A Halloween Toga Party and Sushi in Sendai

Travel day from Tokyo to Osaka turned out to be an experience in itself when we took the super-fast, super-on-time Shinkansen (Bullet Train) between the two cities. Delighted not to be flying, we piled on and awaited our speedy journey over land. I fell asleep pretty much immediately and managed to miss the entire trip, but awoke to the serene and laid-back atmosphere of Osaka in beautiful warm sunshine.

It is the third biggest city in Japan and is a concrete, urban sprawl that keeps a laid back vibrancy much less chaotic than Tokyo. There is an amazing mix of old and new culture here with the city's 16th century castle to explore as well as a trip to Universal Studios theme park in Osaka Bay. Some of the company took the opportunity to visit nearby historical city Kyoto with its bustling 'old style' Japanese streets laden with wonderful cultural treasures such as temples, palaces, museums and the traditional geisha style.

Two years ago on the Liffey tour of Japan, the company discovered a tiny family run bar and restaurant in a tent by the river. As luck would have it we found the same tent - there every night, serving Japanese beer, sake and delicious barbequed food (very welcome after my sushi and pot noodle diet). We were treated to free drinks, chocolates, biscuits and cake... a dream combination!

We again brought audiences to their feet in the Festival Hall, and continued to amaze our sponsors who had not seen such manic crowd reaction in Japan before. With our hotel directly attached to the hall, we certainly enjoyed our time there too.

Next stop was Sendai, and this time we flew. It was only an hour long flight and we were not expecting the stark change in weather there. It was almost like arriving back in Dublin - pretty chilly. No time to relax on this travel day, as there was a Halloween Toga Party to prepare for... in the nearest Irish pub of course!

The Corrib Company are becoming well used to the earth moving, with earthquake number 3 hitting Sendai on our second morning whilst we were still in bed. It wasn't as spectacular as the ones we had in Tokyo - but there were a few screams heard from my room anyway!

We discovered a tiny Irish café off a backstreet close to the hotel; a really cosy place, it was great for getting together after the show. Unlike your regular Irish pub, this café played jazz and was so small you had to duck to get through the door. The lack of space meant we physically bumped into each other during the course of the night - it was very bonding for us all. Another little find was a club just nearby, after the owner called the Riverdance office to invite us there when he heard we were in town. Of course we headed down, filled the place, and again took to the dance floor as the Corrib Company are seriously good at.

Sendai is the place to come if you want to lose weight - its speciality foods are pickled calf tongue and rubbery white fish paste. There is not really anything more to tell... catch up with you in Fukuoka!