food

Mexico – 12th December 2025

Travel

We were due to be picked up at 1:30 this afternoon which would have given us a morning on the water, but it’s an easterly wind which means a boat trip to a different beach and the timing doesn’t work. Sounds like a good opportunity for a nice lunch in Cancun instead.

Usual breakfast, and I manage to not break my glass of smoothie this time (even the waiter tells me to be careful), I need all the fresh nutrients I can get after last night. Arnaud has to join his morning work call, bit of a jolt back to reality for him every day.

Packing doesn’t take long, well, it wouldn’t have if Arnaud hadn’t temporarily misplaced his AirPods, leaving me sweating outside with the taxi. He makes up for it by buying some cold beers while we wait for the ferry, “last beers on the island!”, can’t argue with that.

The traffic and bustle of Cancun is a bit of a shock after the peace and tranquility of the past week. “I’m not sure the restaurant is going to be in the sexiest part of town by the way”, well, we’re not here for sightseeing. “We probably won’t get robbed at gunpoint”, hmm let’s hope not.

The minibus soundtrack is stuck somewhere between 1985 and 1995. I’m tempted to give him a tip to upgrade to at least “Now 2000”.

We pull up down a side street, and we are definitely not here for the view. It looks suspect enough that both Arnaud and the driver go to investigate the improbability of there being a top rated restaurant nearby.

“It’s just here!” Arnaud arrives back at the taxi. Behind a very unassuming entrance is a bustling, clean and delicious smelling room. Menus are chalked on blackboards, no picture menus in sight.

“I’ll just order for us, ok?”, “I hoped you would”. All that sitting around today has been surprisingly tiring, I’m ready for a feast. 

I’m not disappointed, and have to ask him to write it down for me:

  • Sopa de Lima (lime soup …)
  • Tamales (corn meal steamed parcels in banana leaves)
  • Longaniza asada (grilled chorizo sausage)
  • Cochinita pibil (pork shoulder in spices and achiote, typical from Yucatan)

After a week of pretty much just seafood, the strong punchy flavours are really noticeable. It all tastes amazing of course, and I’m determined to make that soup at home. It’s also quite nice to have a meal somewhere that has an actual floor instead of dusty dirty sand.

Quick taxi to the airport, my flight is delayed by an hour, but at least I don’t need to eat anything for about 3 days.

What a trip, the perfect combination of chilling, exercise, time on the water, food, drink, chats and laughs. The weather in London is going to be brutal after this, but nothing like what Arnaud is going to experience when he gets to New York. -7 degrees C and he forgot to take his warm clothes out of his case, shorts and flip flops in the snowy ice, poor chap!

Mexico – 11th December 2025

Travel

Today marks 12 years of being married to Zoe, and more importantly, we first got together 30 years ago. What a lovely tropical island to be on to celebrate such a milestone. Shame she’s not here and is keeping all the creatures alive and happy back in cold and wet London. Sorry babe!

We don’t mess about this morning, no gentle walk by the sea, no run. Nope, up out and ordering food at Le Bluk by 8:30.

Arnaud quite rightly can’t resist the chilaquiles, I opt for enfrijoladas, soft tortillas wrapped around black beans, crumbly cheese and eggs. Breakfast of champions is exactly what’s needed.

Bags loaded with water and cookies we set off for kite beach, into a very welcome headwind, the forecast is holding!

My cycling skills are being challenged by the decision to carry a hot americano in one hand, but amazingly it makes it intact to the beach, where we arrive half an hour early. Pretty nice place to sit and watch the action, conserving energy for what we’re desperately hoping is a mammoth session.

Jonny and Cathy arrive with a trailer packed with kit, we’re already changed and ready to go. Cathy smiles at me, “Santa came early!”, “oooh, I did spot some empty boxes outside your office earlier, what did he bring?”

A brand new slingshot v6, 6.5 meter wing, reserved just for me for the whole day. Awesome.

We don’t waste any time and are out on the water by half 10. I know the foiling geeks will ask (looking at you Will)…I had a 5’2” ReedIn “Feather” 82L board, with matching mast, foil and stabiliser. Sadly I can’t remember the actual foil name but it was a 1280, with a nice wavey shape.

