across parts of northern ireland and possibly travel problems arising from this and lots of surface water around. some showers as well in parts of scotland but for most places it's dry and certainly still warm and feeling muggy as well with temperatures dipping to the mid — high teens in cell c is so uncomfortable again for sleeping. and then this is monday would still showers across northern ireland are moving into scotland and elsewhere it's dry and certainly still warm and feeling muggy as well with temperatures dipping to the mid—high teens in cell c is so uncomfortable again for sleeping. and then this is monday would still showers across northern ireland are moving into scotland and elsewhere its with highs of 30 celsius but even here temperatures were dip the week.

hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... a group of charities and community organisations have called the rises in energy bills a "national emergency" as labour is to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in october. the energy minister says their plan won't work. the son of author sir salman rushdie says his injuries are life changing — but that his feisty & defiant sense of humour remains intact — after he was stabbed at an event in new york state. egyptian health officials say at least 41 people have died and a0 more injured in a fire at a coptic church in north—west cairo. warnings in the uk over the use of disposable barbecues — as tinder dry conditions continue after a weekend of wildfires in parts of england.

a delegation from the us congress is in taiwan. their visit comes 12 days after one by us house speaker nancy pelosi, which led to an angry now on bbc news... the travel show — former paralympian steve brown explores japan to find out how accessibility has improved in the wake of this year paralympics in tokyo. 0n hisjourney he meets japanese paralympians who took part in the games, navigates the tokyo subway, travels to the holy island of 0kinoshima and tries out disabled surfing in okinawa. oh, wow! look at the size of this place! this is tokyo stadium, and it was home to the football, the rugby and the pentathlon during the olympics, and i'm glad to finally be here.

japan's delayed summer of sport finally got under way in 2021. my name's steve brown, and i was supposed to come over for the paralympic coverage. not being able to make it out was a huge blow. the whole thing about sport, it's notjust about watching it, it's about feeling it, that immersive experience. before i was a presenter, i was captain of the london 2012 wheelchair rugby team. when i was in hospital, sport was what got me out. it was definitely the building blocks to the person that i have become. tokyo holds a special place in paralympic history. it was all the way back at the 1964 games that the term paralympic was first used. but being disabled injapan hasn't always been easy. it's often seen as a country that values conformity and fitting in.

so, at the end of this paralympic year, i'm finally getting the chance to explore japan and find out what life's like for those who stand out from the crowd. along the way, i'll meet some old opponents, discover a hidden tropical culture, and ride the waves with some adaptive surfing. my journey across japan begins in the capital, tokyo, the world's busiest city, where i'm on my way to meet some former rivals. it's excellent to be sitting here watching

the japanese paralympic team doing their training. so wheelchair rugby has got this nickname, murderball. and you can see why. it's the only full contact wheelchair sport there is. your opponent is going to be working very hard to knock you out of your chair. so you've got to work hard to knock them out of theirs. the team won bronze at the 2021 home games. and i rememberfacing them all the way back at london 2012. so, very nice to see you again. of course, it was a very different games because of coronavirus. how did that affect you, not having the crowds here?

how do you feel people's acceptance and understanding of disability is? do you feel like it's something that's maybe been hidden away a little bit? this gym was specially designed for para—athletes and opened in 2018. in the build up to the paralympics, the government committed to introducing more barrier—free access across the country.

we'll see how i get on as i explore more ofjapan. here in tokyo, the subway system is said to be almost entirely accessible — even if some of the adaptations are a bit bizarre. so this is going to turn into a wheelchair lift, but they've had to shut everything off to make it happen. so i come on? yeah. you won't find many of these adapted escalators around the subway. normal lifts are far more common... brakes are on. 0k. yeah, no problem. ..and that's probably a good thing. 0k.

