around the block to get in? definitely. i think i will be as busy as i can for the rest of the week. people need to see people and people have missed it. do week. people need to see people and people have missed it.— people have missed it. do you have an outdoors — people have missed it. do you have an outdoors area? _ people have missed it. do you have an outdoors area? have _ people have missed it. do you have an outdoors area? have you - people have missed it. do you have an outdoors area? have you been l people have missed it. do you have i an outdoors area? have you been able to serve customers outdoors? ida. it to serve customers outdoors? no, it is too small- — to serve customers outdoors? no, it is too small. it _ to serve customers outdoors? no, it is too small. it wasn't _ to serve customers outdoors? no, it is too small. it wasn't financially - is too small. it wasn't financially worth opening the garden. 50 is too small. it wasn't financially worth opening the garden. so this is our first worth opening the garden. so this is your first reopening. _ worth opening the garden. so this is your first reopening. it's _ worth opening the garden. so this is your first reopening. it's been - worth opening the garden. so this is your first reopening. it's been so - your first reopening. it's been so extraordinary, hasn't it? so out of the blue what has happened over the past year. have you been able to come to terms with it. flat past year. have you been able to come to terms with it. not really. the amount _ come to terms with it. not really. the amount of— come to terms with it. not really. the amount of beer _ come to terms with it. not really. the amount of beer that - come to terms with it. not really. the amount of beer that has - come to terms with it. not really. i the amount of beer that has been thrown down the drain is twice now from the first and second lockdown, it's just crazy, absolutely crazy. it's your mental health, as well as the financial thing as well. but you have managed _ the financial thing as well. but you have managed to _ the financial thing as well. but you have managed to get _ the financial thing as well. but you have managed to get through - the financial thing as well. but you have managed to get through it. the financial thing as well. but you l have managed to get through it and you are financially still viable and, hopefully good times are coming.

and, hopefully good times are cominu. . and, hopefully good times are cominu. ,. . ., coming. fingers crossed. we have lans in coming. fingers crossed. we have plans in place _ coming. fingers crossed. we have plans in place now— coming. fingers crossed. we have plans in place now with _ coming. fingers crossed. we have plans in place now with a - coming. fingers crossed. we havel plans in place now with a christmas party injuly, so it should be all right. party in july, so it should be all ritht, x' party in july, so it should be all riuht. ., ., right. good luck to him and everybody _ right. good luck to him and everybody else. _ we have got more downpours in the forecast. its remaining unsettled forecast. its remaining unsettled for the remainder of this week. we have showers out there this afternoon, some heavy and thundery so hail and lightning mixed in particularly across england and wales. for scotland and northern ireland, still a few showers around but blue sky and sunshine coming through and temperatures 11—16 , a bit below par but feeling pleasant enoughin bit below par but feeling pleasant enough in the sunshine. as we head through this evening and overnight, slowly the showers will fade away but still the odd rumble of thunder at lingering through the first part

of the night. into monday morning, temperature 6—10 so no frost, and monday brings us another day of sunshine and showers, many place to start the day on a dry note but as things warm up those showers will get going, heaviest across eastern scotland and eastern england, try out towards the west but still temperatures cool for the time of year and it remains unsettled for the rest of the coming week. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines...

efforts to combat the indian variant of covid ramp up in england ahead of lockdown restrictions being relaxed tomorrow. i am confident that we can take this step tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take that step. so you ask me about eating indoors with people. it's still safer to eat outdoors rather than in when the weather allows. the un security council prepares for an emergency meeting later as the conflict between israel and palestinians in gaza enters a seventh day. a young child has died and two people have been seriously injured after a gas explosion at a residential area in heysham in northern england. there was significant damage to the houses. at least two have been destroyed and a third is significantly damaged. as a consequence, a number of people have been injured. tragically, a young child has been killed.

now on bbc news, this week's travel show comes from tokyo, where carmen roberts looks back at some of her favourite recent stories from japan. coming up on this week's show... we're approaching the first rapid, and it's meant to be the deepest and most exciting. whoa! imitating a drunk monkey driving a car. and that's it? i do kind of feel ninja—like here. laughter.

