Europe
Probably the worlds smallest continent, but possible the most varied.

Belgium
A surprisingly interest little country.

Brugge
The Venice of the North, or whatever is it they call it.

France
Biggest country in Europe, and also by far the most French.

Dordogne
Very picturesque region of Southern France where my Mum has spent some long holidays.

La Rochelle
Resort town on the West coast of France.

Orleans
City where Chie spent some time studying French in the summer of 2000.

Paris
The French capital.

Toulouse
Errr.... it's a City in France.

Germany
Home of great beer and black forest gateaux.

Cologne
German city famous for its Gothic cathedral and Christmas market.

Hamburg
Port city in Northern Germany.

Holland
Not all tulips and windmills!

Amsterdam
Capital of the Netherlands, and a jolly nice place too.

Ireland
The Emerald Isle, and the home of Guinness.

Dublin
Capital of the Emerald Isle.

Italy
Have you ever met anyone who doesn't like Italy?

Florence
Lorenzo's home town - and what a fabulous place!

Milan
Italy's fashion captial... but obviously not nearly as nice as Florence!

Spain
A corner of Europe I've only briefly forayed into.

Barcelona
Arguably the most interesting city on the Iberian peninsula.

Switzerland
Cheese and cuckoo clocks.

Monte Generoso
Very scenic spot near the Swiss-Italian border.

United Kingdom
England, Wales and Scotland.

England
The green and pleasant land.

Canterbury
The famous cathedral city where my friends Leon and Gav went to university.

Castle Donington
Village in the Midlands where I grew up, and where my Mum still lives.

Cheltenham
Charming English Regency town.

Guildford
The town where my brother lives.

London
Captial of my home country, and strong contender for my favourite city on the planet.

Oxford
The famous University city, which I used to live fairly close to.

Padstow
Coastal town in North Cornwall where my friend David has a holiday home.

Pangbourne
The charming little village by the Thames where I lived and worked for several years.

Reading
The town where I went to university.

Scotland
Northernmost of the home countries.

Arisaig
One of the two places from which we get the boat to Eigg.

Edinburgh
The capital of Scotland, and one of my favourite cities.

Foyers
Village by the banks of Loch Ness where we once stayed a night in a nice hotel.

Glenlivet Distillery
The second Scotch whisky distillery I visited.

Glenturret Distillery
The first distillery I visited in Scotland.

Inverness
One end of Loch Ness!

Isle of Eigg
Island in the Inner Hebrides to which I've made a number of visits.

Mallaig
Harbour town where we sometimes stop off en route to Eigg.

North Berwick
Coastal village in Scotland from where my Scottish ancestors hail.

Stirling
Historical town in Scotland where I once went for a conference.

Wales
Like England, only greener and in some places even more pleasant.

Abergavenny
Town in South Wales where some of my family live.

Bardsey Island
Island of the coast of North Wales which has been a frequent destination for holidays.

Llyn Peninsula
Area at the extreme of North Wales where my Dad lives.

Japan
Land of the rising sun.

Chubu
Region of Japan covering nine prefectures in the central area of the main island.

Nagano
Once host of the Winter Olympics.

Iiyama
Town in Nagano prefecture famous for monitors (!) and also close to where Chie's friend Junchan lives.

Kaminari Falls
Waterfall in Nagano prefecture.

Mount Shirane
My second time to see a volcano - this time a rather weird alien looking one. Actually technically this mountain is in Gunma prefecture, not Nagano, but I'm sure nobody cares that much!

Mount Yokote
There can't be many mountains in the world with a giant outdoor escalator going up the side.

Obuse
Small village near Nagano where we tried our hand at glass engraving.

Shiga Kogen
Ski resort in Nagano prefecture.

Nagoya
Japan's fourth largest city, located between Osaka and Tokyo on the Shinkansen line.

Chugoku
Area of Japan covering the west of the main island (although confusingly enough the name actually means 'middle country').

Hiroshima
Where Chie's family live, so a sort of second home for me in Japan.

Iwakuni
Town near Hiroshima with a famous hump-backed bridge.

Miyajima
Island just off the coast, a popular tourist destination, and also where some of Chie's family come from.