and it's done. thank you, gentlemen. well, that was terrifying. but, on the surface, there are old pockets of tokyo that can still be a challenge to get around. we're in golden gai and that translates as golden city, which is quite a strange name for a place no bigger than a football pitch. the place is just starting to open now. if i'd left it another hour or so, this would be starting to get much busier, and on these narrow streets, i think i'd have trouble getting around. see, look, this is a perfect example. there's no room for me in there. there's a step to get in, and the door�*s too narrow. a few blocks over, there's an area where another group of people are finding their voice. it's called ni—chime,

and it's said to have the highest concentration of gay and lesbian bars in the world. i've arranged to meet nunu, who works here. and what's the attitude like to the lgbt community injapan? nunu works at the 0nnanoko club, which calls itself a cross—dressing bar.

the club welcomes people of all identities. nunu identifies as trans and was originally a customer here. chatting and laughter. this pocket of tokyo flourished because it gave people a space outside of the mainstream where they could express themselves without facing disapproval. but tradition still has a powerful hold overjapan, as i'll find out in the next stage of myjourney.

now it's time for me to leave the capital on board one of their famous bullet trains. announcer: the train | at track number 23 is... what is happening? we are trying to get you wheelchair space. some lines saw the number of wheelchair spaces on board treble in the lead—up to the paralympics, but it takes a while to find me a space. it's turning out to be quite a faff, i think. they recommend that you book it all up in advance to save all of this, you know? that doesn't work if you don't know you're travelling until an hour before you need to travel. all sorted. well, here we go then!

i'm on my way to 0shima island, 1,000 kilometres west of tokyo and more than five hours by train, to an area that remains enthralled to centuries—old traditions and customs. that's a big flight of steps. whey! no. 0k. he groans. 0h! here we are. 0h! wow. getting up here might have been a bit of an effort, but it was certainly worth it. you don't see many places like this, do you? this is the 0kitsu—miya shrine.

it was built in the 18th century to pay homage to a holy island some 50km off the coast. 0kinoshima has been worshipped for well over 1,000 years, lying betweenjapan and the korean peninsula. this museum tells the story of 0kinoshima all the way back to its earliest religious ceremonies in the fourth century. the island is a sacred place with a very strict door policy.

have you seen the island? more than 80,000 artefacts have been found there, which led to unesco naming it a world heritage site in 2017. but the old taboos mean only men can set foot on the island, and miki can'tjoin her male colleagues on archaeological expeditions.

watching these videos, it certainly has got this kind of eerie, mystical power to it. i might not be able to go myself, but one way that tourists can experience 0kinoshima is by trying a misogi ceremony, a special cleansing ritual performed by all the island's visitors. whoa! yeah, it's cold.

face you, yeah? towards you? 0oh... 0oh! ok, i'm down. it feels, now i'm in, somewhat... ..exhilarating, in a way, relaxing... ..but i still want to get back out now! it is that enough praying? i'm heading now to japan's southernmost spot, 0kinawa, which is made up of more than 100 subtropical islands. it's a popular holiday destination because of its year—round warm temperatures. and back in 2007, it was the first place injapan to make a barrier—free declaration, a commitment towards making travel

more accessible to all. i've heard 0kinawan culture has some distinct differences from the mainland, so i've come here to find out more. applause.

back in the 15th century, the ryukyu kingdom united the islands that now form 0kinawa. they were a trading people, and today an international influence can still be felt in their art and design, their architecture and in theirfood. 0k, well, this all looks very nice. i think i'm going to start with this. what is it? it smells strong. has it got strong flavour? yes, 0k. wow, that is a strong flavour! he chuckles i need to wash it down. so what is this?

that's nice, and it's quite smooth, fragrant. maybe i'm just washing down the... the fermented tofu. but ryukyuan culture hasn't always been embraced by the mainland. in the 19th century, after it became part ofjapan, there was a crackdown on local customs. next on my tour, chiyako takes me 30km down the road to shuri castle.

it's on the top of a steep hill, so i've brought along an extra set of wheels. so here we are, then. that was a big entrance into an open space. what happened here? i've come through and it's just a construction site. that is the only way i can explain it. that was what i was expecting to see. and it's such a shame. when it was standing, shuri castle drew around two million people a year. then, in october 2019, a fire blamed on a faulty electrical system tore through the wooden palace, destroying all the main buildings.

