smell and touch. all the colours taste different! different, yes! i'm a content maker, activist and broadcaster. hi, guys. this is my first blind vlog. ten years ago, i lost my eyesight and since then, i've been on a mission to prove that having a disability doesn't have to hold me back. i've come a long way learning to live with sight loss... hello, sweetheart. good girl. ..but i've never been this far away from home. it's just hit me like a ton of bricks that it's actually really hard being in a new place when you can't see it. in this first episode... the ferry�*s about to depart! ..i'm travelling from the mainland to one of the remotest parts of japan. ooh, what are these for? but will i be able to make sense of a country so famous for its visual beauty? this is japan — the way i see it. i'm injapan�*s capital city, tokyo. it's my first time injapan. it's going to be very exciting but very overwhelming. where's the line? i've lost the line. 0h, here. here's the line. i left my guide dog at home and i'm travelling with my long white cane... ok, i think i'm on the crossing right now. 0h, there's someone with a megaphone. ..and at the moment, i am feeling apprehensive. loud hubbub. ah, there's so much noise! i'm going to go for it. i love the fact that the streets are quite wide. ifelt very confident walking up and down. day one in tokyo, i am going to meet rikarin, who is an influencer and a fashion designer, and we're going up harajuku. so, i want to know all about harajuku fashion. then, i'm going to have a feel with all of my other senses so i can understand where she's coming from and what fashion she likes to wear. 0k. hey, hello! it's so lovely to meet you! can i hug you? yeah, course you can. it's lovely to meet you. can i get a quick audio description of you? sure, sure. i have a yellow, puffy dress, like this. can i feel? sure. it's like an organza dress. oh, wow! with a — like a border knit top with the jeans. it's a little bit casual style. oh, you've put jeans underneath. yeah, yeah. can i be guided by yourarm? sure. so can i hold on to your...? here. that's it. perfect. fashion, it's a massive passion of mine, just actively touching everything and feeling all the fabric. there's this street, it's called takeshita street. okay. it's like the main street of harajuku. so, all the kids who have heard of harajuku first come here. it looks like so many different, like, tastes is mixed together. some shops, like on the left here, is really gothic. ah! wow! maybe on the right you'll see kebab shop! laughter. on the right again, i think you'll be surprised. and actually, i'm going to take you to the sweet place. 0h, 0k. here's the first step. yep. yes. 0k. the step is quite narrow. wow. it really smells sugary. yeah. 0k. you got one? oh, my god, amazing! oh, my gosh, it's so big! all the colours taste different! different, yes. wow. i think i like the pink one the best. yeah? the blue one's nice but it tastes like more like fake sweets. so, this is what harajuku tastes like? yeah. i'll stay here. laughs. it feels exciting, it feels energetic, and very individual. and here is a shop sign. oh, my god. he only has one eye. oh, representation! he knows how it feels! he's visually impaired, too! and the last one. 0k. stop here... 0k. ..and turn to the right. this is a really very famous and important place for the culture called kawaii culture. have you ever heard of it? no. yeah, kawaii means like something cute. we say "kawaii" to every single thing that we love. wow, that's so unusual. yeah. it feels like there's loads of clothes around me, so the audio is very dampened. mm—hm. yeah. the clothes there feel like nothing i've everfelt before that i would wear. it was a culture shock. 0h! what do you think is that? i think you cannot... i don't know. oh, my gosh. it's a big rat. a rat?! a rat, yeah. giggles. this culture was born because of a little bit of rebellion — in a good way. that's why harajuku fashion or harajuku culture is not only about something really cute. like, its not like that. they always have, like, eyeballs or bones. yeah. something a little bit dark side. yeah. you're walking on the red carpet right now. yeah! i work it! work it, work it! laughter. yeah! this shop is for the cosmetics and this room is for the wigs. shall we try some on? i could maybe try this one on. fluffy one. yeah. i've never worn a wig. oh, really? yeah, never. hey! what do you think? you look like a poodle! what made you want to get into this sort of fashion style? i was like a shy girl but after i found this community, ifeel it's totally different from my school or anything, like my family. it's different. so, it's a completely new community, it's new me, so i can be myself however i want. and that really changed my life, i think. i really relate to that because when i got my long white cane out, i felt really self—conscious and nervous. not dressing like other people makes you feel like, "yeah, i'm me! "i'm individual". yeah. i became blind at age 17 due to a really rare genetic condition. you want to just live the sighted life that you had and every day, every thing, every task that you go to do is a reminder that you can't do it any more. and that, for me, mentally, was a massive struggle when i went blind. i'm heading to saitama, about an hour away from tokyo. i'm off to see ryusei. he is a blind skateboarder and he has not let his blindness define him. i'm just really excited to understand why he skateboards and how he does it, because it's really scary in my mind! ryusei holds two world records for performing skateboard tricks without eyesight. how long have you been a blind skaterfor? what's it like to skate as a blind person? it seems scary. although i can't see ryusei's skills, i remember what skateboarding looks like and it blows my mind that he's got the courage to get back up every time he falls. 