Onomichi
Port city in Hiroshima prefecture, famous for its temples.

Okayama
City about half way between Osaka and Hiroshima, where several of Chie's friends come from.

Kurashiki
Town near Okayama, sort of Japan's answer to Venice.

Shimane
Prefecture on the North coast of the Chugoku region of Japan.

Tsuwano
Town in Shimane prefecture at the end of a steam locomotive run.

Yamaguchi
Prefecture neighbouring Hiroshima on the Western side.

Akiyoshido Caves
Large limetstone caves in Yamaguchi prefecture.

Hokkaido
Northern island of Japan, which is also the country's largest prefecture.

Hakodate
City at the Southern tip of Hokkaido.

Otaru
Port city near Sapporo on Hokkaido.

Sapporo
Prefecture captial of Hokkaido, the Northern island of Japan.

Shizunai
Town on the South coast of Hokkaido where friends of Chie's family live.

Showa Shinzan
Volcano on Hokkaido - the first live one I ever saw.

Tomakomai
Port town on the Southern coast of Hokkaido.

Usu-zan
Larger volcano next to Showa Shinzan.

Yoichi
Coastal town on Hokkaido, home of the famous distillery.

Kansai
Area in the middle of the main island of Japan around Osaka.

Kobe
Port city close to Osaka.

Koyasan
Mountain top town filled with temples in Wakayama prefecture.

Kyoto
Arguably Japan's most attractive city, one of the few places you can actually see some old buildings!

Nara
Once capital of Japan, and home of a famous giant Buddha statue.

Osaka
Japan's second biggest city.

Yamazaki
Town betwen Osaka and Kyoto, made famous by the Suntory whisky distillery.

Kanto
Area of Japan towards the east of the main island, around Tokyo.

Ibaraki
Prefecture to the North East of Tokyo, including a famous (?!) natural history museum.

Oarai
Port town near(ish) Tokyo, from where you can get a slow ferry to Hokkaido.

Kanagawa
Prefecture next to Tokyo.

Enoshima
Small island very close to the coast in Kanagawa prefecture, which has a nice spa place on it.

Hakone
Town near Tokyo famous for its Onsen.

Kamakura
Town in Kanagawa famous for its temples.

Miurakaigan
Small coastal town in Kanagawa prefecture with a sandy beach.

Yokohama
Port city next door to Tokyo.

Mt. Fuji
Japan's tallest mountain, a whacking great 3667 metres.

Tochigi
Prefecture to the North East of Tokyo.

Nikko
Town in Tochigi famous for the Toshogu shrine.

Utsunomiya
City in Tochigi prefecture, North of Tokyo, where our friend Hide comes from.

Tokyo
The place I've called home (well, sort of) since October 2005.

Asakusa
Area of Tokyo famous for the Sensoji temple.

Chofu
Part of Tokyo where I work.

Ikebukuro
Favourite night-time haunt of mine in Tokyo.

Kinshicho
Tokyo district in the Eastern part of the city which has a very nice vegetarian Taiwanese restaurant.

Nippara Shonyudo Caves
Limestone caves in North Western Tokyo prefecture.

Okutama
Town in the North Western corner of Tokyo prefecture.

Sasazuka
The part of Tokyo where me and Chie live.

Shinjuku
The nearest big centre to where we live in Tokyo, so a frequent destination for shopping and nights out.

Tachikawa
City to the West of Tokyo prefecture with a big new shopping centre which includes a nice vegetarian Chinese restaurant!

Takaosan
Mountain near Tokyo, nice play for a day out, or an evening at the beer garden in the summer.

Takaosanguchi
Station at the foot of mount Takao.

Tohoku
A collective name for the five prefectures which make up the North Eastern part of the main island of Japan.

Aomori
Port town at the Northern tip of the main island of Japan.

Morioka
A city we got stuck in on our way back from Hokkaido.

Sendai
City in the Northern part of the main island, where our friend Junchan comes from.

USA
The United States of America - destination for occasional business trips.

California
Another west coast state of the US which I get sent to on business trips.

Mountain View
Right in the heart of silicon valley.

San Francisco
Hills, cable cars and a big red bridge.

Santa Cruz
Famous for surfing.

Seattle
A regular destination for business trips.