Typed up the diary, read some fiction, did some more washing—am I a clean backpacker or what?

All the buzz on television is about the England-Argentina game. The Japanese are mad about Beckham in particular, all the young girls sighing every time he appears on TV. Sven-Goren Eriksson is waxing lyrical with phrases about "spirit stretching to the stars." The Zen of Sven, it's been called.

Sampling Sushi

You can't visit Japan without trying sushi, the Japanese dish that has taken over the world, so I had a sushi lunch in a Japanese restaurant—great, and can't wait to try some more! The only way I knew it had sushi was because it had a table outside with a sample of its dishes on it, so I was able to point out what I wanted. Soy sauce came in a little saucer. Wasabi, horse-radish sauce, was on top of the fish (which I hoped was dead—at least, I didn't see anything moving!), and the waitress scooped it up into the soy sauce and mixed it with it. No sign of ginger, though...

Ex-pats

Went to the New York, a small (tiny by Irish standards) laid-back bar just around the corner from the station.

Full of ex-pats gathered to watch the football, all English teachers who had been here for some time. Jim from Wales, sporting an Argentina shirt, had been here for three years, the prospect of the World Cup tempting him to stay, and is now thinking of heading for Australia. Ben from Nova Scotia had been here for six years, earning more than he could ever dream of back home, and is in it for the long haul. An Australian told me he had been working on construction sites in the UK, but joined his brother here to earn far more—his next stop is working the boats in Florida.

Ben admitted that I've already seen more of Japan than he has—holidays in Japan are short and are at the same time every year, so the whole country piles on to the motorways at the same time, and much of the time is spent behind the wheels of a car.

Learning English

"The Japanese are obsessed with learning English and that has to be eliminated". ( Professor Yukio Tsuda. Nagoya University).

Clichés

It is hard to avoid the clichés about Japan, because both Japanese and foreigners seem to feel most comfortable with them. Ian Buruma

News

All the TV stations carrying reports of the attack by the Phillipine army against a group who had kidnapped some people off the Philipines. American Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap have been killed in a rescue attempt by the Philippine army. His wife was rescued.

The Beautiful Game

In the afternoon in Group F, Sweden beat Nigeria 2-1. The game wasn't shown on Japanese television. The two goals were scored by Celtic's Henrik Larsson that Freddie Ljungberg helped set up. That result eliminates a downcast Nigeria, though they say they'll play hard against England. However, the main game to watch was the other Group F match, and the most talked-about for ages, England against Argentina.

In the small pub where I watched the game the shouting during the game reached fever pitch as rival groups cheered on the teams. The goal came from a 44th minute penalty by David Beckham after Michael Owen, who ran wild through the Argentine defense, had been taken down in the box. The score could have been higher, as Owen bounced one off the post, England had chance after chance, and it took an incredible performance from keeper Pablo Cavallero to keep Argentina close. In the last 30 minutes, Argentina kept the pressure on, too, but England held on to win.

Things quietened somewhat after the game as a group of folkies played a selection of seventies and Irish numbers. But this was still too loud for an irate resident of a hotel across the road, who came over, still dressed in his pyjamas, to demand that the music be turned down.

The other result of the day was in Group B, Spain beating Paraguay 3-1, which, after their win against Slovenia on Sunday, qualifies them for the next round.