Arnaud kicked off the day with a 15 meter kite, those things are huge. I left him to deal with it and headed straight out to see if I could find my turtle mates.

Gliding above the waves, surrounded by blue sky and turquoise sea, the occasional turtle and pelican fishing, I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. Not a bad way to spend the last day.

After about 2 hours I checked the time, only because I’d got cramp in my forearm, first time that’s happened! Probably time for a break.

Arnaud’s already having a little sit down, “biscuit?” I ask, “what the fuck is it with you British and your bloody biscuits?”. I insist he tries one, “they’re like custard creams, but Mexican and with mango”, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about” he mutters, taking the whole packet from me.

“Oh! These are good!”, don’t mess with people who know about these things, I don’t say.

The wind has dropped a bit so I upgrade my foil to the 1880 version and head back out, liberally sprayed with factor 50, though honestly it doesn’t stand a chance. Arnaud is pumping up a 17 meter kite, looks like hard work.

We’re tantalised by a few decent gusts but it’s not quite enough and we meet back on the beach. “donde esta el blowy blowy?”, my Spanish is improving, but Arnaud falls about laughing. Time for a beer, but shower first, we’ve been in the sea for about 5 hours by now.

“I’ve been thinking about what we should eat tonight”, I casually mention once we’re clean and drinking beer on the beach in front of the hotel. Just as the sun is setting, it’s almost romantic. Arnaud looks doubtful, this is the first time I’ve shown any kind of initiative in this area. “A mini food tour, just the best dish from the places we’ve been, with cocktails and beers in between”. He nods approvingly and gets to work planning it on google maps, his happy place.

We drop off the bikes and walk the rest of the way into town. “Walk” is a strong word, one of us has chafed his unmentionables and the other can’t stop bursting into laughter and also walking like a cowboy…

First up, quesadillas with more cold beer.

Then a couple of rum based cocktails, sitting outside a bar in the busy (everything is relative) part of town, perfect place to people watch and talk through the day. 

Next up is a new spot, mixed ceviche “because why choose when you can have it all?”, some shrimps fried in coconut flakes, and of course, pina coladas.

The portions are bigger than expected, so after a little dance outside the main square which is hosting a salsa lesson, we realise it’s actually Tequila O’Clock. Honestly, it really is…

Well! Although Arnaud has been educating me this whole trip, it all finally sinks in, that tequila is to Mexico like champagne is to France. There is an ingredient, agave, but where it grows and what you do with it afterwards determines how it tastes and what you’re allowed to call it. Better get tasting!

We sample a lot, and to help us keep going there are snacks, “these crickets are more on the chewy side, don’t you think?”, perhaps keeping them in a jar on the bar doesn’t bring out their best side. “Try the warm salt”, “It’s not warm, it’s just sitting there, looks like dirty sand”, “what? No, WORM salt”, “Oh, what the fuck?”. Yes, quite. A delicacy apparently, maybe I’ll just have the nuts and mandarin slices.

A paloma for the road, then the long walk back now we’re bikeless, we both think the other will end up in that massive puddle half way. We have a little chat with some banditos on the way, but they ignore us, very sensible, we’re not making a whole load of sense.

Mexico – 10th December 2025

Travel

Despite the bedtime mescals I slept well, and was up and out for a run first thing, then swung by the hotel to pick up Arnaud for a walk along the quiet beaches to the west of us.

He kindly demonstrated why my white shoes are a bad idea, taking one for the team!

Quick shower then breakfast. I’ve packed my kit in the hope that the wind keeps building. Forever optimistic…

We get to our new morning spot about 5 minutes before I pass out from hunger. Wow what a feast, best breakfast yet. I have chilaquiles, Arnaud enmoladas, both with red mole sauce (the chocolate, nuts and chilli one, not the powdered tunnel dweller type).

That should set us up nicely for a few hours…they just messaged, we are a go for 2pm!

Grabbing a iced takeaway coffees from a very nice looking cafe, we set off to see Jonny & Cathy, just as well these bikes don’t have brakes or gears, and that there are no cars here.

“It’s borderline, but we’re going to take all the kit down to kite beach for 2pm, tomorrow looks much better, but we’re going to give it a go”. That’s all we need to hear.

