After my delightful night’s sleep I was up for anything but particularly for a walk along the the beach to find breakfast – coffee and croissants required, which we found at the local supermarket. We then spent a very peaceable hour watching surfers catching waves. I like to imagine myself as the sort of person who might, in different circumstances, have ended up as a cool surf chick, happy to throw her minimal kit in the back of an old VW, strap the board to the roof rack and head wherever the mood and waves take her. Given that I have control freak tendencies and am none to keen on sand, cold water, unreliable cars, packing light and lack of toilet facilities etc etc we all know this is a pipe dream, My limit is reached watching those who live that dream, besides which my dodgy old back would never tolerate the rough and tumble of being a proper, standing up surf chick. I’ll just have to settle for being the grouchy old bird who runs the beach bar.

We reluctantly dragged ourselves away and headed north again, to a point about an hour and a half south of Oita, so we would have easy access to the Wales v Fiji game the next day. We arrived too early to check-in to our Ryokan for the night (I know another night in a proper bed, or so I thought) so we went to see if we could find some lunch.

We found a lovely fish restaurant overlooking a perfect, deserted beach, so after some prawn tempura we broke out the two chairs that came with the camper and set them up on the sand. I read my book and Robert went swimming and shell hunting. It was so warm that I even went in for a dip, very brave of me I thought, given Japan’s recent return to whaling and our proximity to a fishing port. There is no photographic proof of this however, you’ll just have to take my word for it

This ryokan was very different from the last one we stayed in. The food was again quite extraordinary and the onsen was nice, but this time we had traditional tatami beds. I had clearly mixed up in my mind, tatami beds with a futon. I had a tatami bed nailed down as a warm and cosy, nest like experience, instead it was like sleeping on a board and the bloody rice pillow was back. It was then I realised that I am a princess after all – the one in the Princess and the Pea! I tossed and turned all night, but could just not get comfortable, there always seemed to be part of me going numb and I woke up feeling bruised all over. At 5.30am I gave in and got up and read for a couple of hours, unlike the other princess I am on tour with, Sleeping Beauty, who had to be woken at 7.30am to avoid missing breakfast. Further evidence that Robert’s super power is his ability to sleep pretty much anywhere and through pretty much anything.