hello and welcome to the travel show. coming to you this week from tokyo, a city that's been my home for a little over seven years and where the big talking point is whether this summer's olympic games will definitely go ahead and, if they do, what form will they take? it was back at the end of march last year that the ioc and the japanese authorities decided to postpone the tokyo olympic and paralympic games, which were due to kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony in the capital's new national stadium on the 23rd ofjuly 2020. since then, japan and the rest of the world have been through a series of lockdowns, and most countries still have international travel restrictions in place. and although the postponed games are due to go ahead at the end ofjuly, rising infection rate injapan, coupled with the recent

extension of the state of emergency here in tokyo, means that everyone is closely watching the news, waiting for a definitive answer. in the meantime, why notjoin me as we take a look back at some of our favourite travel show stories from here? last year, there was a big campaign here injapan for people to holiday at home, with lots of discounts and incentives on offer and, not wanting to miss out, i headed around 500 kilometres south—west of tokyo on the main island of honshu to the countryside surrounding wakayama to try a rafting adventure with a difference. for centuries, the wood here was so sought—after that it was used in buildings all around the country, but transporting it was no easy task. they came up with a novel solution, and today travellers can experience the old journey downstream.

it does look quite strange by today's standards. i don't know what i was expecting but it really is just a bunch of logs strung together. it must float ok, it's been around long enough. so what's it like to drive and steer such a long raft like this?

in the past, once the trees had been felled in strung together, the rafters would ride them down the river to the destination. today, with travellers on board, the rafts are safer. there are life jackets, handrails and a bench plus additional measures for coronavirus, like masks and reduced capacity. but it's still very open to the elements. so we're approaching the first rapid and it's meant to be the steepest and most exciting. hang on! woo! whoa! this is great! laughter.

i'm totally soaked from my waist down. laughter. whoa! this is the slower part of the ride, so to speak, but it's just fascinating to think this is what they would have been doing 600 years ago to transport all the logs down to the city to make the temples and the shrines. so we're approaching a rapid now and we stand up so we don't get too wet. here we go! woo! laughter. whoa! 0n the side!

so that was our last rapid. it so interesting to watch these four guys navigate this seven—tonne log raft down a riverjust like they would have 600 years ago. it's amazing! definitely a unique way to travel, if you don't mind getting your feet wet. well, each big japanese city has its own particular and distinctive feel and, if you're looking for a laugh, then you better head to osaka, which over the generations has earned itself a reputation of being the comedy capital ofjapan. and back in 2015, rajan headed there to get in on the journey. 0saka is japan's mecca of comedy. these guys are really famous here.

this theatre claims to be the busiest and most popular comedy venue in all of japan. the demand is phenomenal, so it's open 365 days a year to full houses of up to four shows a day, that's around i million people a year. fans travel from all over the country to see the stars live on stage. cheering. the show includes many types of comedy, but one of the most common and popular is manzai — a double act with a straight guy and a funnyguy trading jokes, and it's this style that in osaka. i wanted to find out more about the roots of comedy in the city. hello! konnichiwa! nice to meet you!

katsura kaishi practices the traditional story telling, rakugo, and he says it evolved from 0saka's trading history. i'll go to your show tomorrow, we'll see, i'll find out.

rakugo comedy was invented by buddhist monks to make their teachings more entertaining. there was a car accident, mother, father and children were all hospitalised, but a monkey was the only one left with the police. the police said i wish this monkey could talk... it's a storytelling tradition that obviously resembles stand—up comedy, but this is some 200 years older. what would the father do? he was drinking, maybe he was drinking and driving. what were you doing, monkey? after the show, i wanted to get some

tips from the expert. hold the pen? "monkey, what was the father doing?" "hang on a minute, what were you doing, monkey?" and that's it? they laugh. you should maybe move to japan and should be a professional rakugo performer. really? laughter. packing a punchline, japanese—style, in osaka back in 2015. well, stay with us, because still to come on the travel show... this wall is as tall as me! i get put through my paces as i visit a ninja training camp in nagoya. it's dance moves upon dance moves upon dance moves, it's very complicated! and we set out to wow the crowds in a traditional festival in hokkaido.