We’re all smiles until we find that our favourite spot in the nice beach bar has a view of Tommy and his gang of walnuts. Oh well. Midday arrives, bringing diet cokes for a change, we’re taking this all very seriously.

Arnaud can’t sit still, even more fidgety than usual, pacing up and down to the beach. I see him rubbing his hands and smiling, “someone is out!”, this bodes well.

I’ve got a nice looking board and foil, and a 6 meter wing, the 7 meter that I really need for this light wind has been reserved for a lesson. It’s all good, I’m desperate to get out on the water. Arnaud is looking doubtfully at someone pumping up a 17 meter kite, it doesn’t even fit on the tiny sliver of beach. There hasn’t been wind for days and everyone is just crazy keen to do something, there is a real sense of excitement, everyone is smiling and chatting.

I head out and to be totally honest, there is a lot of bobbing around waiting for a stronger gust, but I’m happy, the sea is warm, I can see huge kites swooping around me, finally properly out on the water!

At the end of one long run, where I’m almost uncomfortably far from the shore, I see what looks like a head appear from the water ahead of me. My first thought is that someone swimming is in trouble, there is a really strong current here, swirling around the sandbanks. It pops up again, but I can’t get a proper look to decide whether to get help or not. 

I’m contemplating the situation when a large scaly head appears about 10 meters ahead and fixes one Inquisitive eye on me, then slowly sinks into the blue green sea. It’s a turtle! Cathy told me to keep an eye out for them but I didn’t believe her. Wow!

We stay out about as long as we possibly can, it gets dark at 6, and nobody wants to pack up in the dark.

Fist bumps all round, we’re all windswept, slightly pink and grinning our faces off. Happy Happy.

We make it to the closest place that sells beer just as the sun goes behind some clouds, that’s ok, the view is amazing and we have that delicious tired and achy feeling. Though there is a more pressing ache.

“Big fish?” I say, still looking at the view. “Big fish” I hear next to me. Done. It’s about a 2 mile cycle, and we weave around potholes and muddy puddles on our way back into town.

“Hola chicos!”

“Hola! Dos Pina colada por favor!”

Also, guacamole, tuna tostados, shrimp ceviche in a red chilli sauce, fried fish (I forget what kind, but disconcertingly it has teeth), with salad, rice and warm tortillas. It’s a proper feast. We need more pina coladas half way through.

“Wow, I needed that”, “Mate, I am done!”, sleepy smiles.

The hotel seems a long way away, I hope Arnaud doesn’t fall in another puddle.

“We meet at 10 tomorrow if you’d like to join us?” The perfect message to get once we’re back, the weather models are still aligned and it looks like the wind Mel has been praying for is going to arrive. Either that, or the high pressure system that’s been hovering below North America is finally shunting the stubborn low out of our way, but I like to think it was Mel.

Mexico – 9th December 2025

Travel

Feels slightly more blowy today, seems to be improving. The sun’s out as well, and we set off on a run/walk to burn off a few of yesterday’s beers. Both feeling sprightly and refreshed after a good nights sleep (that nightcap didn’t happen, definitely for the best).

More pink flamingos! We didn’t see the crocodile though, which was a shame, maybe he’s having a day off.

Arnaud has a morning work call so we duck into a place with decent internet and have a not very Mexican breakfast for a change. Delicious but the price was a bit of a shock, £20 each (including lots of coffee), back to the local fare tomorrow.

Sunny walk to the hotel for a shower and pick up bikes, then a bit of a mooch around the shops. “Smooch? Is that right?”, “Um no, far too early for that”, some things do get lost in translation…

Jonny has been in touch, “wind looks light but may work this afternoon, next update at 12:30”, better postpone our usual midday beer, just in case.

The mooching didn’t last long, far too hot. Resuming our routine we ordered some eepas (IPAs) and settled on some comfortable chairs watching the sea. Also Magnum PI.

Ok maybe not Tom Sellek exactly, but blimey, this guy is channelling him big time. There are two couples about 10 meters away from us towards the sea, they’ve angled their loungers to face the sun, which is behind us. Magnum has a thick bushy moustache, mirrored aviators, black hair, short short blue denims (with legs spread wide, right in my line of sight). Oh and a huge American eagle tattoo interwoven with the stars and strips curling around his shoulder and down his arm. America! Fuck yeah! They all look pretty leathery, maybe they should sit in the shade like us pale Europeans. Ok this pale European, Arnaud is definitely more sunshine friendly than me.

