Counting down

Time, as it does, is tearing along at a rapid pace and we now have only 11 weeks until we leave for Japan. John has found a little countdown timer which he has displayed on his computer, so we get a daily update of days remaining.

The troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant is still in trouble, but as we are only going to the south of Japan, we have no concerns about that. I'm a bit more apprehensive about the fact that Japan's most active volcano, Mt. Aso, is part of our sightseeing plan! I'm not sure if we can outrun a volcanic eruption on our little scooters. The upside of the tectonic activity in Kyushu is the vast number of hot springs. My aching body is already looking forward to being boiled in an onsen.

My Japanese language has progressed a little since our last visit and I hope to practice with the locals - but I know that my lack of self-confidence makes me resort to English at the drop of a hat.

I got our International Drivers Licences yesterday. As they only last a year, we needed new ones, which pleased me greatly as I had the most hideous photo in last year's version.

We are crossing our fingers about the flights, as Cathay Pacific have cut their daily flights from Hong Kong to Osaka back to only one or two flights a week until the end of August. We won't know for a few weeks if our flights are going ahead.

Well that's it for today - back to the Japanese homework!