Leaving the airport and on the way to pick up our hire car we passed a huge American Airforce Base (Kadena), which had some coll planes on static display

There are no train in Naha (where we stayed) but there is a great Monorail!

Out and about in Naha!

Stopped off in a restaurant for coffee and cake and met these cute robots!

Shuri Castle is advertised everywhere in Naha, but when we visited it was a) bucketing down with rain and b) mostly closed for renovations. Very disappointing, other than great city views

Okinawa World is a theme park located about 30 minutes south of Naha. Attractions include an amazing underground cave system, a Zoo and a pre-historic valley.

Henza Island and Miyagi Island are part of the Yokatsu Islands in Uruma, Okinawa. We drove our rental car over the Kaichu-doro causeway and explored both. Henza Island has a small fishing village. Across a small bridge to Miyagi Island we wwere treated to stunning cliffside views.

Valley of Gangala is a mystical natural park in Nanjo, Okinawa, formed by the collapse of a limestone cave hundreds of thousands of years ago. Located within the Okinawa World theme park

The Southeast Botanical Gardens is one of Japan’s largest outdoor botanical gardens, located in Okinawa City and spanning 100 acres. The facility features over 1,300 species and 50,000 plants

Araha Beach (also known as Araha Park) is a popular, man-made beach located in the Chatan town area of Okinawa, Japan, renowned for its strong American vibe and proximity to the Mihama American Village.

Cape Hedo (Hedo-misaki) is the northernmost point on Okinawa Island, located in Kunigami Village within the Yanbaru region. It marks the boundary where the East China Sea meets the Pacific Ocean, and features dramatic 100-meter limestone cliffs formed by uplifted coral reefs.

Cape Zampa is a rocky cape with a 30 meter tall lighthouse.

Our base in Hokkaido was Sopporro. This turned out very well as we arrived in the middle of a 3-week Food and Drink Festival which was amazing!

When Sopporro opened the centre of the city to the annual food and wine festival the Lambos came out to play!

Sopporro beer is famous world-wide so we thought the museum would be interesting - but we were wrong.

Noboribetsu is a city in Hokkaido, Japan, renowned as the region's most famous hot spring resort. Its primary attraction is Jigokudani (Hell Valley), a dramatic volcanic crater where steaming vents and bubbling sulfur springs feed the town's thermal waters.

We took a day trip out to a number of places, including Lake Toya, which is a scenic caldera lake approximately 2 to 2.5 hours southwest of Sapporo in Hokkaido

Cape Chikyu (also known as Cape Chikiu) is a scenic cape located in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean at the southern tip of the Etomo Peninsula.

Next was a train trip to Otaru, which we LOVED - even though the weather was a bit unkind at the end of the day.

Our last stop in Sopporro was to the fish markets - we had high expectations after Tokyo, but it was not to be, sadly.

This time we stayed in Asakusa (near the Skytree). This is one of the older parts of Tokyo, and is absolutely fantastic!

We took a train out to Yanaka, where we wandered around all day - starting with the famous cemetary!

We next walked around Yanaka, which is a historic district in Tokyo’s Taito ward, renowned for preserving the nostalgic shitamachi (old downtown) atmosphere that was largely destroyed elsewhere in the city during World War II and the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake

Our next day trip was to Yokahama, where we started in Chinatown - A Most Amazing Place!

Next we walked around the Port - typically Japanese - serene and spotless.

Our final trip out of Tokyo was to Kawagoe, approximately 30 kilometers northwest of central Tokyo. Widely known as "Little Edo" (Koedo) due to its well-preserved Edo-period architecture and historical significance as a commercial and defensive hub for the Tokugawa shogunate.