A message from Cathy at the kitesurf place pops up, a welcome distraction. “It’s very onshore and light at the moment. We’ll check again at 1:30 and give you an update”. It’s definitely picked up, but maybe not quite enough. We’re being philosophical about it all, if we get at least one day out on the water we’ll have had our fix. Time for another beer then.

I’m determined to write at least a thousand words for my book, but it’s hard to concentrate, the temptation to just doze quietly in the sun is almost overwhelming.

“We should think about food, what do you fancy?” Arnaud brings me back to the moment, “Not sure I’m hungry to be honest, though it’s hard to say”. I should really recognise the signs of hunger and dehydration after all the stupid runs I’ve done. Bleary, muddled, lethargic. I go and inspect the wind.

“Probably about 9 knots, gusting maybe 10 or 11, not really enough, and definitely not consistent”

We have a beer for the road, I hit my word target, and we bumble off towards somewhere called Big Fish.

Guacamole and iced water to get us started, within minutes we both feel refreshed and awake, that’s all it took. “Funny how there is a dirt floor here but he took our order on an iPad”, Arnaud shrugs, another of the anomalies of this place, modern but yet so basic at the same time. The toilet here at least has paper, albeit hanging from a string, though the outdoor sink doesn’t have anything to dry your hands with. There is soap, which is something.

Our mains arrive, tostadas with lightly grilled tuna with cucumber, avocado and pickled red onion, grilled octopus in soy sauce, small roast potatoes and tomatoes. The soy has slightly caramelised. It’s so tasty we have to force ourselves to slow down, turns out we were hungry after all.

My phone pings, “it’s not enough for me to get out winging today. a pity, as there’s a rare opportunity to play in little waves, but maybe tomorrow instead!” Maybe tomorrow indeed, the weather still looks promising for Thursday as well. May as well order a little something extra to wash all this down with.

Our pina coladas arrive quickly, “tastes like holiday”, I smile, “damm right it does”. Just the right amount of sweetness and coconut, the tang of passion fruit counterbalancing the sugar.

Back to the hotel for a siesta and to de-sand, the sky is clear so there should be a good sunset later.

Except the clouds come in while we rest. Still, I make Arnaud laugh by dressing up for dinner, though I’m questioning my shoe colour choice with the amount of chalky muddy sand everywhere.

I’m really sleepy, even though it’s only 6pm, probably because I’ve been wide awake from before 5 this morning. Couple of beers, some very tasty meaty snacks, then back to the hotel for a cheeky mescal nightcap. Or two.

Model convergence for Thursday, if tomorrow looks ok too we’ll be waiting at the kitesurf place until they open at 10am.

Screenshot

Mexico – 8th December 2025

Travel

Despite the melatonin tablets I was awake early, and (after dunking myself in suncream and mosquito spray) headed out for a run, didn’t have a route in mind, just thought I’d try and keep near the beach and see where I ended up.

Even at 8am it was crazy hot and humid, but a little breeze off the calm blue sea helped a bit. I nearly stepped on what I thought was a stingray, turns out it was a horseshoe crab. Apparently these scary looking creatures have been around for over 450 million years, that makes them older than the dinosaurs!

Keeping a close eye on where I was putting my feet I cracked on along the shoreline, ducking in through the mangrove forests when my way was blocked, studiously ignoring the naked bloke standing in the sea (thankfully quite far out). Two iguanas gave me a little heart attack when I disturbed their sunbathing around a corner, noisily scampering for safety. Lots of roads and paths were flooded, not sure if from rain or the super high tides (it’s a full moon), the whole island is pretty much at sea level, everything is built on stilts.

A pink flamingo just looked at me, completely not bothered by the sweaty white person jogging slowly past.

I was cooling down nicely in my air conditioned hotel room afterwards until there was a power cut, oh well, time for breakfast anywhere. Arnaud had a local spot in mind, obviously.

“What’s a homlet?”, for some reason I assume he knows everything because he can speak Spanish, I really have turned my brain off. “A very masculine egg dish”, fair enough.

