Kyoto to Osaka - the end of Japan..

Well, we hung out for a few days in Kyoto, checking out the many temples and catching the odd glimps of a Giesha or Meiko... also got to do a bit of shopping. The weather in Kyoto wasn't that great, so when we had to check out on the last morning we decided that instead of staying in Kyoto for the day we would head on over to Osaka and see what was happening over there.

Osaka was a concrete nightmare! There were some nice places but on the whole i was very shocked at how so many buildings could fit into and onto the flat places. Alot of the buildings are old and don't exactly look that good. Then right smack in the middle of a built up area is a temple. It's fairly crazy.

Both Rob and i were actually a bit sick of Japan and it's weather by this point. We'd seen some great things and had some great days, but i'm the first to admit we are both warm weather people and therefore the cold and the rain wasn't welcomed with open arms.

Japan is definitely one of those places to go and visit - certainly makes you think about a whole load of things that we do that we consider normal. For example we are currently banning smoking inside buildings in the UK - yet here in japan they are trying to get people to stop smoking on the streets so everyone heads inside restaurants and bars to smoke - some places don't have a none smoking section to eat! To us that just seems strange!

Anyway - enjoy the last few photos of Japan, as we move onto warmer climates in south asia and bask in the sun for what seems the first time in forever (exactly 30 days from Caribbean!)....