York and Wrelton

On Friday, we drove to a shopping centre on the north side of York to buy school shoes for Soph and Will. We then went to a 'park and ride' and caught the bus into York, where we spent a few hours wandering around the Shambles and across the Ouse River. The kids convinced us that they needed a nutella crepe in the 'chocolate capital of the UK' and we picked up a tonne of brochures at the York tourist info centre.

The following day, we drove out to Wrelton, near Pickering to catch up with another couple of relatives. They took us to a tea house for lunch. Peter worked as an accountant for Rowntree - so,told us all sorts of stories about the link between York and chocolate. They recommended Nunnington Hall for an afternoon adventure. Soph and Will explored the rooms of the Hall on a treasure hunt and we were so impressed that we joined the National Trust. Nunnington Hall is only 10 minutes away and we can now visit any time. We will also have access to a whole range of places, not only in the UK but also in Australia, Italy and Malta! We move into a smaller cottage on a longer term rental arrangement next Saturday so we will need to be out and about on weekend anyway.

The kids start school tomorrow and are a bit nervous but also very excited. It is sunny today with blue skies and we are going to drive north across the moors towards Whitby.

The Shambles

York Minster

Tea House at Wrelton

Nunnington Hall

Croquet at Nunnington

Nunnington Hall

Peacock and bridge at Nunnington

Nunnington Hall

Pheasant beside a country lane

Settling into the UK

Settling into the UK

After a very early start (before 5am) in Tokyo on Monday and a 12 hour flight, we arrived at Heathrow. Sophie and Will managed to watch at least 4 movies each and didn't seem to notice the time disappear. A daytime flight seems to have reduced the jet lag We were met by John's cousins, Jackie and Tony, then spent 2 nights at their house. It was wonderful not to need to negotiate the trains into London and back out to the north with 6 months worth of luggage. The kids spent some time at a local park and also met their third cousins.

We then caught the train up to York and headed half and hour out to the village where we will spend most of the next 3 months. We are renting a holiday cottage while we organise longer term accommodation. Today we went for a drive around the local area, bought some groceries and picked up the kids' school uniforms. The usual household chores are creeping back in - groceries, cooking and washing - now that we are not travelling around.

Our 'home' village is fabulous - very traditional Yorkshire cottages - nice and quiet - and easy to wander around. There were people riding horses down the 'main street', around the 'village square' (which is a triangle) and past our cottage this afternoon.

View of the BA plane

View over Scandinavian countries

Looking at canal boats on a walk with Jackie and Tony

Letting off steam in a park with Jackie and Tony

Train ride to York

A country road outside York

Testing out school uniforms at our cottage

Return to Tokyo

Return to Tokyo

After a wonderful few days in Kyoto we caught the shinkasen (bullet train) back to Tokyo. We started Saturday morning with a trip to the fish markets followed by a wander around the Ginza district. This morning, we walked back into Ginza and caught the subway to Ueno to see the gardens and visit the Tokyo Museum. A hectic few days. We have an early start to fly to Heathrow tomorrow. So, I hope to add more words to this blog post in a few days time.

Will about to catch the shinkasen to Tokyo

Mt Fuji from the train

View of Tokyo from our room

Photos from yesterday

Fish markets

Sony building Playstation competition

Fish markets

Ginza Creston

Seiko moving clock

Sony building

 Photos from today

Meccano robots at Giza

'Farm' on the roof of the Itoya building

One of the interactive exhibits at the Tokyo Muesum

School near Ginza

Busy day at Ueno Gardens

Subway on way to Ueno

Kimonos at Ueno Gardens

Ueno Gardens with cherries in full bloom

Saga

Saga

Another hectic but enjoyable day. A ride on the 6 sets of escalators to the top of Kyoto Railway Station, a visit by train to the bamboo forest and ice cream at Saga-Arashiyama, monkeys at the shrine and a quick trip to Daimaru shopping centre.

Bamboo grove

River at Saga

Kyoto Station

Rickshaw

Full traditional dress

Monkeys at shrine above Saga

Temples of Kyoto

Temples of Kyoto

Sophie and Will have now seen more temples than they want to see in a life time! We went on our last day tour today, which included Nijo Castle (Shogun residence), Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Temple) and Kyoto Imperial Palace. After lunch we went out to Todaiji Temple and Nara Deer Park. We heard the singing floor boards in Nijo Castle designed with a nail system as a 'burglar alarm' and saw an ice cream vending machine next to a hot drink vending machine. A mixture of old and new technologies near each other. An enjoyable day but we are also looking forward to our own travels tomorrow, on a local rail line out to a bamboo forest.

Nijo Castle

Kinkakuji Temple

Kinkakuji Temple grounds

Outside Kinkakuji Temple

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Will the warrior

Blossoms at Todaiji  Temple

Shrine above Todaiji

Todaiji  Temple

Deer at Todaiji  Temple

Shrine above Todaiji

Blossoms at Todaiji Temple