I was tempted by the special cake, divorced eggs, and a side helping of champion eggs, but decided that I was just being silly, and went for huevos rancheros, a big cold jug of passion fruit juice and a black coffee. Delicious.

No bloody wind again, so we decamped to the Las Nubes hotel beach club, good internet, sun loungers, cold beers and a bit of shade. Could be worse.

It was 200 MXN for the sun loungers, and we had to spend at least 1,000 (about £40), confident that we’d easily get through that with some beers and snacks we settled down to get through some admin. As well as checking the wind forecast approximately every 5 seconds.

We were on our fourth beer when a cheeky looking racoon appeared in front of us, and set about helping himself to our neighbours lunch. No shame whatsoever, just sat up on his hind legs and started picking bits off the table. They gently shooed him away, so he went around the back and started to rummage through their bag. Proper beach entertainment!

Arnaud reminded me of a conversation we had with someone trying to sell us a kayak excursion yesterday.

“Three island tour? Mangrove kayak? Punta mosquito lunch trip?”

“No thanks, we’re here for kitesurfing, got any wind?”

“Kitesurfing? So expensive, you could have three of my tours for the price of one hour of that!”

“Naa, we’re ok, just need to wait for some wind”

“Waiting for wind, waiting for wind, you could spend your whole life waiting for wind, and then what? Where is your life? Nothing, just lying around waiting! You should go on a tour with me”

We’ve got the waiting process pretty well nailed I reckon, but we did start to think about booking something if the weather doesn’t sort itself out. In the meantime we went to find a different hire place, and see if they had any more local wind intel.

Johnny from the Holbox Kitesurfing school had windy.com and windguru.cz up on his monitor, the same pages we’d been glued to all afternoon, and we all went through everything together in great detail. “Thursday looks good at the moment, maybe tomorrow, possibly Wednesday too”, that’s the sort of upbeat information we wanted. He’s got plenty of kit as well, feeling bouyed by the good news it was time for an early supper, breakfast was a very long time ago.

Fish, ceviche and a grilled fillet, salad with rice, warm tortillas, squid with garlic, eye watering habanero sauce, couple of margaritas. Sitting at a counter watching people go by, this felt like a pretty dammed good way to round off the afternoon. Both feeling decidedly dozy now, so back to the hotel for a late siesta, maybe a nightcap on the rooftop bar later, although the huge black cloud slowly enveloping the island might call that off. Hope it brings some wind.

Mexico – 7th December 2025

Travel

I forgot about the mosquito situation until I realised I was scratching my ankles at breakfast, thankfully a liberal spray of repellant seemed to ease the annoyance.

No wind! Sad, but, fine, it’s Sunday and both quite happy for a gentle mooch around, chatting to the locals and figuring out what other things we might do. A kayak tour through a mangrove forest sounds the most appealing, as long as the alligators keep well away!

It’s hot, easily 30 degrees, and once we’d had coffee, fruit and a pile of spicy tomato and pork, we settled on a sofa under a little tent thing on the beach. We lay there for hours, reading, chatting, checking (and rechecking) the wind forecast, and generally just having a very chilled morning.

Once the afternoon kicked in it seemed rude to not have a couple of cold beers, and some gazpacho (for some nutrients).

Suddenly it was 2pm and definitely time for lunch! Of course Arnaud had a place in mind, and I’m quite happy to let him order and see what turns up.

A huge plate of octopus and tomato salad arrived, then a tall glass of prawns in a tomato sauce/soup, shrimps fried in coconut, and a little pile of fresh tortillas, oh and a bowl of crunchy tortilla chips.

A glass of passion fruit mescalita appeared to be the required accompaniment, I wasn’t going to argue!

Tangy and fresh, perfect balance of crunchy salad to juicy prawns, bitter and sweet drink, could easily have eaten the whole lot again, but need to make sure I’ve got space for supper.

Didn’t quite have enough cash to pay, they seemed happy enough to wait until later, so we hired some bikes and headed back to the hotel to replenish money, bit of a wobbly ride in the warm rain.

There might be wind tomorrow, we’ve been messaging a local hire company and agreed to meet at 5 to discuss options. Eventually we found the right place to meet him, though they don’t have much in the way of wing foil kit, Arnaud spotted a shack next door that looks promising. If it picks up in the afternoon we’ve got some options, fingers crossed.

