Today, we have the morning in Kyoto, before heading to Osaka. We wake up too late for the hotel breakfast, which may be a blessing in disguise, and pack and check out, leaving our bags at the hotel. We wander towards the metro and find a nearby hotel which is still serving breakfast and enjoy the spread. They have a decent selection of Japanese and western options, so we’re all happy! ...

Today is samurai day! We’ve set the alarm at 8am and have told the kids to be ready for 8:30am. Maybe it is the jet lag catching up with us, but we really can’t get out of bed for the alarm and only just manage to get up for 8:30. The kids are not impressed when we drop by at 8:45 since they’ve been stressing making sure they are ready on time. ...

We treated ourselves to a lie in this morning and didn’t get up until 9am. We had ear marked a lovely cafe just a few minutes walk from the hotel for breakfast but on arrival at 10am we realised the timings I had researched were not correct. The cafe closed at 10am, not opened! We walked back to our hotel and had breakfast in the cafe, Japanese noodles again! After breakfast we checked out and walked the 10 mins to the train station with our luggage. We all used our IC cards and boarded for Odawara where we were to take the bullet train. ...

Today we’re touring the Mount Hakone and Lake Ashi, we’re also hoping for a glimpse of Mount Fuji. Fingers crossed! We’re awake by 8am and have breakfast in the hotel cafe. The options are an almost western style breakfast or a small selection of lunch dishes. I order the Japanese style spaghetti which comes with seaweed and a poached egg on top. It’s not what I would usually call breakfast but I’m still committed to eating Japanese food at every meal! ...

Today we’re moving to Hakone for a few days, but before we go, Diana and I will visit the Toyoshu Tuna Market and have sushi for breakfast. We struggle to wake at 5am and make our way to Toyoshu via three connecting metro rides. It’s still pretty quiet at this time of the morning and I’m hoping that we’ll get there in time to see something. The tuna auction starts at 5:30am and we won’t arrive until after 6:00. ...

Today is Disneyland! We wake up at 7:30 so we have time for breakfast. I have the usual local faire, which is delicious as always. I still can’t persuade the family to try it though! We head out around 9am and take the 2 metros and a train to get to the park which is on reclaimed land in the harbour. On arrival we need to take another train to traverse the park, which we also have to pay for, which seems a bit much, given we have tickets to the park. Thinking we will only need to use the train twice I just buy us one way tickets because it’ll work out 100 yen cheaper per person. ...

8am wake up and a slow start on account of the jet lag. We learnt from yesterday and opted for the hotel breakfast. It turned out to be delicious. I had Miso soup, chicken congee, steamed tofu and some salad. The rest of the family stuck with the western faire. The plan for today is to start at the Imperial Palace, move on to the Sensō-ji Temple, then a boat trip along the Sumida River and finally sumo wrestling with hotpot. ...

After a welcome shower we headed out to find breakfast number 2. We didn’t have much of a plan for today, it was really a recovery day followed by a food tour in the evening, so we just walked out of the hotel and turned left to see what we would find. After walking along a couple of streets we hadn’t found anywhere for breakfast but we had spotted Tokyo Tower, which is reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower. ...

And we’re off! A 5:30 am wake-up call, and we walked to the tube and took the Piccadilly line to Heathrow. Diana had upgraded us to Premium Economy as a treat and she surprised the kids on the train, they were very happy! With a very smooth transit through the airport and pit stop at Pret, we were waiting at the gate. The flight was busy but Diana had checked us in the minute checkin opened, so we had four seats next to each other in the centre row. ...

Japan has been on our bucket list for a very long time. We love Japanese food and have always wanted to go and experience the culture. This summer, the family and I are finally going to visit! The kids have mixed feelings, on the one hand they are excited to see a explore a new place, on the other hand they are a little apprehensive. We plan to fly into Tokyo, spend a few days exploring, before then moving to Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka and then back to Tokyo all on the train. ...