In terms of ‘people stories’, the ‘Fukushima 50′ fascinate me. You have a choice. You are one of a very small number able to save your country from a nuclear disaster. To help almost certainly puts your short and long-term heath at risk. Do you think of yourself and your family or that of the greater good ? Their adoption of the latter is an indication of the Japanese psyche and culture; the needs of the group are greater than those of the individual. Rightly heralded as national heros, they will become the focal point of TV documentaries, books on the disaster and undoubtedly ‘the film’ of the events at the beleaguered Fukashima plant.  I can’t imagine how I would react in their situation if called upon to ’save Japan’. I guess my human reaction would be to go but who am I to make such a bold statement from the safety of my office desk one damp Friday lunchtime in March. What is clear however is the respect shown for these courageous and honourable men, and for their families, who wait in anticipation knowing that the immediate future of their country is in their hands. Their anonymity only serves to strengthen their stoicity and selflessness.  If I had to define ‘brave’  – this would be it.

An indicator of the fear and anxiety experienced by many Japanese is evidenced by the uncharacteristic displays of emotion. Normally a reserved and emotionally contained people, many Japanese are clearly frightened and angry at the government. We will probably never learn of the true extent of the damage to the reactors and the fuel rod cooling ponds but it is clear that the situation is still touch and go. Regretably some of the tabloid coverage has been sensationalist talking of Armageddon and ‘total melt-down.’ While the situation is clearly critical, and let’s not push to one side the effects of the earthquake and tsunami in favour of the ‘nuclear story’, there needs to be an undertstanding that the natural disaster has, and probably will, account for many more lives than that of potential radioactive fall-out from the Fukushima power plant. Whatever the outcome, our thoughts are with you our Japanese friends.

1. Cat Cafe on the seventh floor of a sky scraper in Shinjuku in Tokyo stroking Persian cats at midnight

2. Sitting on tatami mats in Komagata loach restaurant in Asakusa in Tokyo eating tiny fish with chop sticks

3. A long, beer-infused night of karaoke in a karaoke bar in Osaka

4. Walking in Kamikochi in the Japanese Alps followed by a barbeque in the woods

5. Beautiful Nikko in the snow with its moss-covered stone lanterns and old temple complex

6. Feeding rice cakes to the cheeky deer in Nara

7. Drinking coffee in a Maid Cafe - less said the better!

8. Sitting on the bullet train eating noodles and admiring a snow-capped Fuji from the window

9. Wonderstruck at the ice and snow sculptures in Sapporo at the annual snow and ice festival

10. Spotting the geisha in old Gion in Kyoto

11. Hearing the crack of ice as our ice-breaker boat crunched through the frozen sea off the coast of northern Hokkaido

12. Enjoying a steaming onsen on the top of a mountain as snow fell at night

13. Endless detours to the many Seven Eleven stores to buy Melty Kisses, Almond Joy and seaweed-flavour crisps

14. Rows of vending machines selling hot coffee, pancakes in tins, flowers and bottles of Pocari Sweat

15. Every minute of every day of every week spent in Japan. Arigato gozaimasu ( thank you very much ) Japan

So, for those readers who will now never be able to see Sendai and Matsushima Bay as it was, I’ve found some pictures taken from our 2006 trip to this region. A warm, October day we will now certainly never forget.

The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashdown

True Things About Me by Deborah Kay Davies

Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

One very positive outcome was to motivate me to type up the last remaining chapters of my book into my laptop from my notebooks. I’ve about another week-end’s furious typing to complete and it will be done at last, enabling me to finish the editing. It’s taken so long!!! As I read it through I become excited again about the plot, the characters, the settings and committed to getting it polished and submitted. Let’s hope for rain next week-end as I can’t abide being indoors when the sun shines.

And finally, found this wonderful diatribe rightly putting e-books back in their place. Please – never, ever buy me one of those sterile slabs of re-enforced plastic – give me paper, dust jackets and print any day.

Decorated like a domestic house and constructed on two levels, it was as much the local city clientele as the cats themselves which caught our attention. Pets are difficult to keep in a city like Tokyo so what better than to pay for the company of Persian, Burmese and British Blue cats who roam around the pad searching out snacks from those visitors prepared to pay for a tub of tuna flakes. Most came in as singles to spend some time with these extravagant creatures and it was amazing that at 11.45pm when we left, the cafe was still full of visitors picking their way between a collection of fluffy tails and manicured paws.

The cat cafe was one of those finds you would only discover in a city like Tokyo. And thats what we love so much about Japan and particulalry its capital city. Always moving, always bright; Tokyo combines quirkiness with sheer madness making this our favourite place to spend a late night in a room full of cats and feline lovers. And not a litter tray in sight.