“We need a good spot for the sunset”, Arnaud says firmly, weaving around trees and pedestrians on his bike. I set after him, still not quite used to peddling backwards to stop, at least there are no messy things like actual brakes to worry about, or gears.

We find the right place but there is no bar, just a group of locals on deckchairs and a very leathery chap grilling fish on a barbecue, he says something loud to me in Spanish, I smile and shrug. “He says that you’re the most beautiful person he’s ever seen and he’s in love with you” someone calls out and they all fall about laughing. I’m totally bemused by the whole thing, but they seem happy enough and we wander down a back street in search of something cold to drink.

Our lunch place appears and they’re happy to do us frozen margaritas to take away, result.

Back to the beach, Arnaud is chatting away to the locals, I didn’t know he’s fluent, it’s very handy. That was a year in Columbia well spent.

The sunset is glorious, it looks like the whole island is out to admire it. Pelicans are dive bombing the water catching fish, music in the background. We haven’t exactly had a hard day but it feels like we deserve this.

It’s too early for supper, “I could happily sit somewhere nice, have a couple of beers and read my book” I suggest. We cycle around a bit, on the dusty scruffy streets, then see an Italian food place that has some very comfortable looking seats just inside. It’s so weird, you almost step into a different world, tidy, clean and nicely decorated, such a contrast from outside. It’s perfect, and the beer is very local, so local I’m a bit hesitant when I see the can, but it’s delicious.

After about an hour we reluctantly leave and head to a tiny quesadilla restaurant not far away, nothing is far away now we have our bikes.

“Guacamole to start, with grasshoppers?” Arnaud raises an eyebrow at me. “Are they mushy or crunchy?” I counter, “Crunchy, 100%”, “Ok, let’s do it”.

They are crunchy, and honestly delicious, especially with a squeeze of lime, and a cold mug of fresh hibiscus juice to wash them down.

The food is amazing, no surprise, I can’t decide if the pork belly or the corn one is the tastiest.

Despite having no lights, no helmets, and only a rudimentary grasp of the braking system, we make it back to the hotel without any incidents. Time for bed!

Mexico – 6th December 2025

Travel

Long day! Left the house at 7:15am, got to the hotel in Holbox island at 2:15am the following morning (9:15pm local time).

Flight was fine, just long. Landed in 30 degree heat and found Arnaud waiting outside, with a whole load more travelling still to do, we did the obvious thing – bought a polystyrene cool box, a massive bag of ice, some beers and a huge bag of crisps. 

We had a mini bus to ourselves, so settled back, watched the sunset through the windows and caught up on life for the next 2 hours.

Annoyingly we missed a ferry by 3 minutes, the next one was in half an hour, just as well we had some cold beers to help kill the time.

The driver took a photo of us before he left, bit strange I thought, until Arnaud pointed out it was so he had proof that he’d fulfilled his part of the multi legged transfer. Yikes.

We sat at the front of the ferry, watching the distant lights of Holbox Island slowly get closer. A full moon on our right and a flock of seagulls swirling around the boat lent the whole scene a slightly surreal atmosphere.

There aren’t any cars on the island, but a golf buggy was waiting for us, we bounced down the dirt tracks to the hotel, were handed chilled towels, iced water and margaritas when we got there.

We didn’t waste any time, dumped our bags in the room and decamped over the road for some much needed sustenance.

Grilled octopus, tuna ceviche, salad, chips and cold Spanish wine, sorted.

Don’t know what time I got into bed, probably about 11, it was definitely time for a sleep!

Japan – 21st October 2025

Travel

Somehow we ended up going to bed at 11pm last night, not quite sure how that happened, probably because it was only 3pm at home and so we felt really awake. Thankfully the melatonin kicked in instantly and we both had a proper long sleep.

I managed to drag myself up and out for a run at 7:30 this morning, feeling very stiff and sore, rest doesn’t seem to help weirdly. Then both downstairs for our first buffet breakfast of the trip, which was… not nearly as good as Busan, but not too bad. We were quite late so I ended up having green curry and rice, which actually went down very well, Trix managed to find some pancakes and bacon, of course (we had yoghurt too!).

