Japan - Krazy Kamikaze Kobe Karaoke

Yes, it was as drunken, idiotic and hilarious as it looks, and left me without a speaking voice for two days....

Japan - the hills above Kobe

next up, three enjoyable and eventful weeks in Japan based in the coastal city of Kobe, where we spent much of our time with brother Lincoln and sister Julia. We made several trips up to the tops of the picturesque, forested mountains which overshadow urban Kobe and Osaka, via two cable cars routes, both of which swing gently over the dramatic, unspoilt slopes.

Two trips up to the trails at the top of Mount Mia were both memorable, for various reasons; one saw us caught in a torrential downpour of a wall of rain which turned the only road into a fast-flowing river and the trails into gushing, brown waterfalls. While trying to shelter beneath the trees (with lightning very close...), we were visited out of nowhere by an elderly buddhist gentleman, who gave us local candy, was excited to talk with us in broken English (due to his self-confessed 'I love foreigner complex'), and showed us photos on his camera of 'japanese tomcats fighting' before bidding us farewell and disappearing into the trees.

Trying to hitch the short distance up to the cable car station proved to be a test of endurance in the relentless storm, but after countless cars ignored our sodden, mud-coated frames, a young couple of good samaritans finally pulled over and allowed us to make a serious mess of their back seats (those previously spotless Miffy cushions becoming a shadow of their former selves). Bless them both, wherever they may may be....

While waiting for the cable car to resume service (after a lengthy storm and lightning provoked delay) our buddhist friend briefly re-appeared, took our photo, talked some more and then wandered off along the path; one minute he was there, the next, only a black tomcat was present. As devotees of Miyazaki films, we'd like to think that perhaps our mysterious friend was in fact a feline spirit, and the photos he'd shown us previously were, in fact, self-portraits......

Another trip up to the peaks, this time further north and with L & J for company, was beautiful - not least for the meandering trail back down, which brought us to perhaps the most perfect tiny bar / cafe in the world, overlooking a double waterfall and hidden in the lush canopy.

More from Japan to follow)

Australia, August 2011

So after three wonderful months in North America, we finally left the U.S. via LAX, arriving in New South Wales some 14 hours later; as it happens, the first time either of us had crossed the equator (and further still beyond the Tropic of Capricorn), and the first time either of us had visited Australasia.

Only added to the itinerary because of a quirk of RTW ticket pricing (it being cheaper, bizarrely, to fly L.A > Sydney > Tokyo rather than L.A. > Tokyo), we approached our week-long stay in Sydney as a bonus; not least because, very luckily for us, a-close-friend-of-a-close-friend just so happened to be temporarily vacating her very lovely, dead-central apartment for the week in question (thank you Maxine, we remain in your debt).

Arriving in the midst of the Austral winter, it was the first time in many months we'd felt a distinct chill in the air, and bare-branched deciduous trees signalled our seasonal adjustment. Sydney itself had aspects of several other cities - part NYC, part London, certainly - while maintaining its own identity; our neighbourhood was very much in the thick of it, and all the better for it.

Our days were mostly filled with the finest wildlife Sydney had to offer, which was plentiful, suitably exotic, and often very entertaining. The Botanical Gardens - a fifteen minute stroll from our base, incorporating the Opera House on its north-western arm, and home (amongst many other species) to Laughing Kookaburras, marauding Cockatoos and thousands of flying foxes - was a favourite spot of ours, and never failed to provide memorable experiences.

Other expansive urban greenspaces (including Centennial Park) held plenty of interest, and we made it out of the city limits on several days - including a uniquely memorable day at sea with the masters of the oceans, and a somewhat less challenging (but still wonderful) one in the Blue Mountains with ex-pat birder and Sydney resident Jason.

(more from the pelagic trip can found here)

So a relatively luxurious, ironically nature-filled, surprisingly busy week based in Sydney. New friends accommodated us generously, with lovely evenings spent with Maxine, Sebastian, Jason and Emma - thanks to them for their hospitality.