We are back!! Having had the most amazing experience ever. The Japanese were fantastic hosts and really got into the spirit of the rugby - Oh we had some fun!!  We had a certain corner on the road outside the bar where we stood after every match and met some fabulous characters and made some very good friends who we will be definitely keeping in touch with. It was a pity that England didn't win the final but the best team won on the day. The speech the black SA captain gave after the game was very moving and it made everyone realise how important the game was to unify the country as the political situation has sadly deteriorated in South Africa recently. It is incredible how Rugby unifies everyone from every walk of life. A great sport and an unforgettable experience..



England standing up to the Haka - A fantastic game





A very excited South African supporter



This lovely Japanese couple had been to four Rugby World Cups - They had seen more of Britain and Europe than we had!"

Rachel and Wes with a avid English supporter

John on the left (Winston Churchill) was an aircraft engineer and had been to Japan on 29 previous occasions.

Sonny Bill Williams, a very famous NZ player retired and gave his boots to this supporter in the crowd

 

 In between matches we travelled the country with a rail card and went on the bullet trains which were incredible, doing 250 mph. We went to Kyoto and saw some of the beautiful countryside and then on to Hiroshima which was a very sobering and poignant experience.

One of the only buildings to have survived the atomic bomb where over 200,000 people were killed.

A bronze in memory of the innocent children that were killed by the atomic bomb. It was a very moving experience.

We enjoyed some authentic Japanese teriyaki

Japanese ladies in traditional dress

Many beautiful temples



The Japanese are crazy about their dogs and we saw more dogs in prams than babies!!

Bonkers!