My wife and I stayed with Sayaka and her family for four nights, whilst traveling round Japan and S.E.Asia, because we enjoy meeting people, and wanted a more personal experience than you get in a hot...

My wife and I stayed with Sayaka and her family for four nights, whilst traveling round Japan and S.E.Asia, because we enjoy meeting people, and wanted a more personal experience than you get in a hotel. This was our first homestay, and it was so good that we were encouraged to seek out similar accommodation during the rest of our travels.

Despite inquiring about a possible stay only a couple of days before, Sayaka was happy to accommodate us, even though her mother was visiting that week. The Nakano family is a wonderful, happy family, and they went out of their way to make our visit memorable, taking us out to see exhibitions and local restaurants, as well as the kendo class Dai, Haru and Mika attend during the week. To top it off, Sayaka is an excellent cook, so we ate delicious Japanese food every day. Sayaka's English is brilliant, which made it easy to ask questions, exchange stories, and discover our cultural differences!

This homestay was easily the highlight of our two and half weeks in Japan, and we were sad to say goodbye, although happy to have met such a warm and welcoming family, who we now think of as friends.

Thankyou, Sayaka and Dai, for being such great hosts - we look forward to returning the favour when you come visit us in Scotland!