The rest of the day was, surprisingly, shopping! Very successful outing, but lots of walking. We started with a wander through the Kuromon Market which is just near our hotel, similar to that street market we saw in Kyoto, food everywhere, the smells were insanely good. King crab, raw sea urchin, wagyu beef, prawns, so much. Both sad we didn’t have any room for anything.

Decided that we really didn’t need lunch, but at 1pm needed a sit down and a snack, luckily Osaka really is the kitchen of Japan, you’re never more than a few steps away from something delicious. We sat at a counter and had freshly cooked Tako-yaki (yep, more octopus balls!).

Counter to earlier promises, we split up, it feels so safe here and our sore feet insisted we minimise walking for a bit. Got the tube to skip some of the distance, Trix took our bags back to the hotel and I went off to get myself a nice Japanese cooking knife. We met outside Animate and, properly hungry now, found the closest Ichiran for some perfectly spiced, just the right richness of broth, noodles just-so, ramen. Booths, as we both needed a bit of quiet time!

Very pleased to get back to the hotel early, Trix is in PJs with a hot water bottle, I’m on the sofa wondering where to stick all my new stickers. Early bed promised, Nara and the famously tame deer tomorrow (oh and a temple that was first opened in 752, which has a giant Buddha in it!).

Japan – 20th October 2025

Travel

Less restful sleeps last night, my lovely wine pairing with supper spoilt mine, and Trix woke up at 5:30. Needed to be up early anyway as we had a 7:15 breakfast slot, enough time (for me) to have a soak in our onsen first, watching the fog swirl around was very peaceful.

Somehow we were in time to catch an early train, with space for us and our giant suitcases. We felt like we were in a studio Ghibli film as it slowly snaked and zig zagged its way down the edge of this ancient volcano. Occasionally the forest would open and we’d catch sight of the other side of the gorge, rushing water below, tendrils of cloud caught in eddies of wind, then it would close in again, the green tunnel steeper than you’d think a train could cope with.

Easy train change at Hakone-Yumoto, with plenty of time for coffee in Odawara station before our Shinkansen to Osaka.

Having all our tickets and instructions is so helpful, we just need to look in our information pack for where we need to be and by when, then follow the instructions. Makes the whole process a breeze and very low stress.

Mount Fuji briefly appeared between the clouds passed, just as elusive as it’s been for the last few days, we’re hopeful that the weather is kind to us when we return to Tokyo next week.

“I’m hungry” Trix says at 12, her lunchtime internal timer appears to be unaffected by jet lag. I’m still quite full from eating most of both of our breakfasts, including the grilled mackerel that was looking lonely on Trixs side of the table. My western style choice included an octopus salad, not quite my usual yoghurt and granola. The scrambled eggs with wagyu beef stew was a well received interpretation of what people in the UK might eat in the mornings.

We realise that our itinerary has a typo and the train takes 45 minutes longer than we thought. Every time the door to the next carriage opens our eyes snap up, hopeful to see someone with a food trolley. The hotel presented us with some pickled plums as we left, they’re slowly starting to seem a bit more edible.

As the train approaches Nagoya I joke that Trix should make a dash for the nearest vending machine, we both know that’s a ridiculous idea, and anyway the machines we saw earlier only had cold water and hot coffee.  When our window passes a very well stocked kiosk, we look at each other, eyebrows raised. “I reckon I can make it”, I’m looking at the departure board hanging over the platform. “No, don’t, it’s too risky, don’t get left behind on some random train station”, Trix sounds panicky, there is a queue forming to get off the train, another to get back on. I can see the cold beer waiting for me.

“I’ve got 6 minutes, look”, I point, and stand up, “loads of time, I’ll just grab whatever I can see, yeah?”, inserting myself into the queue in a very non-Japanese way I make for the door, just making out the sound of Trix groaning behind me.

I’m back in 4, tuna mayo onigiri, crisps, coke and a delicious Suntory premium malt. Sorted, I love Japan.

Arriving in Osaka was a bit of a shock after a weekend in the mountains, but we managed to get ourselves and our cases to the hotel relatively easily (having pre-charged IC cards made a huge difference). While our room was finished being prepared we zipped down the road to B Side Label to stock up on stickers.

Very brief sit down then off to meet our group for a “retro” food tour, whatever that means.

