SapperJon comments

On our last holiday in Japan we got 148 Yen to the pound I recently locked in a rate of 186.5 Yen on my Global money account. Even if I could've got more by waiting I'm still happy with the rate I locked in.

Being a pensioner all my pensions including the state old age pension went up by 10.1% in April and it's likely to go up by 7.8 to 8.5% next April. Prices have gone a bit mad especially fuel I'm paying 274 Yen per litre and electricity is 60.5 Yen a Kwh.

I do feel that Japan's politician's should take their collective heads out of the sand and be brave.

One of the best castles that is quiet with an award winning garden is in Kishiwada, walking along the Gardenia hedges by the moat with the castle in the background attacks the senses with beauty, history and a beautiful scent.

A visit to Mt Koya gives you time for quiet contemplation and it's easy to avoid crowds.

Whichever seat I've got it will always be a middle seat as my wife who must be obeyed doesn't like to sit next to anybody!

My wife is from Ulster ( Northern Ireland) and used to eat Dulse as a child normally after having gone to collect mussels both of which were eaten for Sunday teatime.

"Dulse is one of the most protein-rich seaweeds out there, second to nori" quoted from a supplier in the UK

Having a small bowl of seaweed with a meal is a particular favourite of mine when visiting Japan.

French wine has had it's day 30 years ago, other countries around the world produce better wine. In blind tastings across the world English sparkling wine has been winning top awards beating Champagne for the top spot. I'm not sure if climate change has anything to do with it.

Here in the UK Beaujolais has always been viewed as quite a rough wine that hasn't made the grade to be matured into good wines. I suspect the French producers have targeted new markets to dump their wine as markets in Europe have over the years reduced their consumption preferring other countries cheaper offerings.

"???? Maybe it has something to with Geography? 80% of Japan is mountainous. Hard to have a farm on a mountain."

'High on a hill a lonely goat herder' Switzerland and the alpine regions of Europe seem to manage to farm, along with Welsh sheep on the welsh mountains and Aberdeen Angus cows in Scotland. Me thinks commenter's are making excuses to avoid change.

Here in the UK the general public expect all animals to be respected and their 5 freedoms are provided for.

Also there are very strict controls in place, no animal is given growth hormones or routine antibiotics, chicken is not washed in chlorine and eggs are unwashed. It is quite common to have a feather in a box. When a chicken lays an egg a protective layer is applied by the chicken naturally, this allows the egg to breath but blocks bacteria. Eggs are not refrigerated in shops as there is no need to.

It's simple really make the Six nations Eight nations and get the potential additional european nations play off against each other for one of the available two places. Also Japan, Samoa, Fiji ect should start a similar contest to improve their games.

I do hope that Starbucks products are not as sweet as they are in the UK and USA. They are mostly at the top of the lists when it comes to sugar content. I personally would only buy unsweetened coffee in Starbucks, but that's rare as I find their coffee over roasted and bitter with a slightly burnt aftertaste. But each to their own.

My wife and I have got ours on the 7th of October at our local medical centre. It's walk in jab walk out.

Here in the UK all Japanese beers are brewed here so I'm not sure they taste the same as original Japanese ones. My preference is Sapporo, followed by Kirin Ichiban and lastly Asahi which to me reminds me of weak tasteless American beers like Budweiser and Coors.

Next time I'm on holiday in Japan I will try some craft beers especially as they aren't available in UK.

For me being English I find England's recent form of kicking all the time boring in the extreme. I was a little disappointed with the amount of foreign second rate players in the Blossoms, I would much prefer to see the style from the 2019 Blossoms who don't forget beat South Africa. I actually attended that game and brought a Blossoms shirt, the atmosphere was amazing and the majority of crowd were routing for the Blossoms.

I hope to see the Brave Blossoms get through to the next round!

That's an unusual looking chair, it doesn't look very comfortable and a little to big.

Why are Japanese ministers all so old, some younger blood might have appealed to the general voter. Politian's should be forced to retire at the same age as everyone else. Parliament should not be old peoples day care.

That's a lot of money I think I'll stick to my disposable razor blades.

England's games are so boring, kicking the ball away so the opposing team can charge back with the ball using numerous set piece moves. Meanwhile England's indiscipline gives penalties and scrums away time and time again. I don't hold out much hope for advancement out of the pool games. Borthwick needs to pick young blood, at least they'd get experience of playing on the world stage to advance their career's.

I would never knowingly eat beef from the USA as it's full of growth hormones and anti-biotics. It is totally banned within Europe including the UK. Now if it says meat reared in Japan I would find that safe to eat!

Here in England we're so glad he lives in the USA as he's not wanted here, what with his constant whinging and whining about the British way of life and history.

An political science graduate and an Argentinian that has no nuclear industry of merit and yet he's raised to the top of the IAEA because he's a diplomat. I hope he's got a good team of scientists working below him.

Over the years because the amount of people smoking has declined the smell becomes an irritant, I always hold my breath as I pass a smoker.

UK minimum wage for over 23 years of age is £10.42 an hour , that's 1823 yen an hour but I suspect the cost of living is higher in the UK. It's quality of life that really maters and happiness. The average working week is around 40 hours with a government minimum paid holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks.

I love that I can't use English everywhere and things can sometimes be a challenge, but that is part of the fun of traveling. Now days of course your mobile phone is your friend with speaking and written translation Apps available. Wi-Fi is not a problem if you plan ahead and buy a data only sim card which is delivered to your home address. As for rubbish I either deposit at the same chain of convivence store that I purchased it at you take it back to our hotel.

The one thing I always try to do is be polite and not cause offence.

France is a member of NATO but not a precipitant in any military exercises, don't forget President Bush called them, "Cheese eating surrender monkey's", they always try to protect their own country by doing their invaders bidding.

A NATO office in Japan will enable the Japanese to have an oversight on how it works for mutual protection.

Please keep having these weird foods in Japan it's what makes visiting so much fun. All pizza's pretty much taste the same especially American pizza pie type which doesn't compare to a 90 second oven baked Italian pizza. But this one is a pass by me.

Facebook changed it's name to Meta because of all the legal problems they were having at the time and the damage done to the Facebook reputation so they changed to Meta to reset their image.

Looking backwards at history doesn't help with the future but lessons need to be learnt. No mention is ever made here about the reasons for the dropping of the bomb. I do agree there was no need to drop a second one. More time should have been given for the full impact of the first bomb to be analysed by the leaders in Japan.

After having paid 12% of my salary to cover National Insurance which cover all benefits, health costs and old age pension. I receive approximately 165,000 Yen a month and my wife receives the same amount and of course we still get free health care till we die. The UK has one of the lowest pension rates in Europe.

Japanese sweets are an acquired taste for the western palate, although I do like the reduced sweet taste given many of the sweet products in Japan

I've worked a 40 hour week over 4 days for 17 years and it has been a great advantage and also healthier. I've been able to book dental and medical appointments when I've been off along with deliveries and gas boiler maintenance. As my wife still works 5 days a week it has also given me the benefit of some me time!

There are cons though, mostly down to training commitment's as half the workforce has Monday's and the rest of us Friday's so sometimes you have to swap your days off, but it's rare you have to do this.

Tipping is dying out in UK as everyone has the minimum wage or the higher living wage. Tipping is mostly confined to the better restaurants and some of them have a service charge already included in bill. Also as cash is dying out if you give an electronic tip there's a good chance the workers will not receive it.

The USA should pay their servers a proper wage.