so don't go away. when you think ofjapan, things like cherry blossoms, tea ceremonies, temples and karaoke will spring to mind. but if you're a film or comic book fan, then ninjas will also be high on your list. back in 2016, i travelled to nagoya to meet some martial arts fans to become modern ninjas, and i even gave it a go myself. needless to say i did not get hired. the ninja, a mysterious, undercover agent in feudaljapan, skilled in espionage and assassination, living in the shadows, and now you can apply to be one. farfrom hiding in the dark, the next generation of ninjas answered a job ad. full—time, centraljapan, salary around 1600 us dollars per month. hundreds of people applied

and auditioned for the jobs, including many from overseas. this is the nagoya castle, and these are some of the chosen few. the new ninjas. every kid dreams about becoming a ninja at some point in their life. for me i held onto the dream a bit longer than most people. i know you have just started but what's it like to be the only foreign ninja? it's a challenge! i thought that i could come tojapan, find a ninja clan, become a ninja, and then that would be it, but it is a constant progression of learning, studying and struggling with japanese, but i love it, i've never been happier. it's not just physical.

there is also history to be learned. it will be an intensive month ahead of this modern day ninja team's debut. it's only a training session, but there is already a lot of media interest, and for me it feels like there's a reality tv or talent show element to this project. but not everyone is buying into the hype. some purists are worried that this sort of campaign is sending a distorted image of the japanese icon to the rest of the world. two hours from nagoya, i've been told this is the heart of ninja country. so, hundreds of years ago, real—life ninjas trained in the very mountains here in akamedaki. so i've come to this ninja training camp to try and get an authentic ninja experience.

�*ninja no mori', or �*ninja forest', has been set up to cater to tourists in a natural setting. i might look the part, but can i cut it as a real—life ninja? to my relief, we started the day with some prayers and meditation. then it was time to leave the safe surrounds of the temple and head to the training corps. first, it was onto the wire. what would this be used for? so if there was a castle and a moat? yes, yes. oh, so, the rope would help you get over the water? yes, yes. i — i do kind of feel ninja—like here. laughter.

this is the — it's quite difficult! laughter. 0h! 0k. i don't think ninjas are meant to giggle. 0k. oh, my goodness! and then the skill of scaling walls undetected. you don't expect me to do that, do you? ganbatte? hai, ganbatte, yarimashou. ah! this wall�*s as tall as me! i wouldn't say it was easy, and i definitely didn't say it was pretty. but i managed it. so they upped the ante.

time to let go of any dreams i have of becoming a true ninja. i still defy anyone my size without superhuman powers to get over that wall. well, to finish off this week's look back at some of our favourite japanese adventures, we head to the far north of the country, to the island of hokkaido, where, in 2018, rajan headed there to take part in an annual local festival based on the island's seafaring history. and he even managed to pick up a few dance moves along the way. yosakoi soran is one of the region's biggest international dancing competitions. teams dance to music which is all inspired by the hokkaido folk song soran. traditionally, this folk song was about hokkaido fishermen.

it's come a long, long way since then! i'd arranged to meet someone who'd taken part in this festival many, many times since she was a child. but finding one dancer on long 13,000 others was proving a little trickier than i expected. hi! konnichiwa! so, you are a veteran of this — of soran, of this dance festival? yeah. excellent. you're going to teach me about all of this? 0k. fantastic. so, tell me. what makes this festival unique? this yosakoi soran festival in hokkaido has two rules, yes, yes, just one — every team, every dancer as this — �*naruko'. do you know soran music? yeah. so, even though the music might sound different, and there's this —

they have the same melody? yes, yes, yes. how does the melody go? sings �*yosakoi soran'. and while it is something that clearly takes a lot of practice, i'm told in my case one hour should do it. this is what i have to wear? yes! wearing happi. ah. 0k. # choi! a very public training session for newbies like me before taking part in the main festival parade around the streets of the city. tell me about the first time you entered the festival, tell me about how it felt

for you and what you did? hah! yeah! that's what you need, attitude. just, ok, from top. 0h, from the top? it's just dance move upon dance move upon dance moves, it's so complicated! many of these moves are based on the tasks old fisherman performed, like dragging nets, pulling ropes and lifting luggage over their shoulders. can't you tell? 0k! that looks difficult. that's only the practice! and we haven't even started the real thing yet. thunderclap.