the debris has been cleared away and the site is once again open to tourists, where they can find out about an ambitious new reconstruction that's currently under way. so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the weight of them. they were a real, solid piece. how many are you going to need to make?

it's not the first time the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt. it had previously been bombed during the second world war, its reconstruction turning it into a symbol of 0kinawa's resilience. it's tragic to see all this devastation, but with the reconstruction set to open in a few years�* time, maybe it's a chance for the ryukyu culture to get a bit more attention. here in okinawa, my trip across japan is coming to an end. but there's one more thing for me to try. so... ..this foot. 0k, we are one... oh, my goodness! surfing is a year—round activity on these subtropical islands,

and taishi is an organiser for access surf, a local charity that helps people with accessibility needs like mine ride the waves. well, i have never been surfing before. please reassure me — how many people have you taken out already? i've got the wet suit on — let's make the most of it, shall we? all right, let's go! i'm in. well, i've been in for a ritual, now i'm going in for recreational. yeah, i'm ready. let's go! yeah? yeah. this way round. with me safely on the board, the team run through a few basics. yeah, good. yeah. ok, so how do i fall down?

i go over? yep. and i push the board away from me? it's better. 0k. so i push away the only thing that i want to grab? they laugh well, i think i've got the paddling. shall we try some surfing? yeah. in my journey across japan, i've seen that it's a country that's still bound by tradition. but i've also met people who are pushing those boundaries. and here in okinawa, i've seen that there's more than just one traditional culture. for me, coming here in my wheelchair, there have been a few problems here and there. but opening up is a process, whether its opening up to foreign travel after a pandemic or opening up to new ideas and experiences.

and this has been one experience that i'm definitely going to remember. all change weather—wise and to start next week, the weather warning for extreme heat expires and temperatures will eventually drop back down to the seasonal average. there will be thunderstorms around,

welcoming for many, but this could lead to some surface water flooding is the ground is so hard and dry of late. that area of high pressure that has been keeping us hot and dry is moving eastwards, living low pressure to show its hand in the south which will help to spark of the thunderstorms, particularly where see in the sunshine also some more organised bands of rain. a met office weather warning in place, number one in place, an amber warning for parts of northern ireland tonight. higher rainfall totals and possibly again some surface water flooding. the totals and possibly again some surface waterflooding. the neck, still some showers across many areas of scotland, moving into parts of western wales and elsewhere it is mostly dry, another warning, and comfortable for sleeping, temperatures dipping to the mid to high teens. the quite muggy and humid into the start of the new working week. tomorrow, some showers, most notably across northern ireland. they will clear away, also throughout parts of scotland as well. elsewhere, a lot of dry weather today morning, sunny

spells, but where we see those watch out for sure is developing. they will pop up here and there through the afternoon, hit and miss, not everyone will see them. possibly high rainfall totals, still hot toward central southern england and east anglia. high seer of 29—30 c. as we head through monday into tuesday, again it's rather warm and comfortable for sleeping. this is where we think the rain will be introduced to, the details to change. persistent heavy rain for much of scotland and living into south—west england and south wales. look at the temperature contrast here between the south—east were still warm in the north—west, where there is cooler air that will eventually reach everywhere. the focus for the showers likely to be across southern areas of england and wales on wednesday elsewhere is dry and cool and really rather cloudy. there will be a drop in temperature. back into the seasonal average, low to mid 20s for england and wales, high teens were and northern

ireland. —— for scotland and northern ireland.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. at least 41 people have been killed, and many injured, in a fire at a coptic church in cairo. the son of author sir salman rushdie says his injuries are life changing but that his defiant sense of humour remains intact after he was stabbed. uk charities and community groups call the rise in energy bills a "national emergency" as the opposition calls for the energy price cap to be frozen. the energy minister says that won't work. i think we have to be a little bit careful on some of these, labour's seemingly magical solution to just wish it all away, that will have consequences.