the song home. It was as if John, Paul, George and Ringo were in the room.

Ifer Gwyn took to the floor then, pulling off a truly heart rending rendition of "the green green grass of home" (including Tom Jones style actions). You could practical smell the distant mountains and valleys of Wales as he powered out those chords. I think everyone of us in the room understood the very essence of the word "Hiraeth" when he had finished.

Into this emotional wake stepped Mr Handa San with aｎ inspiring rendition of Elvis. Then stepped up the brothers of rock themselves... Simon and I. We tapped the very vain of rock and roll with our rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. Not since the days of Queen has a more harmonious and in sink version of that song been heard. Heads were banging all round the room.

In the honor of his guests the Rotary club president then stepped up to sing a quintessential English song "green sleeves". Bringing home a millennia of British tradition... he was followed closely by the voice of the Mersey, Angela, and her rendition of Hey Jude.

To complete the proceedings... I stepped back up to the mark. slicking back my hair and reclining into a knowing swagger I threw my very soul into a rendition of "I can`t help falling in love with you". By the end of the song people were dancing in the aisles (or they may have been scrabbling frantically for the exit... it was hard to tell)

Then... Hai...

It was over... It is unclear who won but I am sure that if there had been a record company scout within earshot we would all have started today in new careers as international pop stars!?!?!

A tale of two cities...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... well... actually it was just the best of times but we have just had two very different days... both in cities. We did the first of our vocational visits yesterday, Ifer and I went to the Nikko National Park, a beautiful area one and a half hours drive from Saitama. Within the National Park there is an area classed as a world heritage site, Nikko City (city number 1). It gets this prestigious accolade for the famous shrines and temples situated there. Relics, monuments and amazing traditional places of worship exist in such proximity (the site is only 30 hectares) that it feels as though someone has taken a core through Japan`s spiritual and cultural past and planted it there to grow. Nikko has another worldly feel, which is further amplified by the flame red leaves of the Japanese maple that burn with cold intensity against the autumn sky. We spent the day being whisked around the many Shinto shrines ("whisked" being the operative word as everything is done fast and efficiently here) stopping only to pray. It was a very interesting experience and I begun to get a real feel for Japan`s spiritual links with their environment. Every action of human intervention is considered and carried out with measured sympathy to the aesthetic character of the natural surroundings.

In stark contrast, we have just visited "Akihabara" Tokyo`s "Electric City". This vast and sprawling metropolis is the heartland of the Manga and Anime tradition. It buzzes with the fevered imagination of a generation of Japanese illustrators, hell bent on turning the world into a strobing effigy to pixel queens and sword wielding robots. It was amazing... fast, inconsistent, colorful and fun. We had tea served by Japanese maids, their bright costumes in perfect harmony with the themed cafe in which they served, and then walked down row upon row of neatly stacked, neatly vacuum packed comics. It was the very juxtaposition of the quiet reflection of the Shinto shrine. A truly bizarre experience but one that is fast becoming Japan`s newest cultural tradition. In a hundred years, it will probably be Alihabara that is the ancient shrine, having been superseded by the next step in this counties cultural evolution.

Even though both experiences felt so different, they both felt very Japanese. There is a certain grace and honor amongst the people of Japan that is evident in every part of their lives. It is a truly amazing, place and one that I feel so privileged to be welcomed into. I have felt so welcomed by my host family. Although my grasp of the Japanese language is not that great (sorry Angela!) they have made every effort to show me the way of life here. I`ve learnt so much in 3 days... I`ll probably be a walking encyclopedia of Japanese life and history by the time i leave. Maybe i could make an appearance on mastermind????

Specialist subject... Japanese food.

Your starter for 10... What new things have you eaten in the last day

Answer... many things, but the ones that stick out in my mind have to be: raw stake, BBQ`d tongue and diaphragm and stewed jellyfish

Did you enjoy it... yes please, more please

What an evening. What fantastic hosts. We were met by District Chairman Hideo Suzuki, Governor Nobuo Otsuka and other Rotarian dignitaries from District 2270. Removing our shoes, we had several formal introductions and were led into a room with matted floor and a long low table. Laid out on this table was an amazing array of local dishes, beautifully presented. We were then welcomed by Nobuo and cheema reeda David San returned with a warm welcome from District 1180 and presented gifts. The first real test of our language skills was then upon us as we stood up, introduced ourselves to the group and presented club banners. Next came the exchanging of business cards and badges. We were then seated for the meal. Served by a waitress in traditional costume, we received 8 different courses of the most wonderful food, ranging from shellfish, sashimi, fish cooked in a variety of ways, dumplings, soup, and rice. Each beautifully presented and tasting amazing. Compliments to the chef. Accompanying this meal was a selection of beers and rice wine (saki). At one point I had 5 different drinks in front of me, which no sooner as I finished one was replenished. The biggest shock to the group came when Nobuo then demonstrated Japanese drinking customs. “Kampai” came the cry as they toasted each of us. The size of the measures increased and still the saki kept on coming. It was as though it was coming out of a tap. If this evening is a measure of things to come, we are going to have the time of our lives (with a few sore heads along the way) and we are hosted by the most hospitable people in the world. They simply can’t do enough for us.

We have arrived!!!

After a very long day, travelling for about 21 hours, we have finally arrived in Tokyo. Not much sleep on the plane as leg room was tight. Ifer spent most of the journey with his knees round his ears. We were met at the airport by Saty and other Rotarians who wisked us away through the city to our hotel, Which has hosted the winning Brazilian world cup football team. The Jaqanese are very efficient; there were no traffic jams and in an hour of driving only stopped at one set of traffic lights. We now have a couple of hours to freshen up before our first formal function, meeting the governor of the district and other dignitaries for a welcome meal. Can't wait to get stuck in to the Japanese cuisine, although still mastering the chop sticks so bound to get some down my shirt! Have already tried out the all singing and all dancing lavatory facilities. Very advanced and quite refreshing!