Turns out that we stopped in about 4 different places that served traditional Osaka food, Japanese of course, but with a very local twist. The highlight was octopus balls, or more accurately Takoyaki. Little sort of dumpling things covered in sauce and loveliness, could have just stayed there!

Was great to meet some other people and by the end of the evening we were all chatting away.

Got back to the hotel about 9:30, unpacked (!) and now just reading a bit before lights out.

Japan – 28th October 2025

Travel

Both quite restrained at breakfast, we’d leapt out of bed before 7 to beat the rush (and still had to queue a bit). I decided to treat myself to some baguette with butter and chocolate spread with my coffee, I’ll be living on dust and air when I get home to offset all this indulgence. Right now I’m just enjoying it and ignoring my waistline.

It only rains for half of the 20 minute walk to the station, we’ve got plenty of time so take shelter in the fish market for a bit. As tempting as it is to get a bag of sashimi for the journey, we press on and look for less smelly fare in the massive shopping area before we go through the barrier to the Shinkansen.

We love how organised the station and platforms are, none of the usual UK experience: “The train might be here, potentially when the timetable says it will be, and maybe on this platform, but seat reservations? Who knows! How could anyone know?! We might even just remove them all at the last minute, have a great journey!”

I knew we’d be travelling through the Japanese alps today, but didn’t think we’d actually get to see any of them. Passing through Itoigawa we could see distant snowy peaks on one side, and a choppy misty sea on the other, like Craighouse on the Isle of Jura, but more.

Suddenly I can smell food, glancing at my watch I see that it is indeed lunchtime, a shade after 12. One old guy just has a tray of thin pale sausages, they smell pretty good.

I gambled that there would be a trolley service so I wouldn’t need to drink warm beer, it’s practically required to have a couple on the train. £1.67 for a deliciously cold Sapporo, happy happy.

I’m not sure if my crisps are crab or beaver flavour (or both), Trix says they smell like cat food. She’s not totally wrong (but they taste great).

The 3 hours pass in a warm and pleasant haze, rain and clouds replaced by a bright blue sky.

Suddenly we’re in the swirling ordered chaos of Tokyo JR station, “blimey, I feel like a country bumpkin!”, Trix just laughs at me and steers the way to the Chujo line, the other end of which our hotel (and hopefully a ready room) awaits.

After the quiet low rise city of Kanazawa (our room was on the top floor of one of the tall buildings, floor 6), Shinjuku is just … bonkers. Lights, skyscrapers, music, people … people everywhere. We find the hotel and just looking up at the building makes us dizzy. The reception is on the 18th floor, our room is near the top, the 37th.

Floor to ceiling windows with a view all the way to the mountains beyond the basin where Tokyo nestles. We’re both a bit overwhelmed, and have a little sit down before venturing back out into the mayhem to find somewhere to sit and have a drink before today’s main event. 

Sumo! Not an actual match as it’s the wrong time of year, more of a family friendly exhibition sort of thing.

Before that we have a little snack and pick up some cats in shark costumes, as requested by Zoe (for friends kids, because…how could you not?)

We start off with a mini sumo wrestler meal (in reality they have two meals a day, but each one is 5,000 calories!), then after a funny warm up from the MC (and a geisha dance) we meet the opponents.

Both are retired, but only in the last year, and are late 20s to early 30s, probably a normal age for a sportsperson? Asanokuma looks exactly what you’d expect: big, fat and strong. He’s 160kg, but says he put on 40kg after retiring, very unusual! The other chap, Asanobori, is a mere 120kg, and it’s clear from all the extra skin flapping around that he’s lost what the other guy gained. There are no weight classes in Sumo, so being heavier is usually an advantage (unless you’re very quick and nimble).

The whole thing is very funny, helped along with plenty of beers (and ginger ales) and a lot of cheering and shouting. We’re talked through demonstrations of a few moves (both allowed and illegal), with the wrestlers playing up to the crowd, being silly and shit talking each other, WWF style.

Then 3 matches, over quickly but you really get an idea of how hard it is to stay on your feet, and to stay inside the tiny ring. They’re both sweating with the effort, which makes Trix even more horrified as their glistening bare buttocks are slapped repeatedly.

Both feeling happily weary we navigate our way back to the hotel on the underground, grateful that (apart from breakfast) we don’t have anything planned until 11am tomorrow.