Here in the uk prime Minister Borisjohnson said there is � increasing confidence� that the existing vaccines for coronavirus are effective against the so called indian variant of the virus. Almost 3,000 cases of the indian strain have now been identified across the uk. But Health Experts warn they still can� t say for certain how infectious the new variant is. 0ur Health Editor Hugh Pym reports. The drive to get more people vaccinated has added momentum, with concern about rising cases of the indian variant. Whatever you do, don� t run away after you� ve finished, because i� m going to have stuff to give you. At this Vaccine Bus in the London Borough of brent, no bookings are needed. Government officials say second doses should be pulled forward for certain groups, and that is what those we spoke to had come along to get. I just thought when the time is right i would get my second dose. I saw the van and thought i would pop along now. We cannot ignore what is still going on. Just all do our bit, really. For the people who live i here it is good and nice. Lam happy and i am relaxed. Ministers believe vaccines can work against the variant. We have increasing confidence that the vaccines are effective against it. That means that our strategy is the right one. To carefully replace the restrictions on freedom for protection from the vaccine. What is your current assessment of how fast this new variant is spreading relative to the existing Uk Variant . We have a credible range that goes from a few percent more transmissible through to and you have probably read the sage papers through to 50 more transmissible. I think most people feel it is going to be somewhere in the middle rather than at the extremes of that band. He said things would be clearer from data next week. More pockets of cases of the indian Covid Variant are emerging, including five at a school in shropshire. A Testing Centre has opened and all secondary school pupils, staff and their families in the Newport Area have been urged to take a test. In the South Side of glasgow, where the variant had been detected, there was Surge Testing for the first time. Three secondary schools have asked senior pupils to stay at home for three weeks unless they have assessments. Back in brent, the focus is on parts of the borough where take up of the vaccine has been low. For some people it can be difficult to get to big vaccination centres, for example a couple of bus rides or more. The idea here is to use the Vaccine Bus to get to the heart of local communities. They are monitoring developments with the variant. We are seeing an increase in the variant that was first described in india, and while many of the cases are associated with travel, or contacts of people who have travelled, there has been some community transmission. The uk wide situation is encouraging. Some Intensive Care Units have no covid patients. For the second successive day, total Hospital Admissions have been below 100. The question now is whether the variant changes that picture in any way. Hugh pym, bbc news. Now on bbc news. This week� s Travel Show comes from tokyo. 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 not join 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 5,000 kilometres South West of tokyo 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 different. 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. Speaks japanese. 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 on 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 of japan. And back in 2015, rajan headed there to get in on the journey. Osaka 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 ofjapan. 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 emerged in osaka. I wanted to find out more about the roots of comedy in the city. Hello kaishi san nice to meet you Katsura Kaishi practices the traditional story telling, rakugo, and he says it evolved from osaka� s trading history. Speaks japanese. 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. Speaking english 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 rajan sets out to wow the crowds in a traditional so don� t go away. Well, 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. Well, back in 2016, i travelled to nagoya to meet some Martial Arts Fans Training to become modern day ninjas, and i even gave it a go myself. Needless to say, i didn� t get hired. The ninja, a mysterious, Undercover Agent in feudal japan, 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 1,600 us dollars a month. Sasuke 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 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, of 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 a 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 . Speaks japanese. So, if there was a castle and a moat . Yes, yes. Speaks japanese. 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 to balance 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 . Speaks japanese. 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 injapan . This Yosakoi Soran festival in hokkaido has two rules, yes. Two rules . Yes, just one every team, every dancer as this � naruko�. Do you know soran music . Yeah. So, what you� re saying is, even though the music might and there� s this they have the same melody . Yes, yes, yes. How does the melody go . Sings � Yosakoi Soran and while it� s something that clearly takes a lot of practice, i� m told that in my case, one hour should do it. Yes, yes. 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. Attitude. Just, ok, from top. Oh, 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 no. 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, 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, ifeel quite confident now. Oh, 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. Hello there. Wednesday was another unsettled day. The majority of the showers that formed were across eastern areas through the afternoon, so we had some of these thunderclouds going across the skyline in cambridgeshire. Further west, though, wales and western england, well, it was a largely fine afternoon with some long spells of sunshine at last. But it� s not going to stay that way. On the satellite picture, we� ve already got our next weather system. It� s been moving quite quickly across the atlantic, but it� s going to put its brakes on and become really quite slow moving as the low spins its way across the united kingdom. So, we� ve got rain and strong winds to come for the next couple of days. Now, that rain is already beginning to arrive across westernmost areas, and that process will continue for the next few hours. Whereas across eastern areas, it stays drier. A dry start to Thursday Morning and not particularly cold. The winds picking up across the South West, though, quite quickly in the morning. Bright start across eastern areas, and to be honest, there probably won� t be that much in the way of rain across the South East. Northern scotland not faring too bad either. But, otherwise, a lot of rain to come across western areas, with some strong winds blowing into the coast of wales in particular. Gusts here around 50 60mph. Winds that strong will likely bring down a few tree branches. There could be some localised transport disruption. The low pressure� s still there on friday. Heavier rain this time going in across into the South East of england through the afternoon. And the strongest winds going through the english channel. Again, we could see some localised disruption, but the majority of the rain will start to spin away from northern ireland. Here we� ll see some brighter weather pushing in, but probably with a few showers as well. What about the weekend . Well, the rain clears, showers follow to saturday. And then we� ve got another dollop of rain for sunday. So, there� s no end in sight, really, to this unsettled run of weather. Marginally, saturday looks like being the better of the two days of the weekend, although rain never too far away from the South East of england. And there will be some heavy showers around as well. Still, there will be some areas that get through the gaps between those showers and stay dry with some sunshine. Temperatures continue to be pretty disappointing. Sunday starts off on a promising note across the east, but we do have this band of rain that� s going to be pushing in from the west as the day goes by. So, many of us will see some rain at times, and those temperatures still pretty rubbish for may. What about next week . Well, the rain clears, but showers follow. Yes, monday and tuesday looking pretty unsettled. Welcome to bbc news, i� m Tim Willcox our top stories ramping up the pressure on Israel Joe Biden tells Benjamin Netanyahu to ease back on the airstrikes on gaza. Serious differences but talking the us and russia foreign ministers meet on the sidelines of the Arctic Council in iceland. We report from japan where politicians and the ioc insist the tokyo olympics are safe, but public opposition is intensifying. Us actor Billy Porter says � no� to stigma he shares with the world that he� s been Hiv Positive for the past 1a years