Temple: Kichijoji – the monks here are obviously keen gardeners with pot plants everywhere and a big greenhouse

Dedication: Bryan’s a great guy, he’s a games developer working on Induction, a title of his own. We had a lot of coffee, did some work together and went climbing a few times. I look forward to seeing him again when I’m back in London.

Picture: I do like the things that change slowly week to week. Down on the south coast I saw terrifying tsunami shelters a few times a day. These were just steel structures that you presumably climb and hold on to. Here in Ehime those have gone but now I see a few coin rice places a day. They dispense uncooked rice, it looks like a bargain as well. I don’t really have any use for 10kg of uncooked rice though so I haven’t used one yet.

Some days are hard and some aren’t. Today is hard because I had such a fun day on the mountain yesterday and today it’s back to the drudgery of the road. I’m aware it’s all in my mind and I’ve had some great days on the road. That doesn’t stop it being hard though.