About to go!

Tomorrow it all starts. I leave about 06.15 to walk the 3kms, uphill, to catch the local bus! I have done a little bit of practice but anyone who has seen me huffing and puffing up the road would never believe that this time last year I was walking the Camino de Santiago!! The walk will be in the dark and, if todays weather is anything to go by, in the rain. In Ourense I will make a final trip to the hospital to get my last Hepatitis A & B vaccinations, then on to Vigo and Oporto. I am quite looking forward to seeing Oporto so I won't moan too much about the fact that Ryanair has re-instated the flights from Santiago this week. Once in London I will be able to phone Alitalia and hopefully get some info. I should at least be able to converse in English. The flight last Tuesday stopped at Osaka before going on to Tokyo. The way things are going around Fukishima I canot believe that I won't be able to change my flight but I'm hanging on to my booking in Tokyo till I know for sure. I expect the highlights of my trip to Japan to be: a night in a ryokan in Takayama; the cherry blossom in Nara and Yoshina; and the Geisha concert in Kyoto. For the latter I want to pay for the most expensive seats and have a 'Tea ceremony' beforehand. My camera is ready! My bag is packed! The house is clean! My alarm is on!