It was another early start for us this morning, checking out of our ryokan at 6am and catching the Shinkansen to Tokyo. We had to make some really quick changes but luckily the trains are always on time, so we could plan ahead.

We'd read on the news that there had been an 4.6 magnitude earthquake just outside Tokyo this morning, so I had hoped my parents weren't reading the news as my Dad was terrified that we'd get hit by the "big one".

We caught a second bullet train to Osaka from Tokyo and nibbled on Pocky as we sped through the countryside. The morning was pretty uneventful with lots of travelling but Tom kept himself busy trying to spot all the different types of Shinkansen.