so i'vejust had a rigourous workout and lesson and i supposedly know my moves. and now, to cap it all off, we're going to do the whole dance around the square in front of the crowds. help! thanks to your wonderful teaching, i feel quite confident now. 0h, we're sprinting? ok, let's start! yeah! fantastic. the nerves have all gone. who cares how good you are? this is about community, the festival. i'm getting in there. are you tired? i'm not! yes, because it's exciting. �*soran bushi' plays.

not a bad effort there from rajan back in 2018. well, that's all we've got time for this week. coming up next week: mike heads to the maasai mara in kenya to find out how the coronavirus pandemic forced lodges to lower their prices, meaning that more kenyans got the chance to go on safari for the very first time.

we are excited and now we can afford the rates, that's why we're here. well, join us for that, if you can. but in the meantime, let me leave you with some pictures of the climax of that festival in hokkaido in 2018. sadly, it was cancelled in 2020, but fingers crossed the festival can go ahead again later this year. in the meantime, from all of us here from the travel show team here injapan, it's goodbye, and see you next time. if you have been out today and you

have managed to avoid the downpours that you have been pretty lucky because there are a lot of showers out there today and they will continue on and off over the next few days as well. this is the picture on the coast of lincolnshire, really torrential showers there, blue sky breaking in through those showers as well so it'll be a case of heavy downpours, brollies at one minute and sunglasses the next. with low pressure driving our weather across southern the uk, the showers are frequent out there but blustery winds in the south and isobars on the map sew along the south coast the map sew along the south coast the showers move through quickly but lighter winds across much of the uk so the showers are slow moving and they also bring hail and lightning as well. hit and miss, not everywhere catching showers, drier through the central belt of scotland, up towards the northern isles and northern ireland seem dry weather with sunshine. but the most frequent showers currently are down in the south where we have those

blustery winds and temperatures still low for the time of year, 11-16 still low for the time of year, 11—16 so you do see the blue skies it'll feel reasonably warm but if you step under a shower will feel chilly. into the evening hours and the odd rumble of thunder but the showers generally will ease away tonight, quite a bit of cloud drifting around here and there so not particularly cold, frost free to start your monday morning, temperatures first thing 6—10 . monday's weather, low pressure close by, starting to drift off towards the east, but close enough to bring us another day of sunshine and scattered showers as well. many of us start of the day on monday with a dry note, sunshine here and there but the cloud will tend to build through the day, bringing heavy showers once again during the afternoon. they will be most likely across eastern scotland and eastern england and southern england as well, the further west you should stay drier for wales and northern

ireland, temperatures 11—16 but be prepared for summer thunderstorms and hail mixed in with the showers. tuesday, sunshine and showers once again, this theme continuing through the week, most frequently on tuesday in the southern half of england and wales but some crop up further north. sunshine in between showers and temperatures still cool, 10—16 , the unsettled weather continues and we could see more persistent rain and strong winds by the time we get to thursday.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines... efforts to combat the indian variant of covid ramp up in england, ahead of lockdown restrictions being relaxed tomorrow. i'm confident that we can take the step tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take that step. so, you asked me about eating indoors with people. it's still safer to eat outdoors rather than in, when the weather allows. a child has died and two people have been seriously injured, after a gas explosion at a residential area in heysham in northern england. there was significant damage to the houses. at least two have been destroyed and a third is significantly damaged. as a consequence of that, a number of people have been injured.

tragically, a young child has been killed.