0h! yeah? yeah. is every skateboard as wobbly? how do you say "three, two, one" injapanese? san, ni... ichi. ..ichi. yeah. go! yeah. excited scream. laughs. wa—hey! i can see why this is freeing but i also don't want to go too fast! 0k. i think that's me. it's so scary! like me, ryusei lost his eyesight due to a rare disease. he's now 95% blind. how did that affect you mentally, suddenly having sight and then not? cos i know, for me, i took it really badly for a couple of years. i had a mental breakdown. i just wondered about you and yourjourney. i know what it's like to be in the darkest place because something's happened to you that shatters your heart. when you can't do just the little things that make up your life, you don't believe you can truly go on without some massive, massive willpower behind you. i admire ryusei's drive to keep doing what he loves. i think it's really amazing to see other blind people just rock it wherever they are, and that's really special. we've got something there that connects us. it's time to leave the city and i'm heading to a place that's unlike anywhere i've been. the automated gates for the... my destination is sado island. and then, you can go through the gate. my local producer is ryuso helping me on the ferry. oh, my gosh. this is a line all the way to the ferry. this is so cool. i wish we had this in our ports in england. it would stop me falling in the sea. laughs. right, now we are about to board the ferry.— right, now we are about to board the ferry. what is that metal drumming? _ right, so, they're telling us the ferry is about to depart — that's what the drum is. now, we are on the ferry. yay! oh, that's so cool! yeah. there was no step up or anything. it's so accessible. yeah, it was pretty smooth, wasn't it? yeah. whistle blows. the ferry is about to depart! gong bangs. cackles. that was really fun! so, the ship is slowly turning directions. 0k. and then, from there, its 2.5 hours to sadogashima. lovely. how far down is the water? oh, far enough that you don't want to fall. laughs. it's about, like, a four—storey building. 0h, 0k. i would say, yeah. wow. these are the kind of experiences as a blind person that are really sensory for me. the wind in my hair and the rain, little bits of rain. i can hear a seagull. laughs. gulls cry. i can hear the engine down below. i can hear the water. really cool. i've come to sado island in the sea ofjapan, and i'm here to experience a unique tradition called the onidaiko festival. so what is the onidaiko festival? we try to keep the community together and, at the same time, we wish a good harvest and health. the onidaiko is danced to represent the gods. everything's connected to each other. i want to find ways to engage with the festival that don't rely on eyesight. konnichiwa. terue has brought me to the taiko drumming centre. this building is named tatakokan. tatako. yes. tatako means "let's play taiko" injapanese. oh, tatako! yes! tatako, yes! taiko drumming is an ancient art that's central to the onidaiko festival. so this is taiko. ..not so strong. 0k. relax. yes. ok, good, good. laughter ok, you lift your arm up higher. and down. beats drum yes. 0k. more. oh, it's good. it's good. i give you to "se, no". se, no is like one, two. 0k, 0k. se, no! next. yes. cheering i feel like it's a sense of self that you find when you're drumming. i can't see visual pieces of art, but to be able to experience it with wood all around me, i felt the sound just through my whole body. it was a massive sensory experience. when masami started to drum... ..i didn't expect to feel overcome with passion for what she does. i didn't know how moved i would be by hearing the sounds ricochet from the drum all the way around the room. it was so moving. wow! well done. oh, my gosh, that was incredible. ijust, ifeel this sense of calm after that because it was so... you just felt it through your whole body, don't you? right. it's like your body's echoing with the... yeah. ..drum. yeah. i didn't have a need to, like, be able to see then, which is like one of the first times in my life. being blind in that moment didn't matter. yeah. you can feel that. you don't need to see it. just feel it. yeah. that's what music does. it's just amazing. sniffs 0h. laughs thank you. speaks japanese thank you. thank you so much. i am so super proud of myself and i'm not afraid to say it. to think, "oh, being blind is so crummy, i'll "never go away" and now, i'm over the other side of the world and i'm so excited to experience all of my other senses. as well as drumming, costumes are a key part of the onidaiko tradition. konnichiwa. i've come to meet watanabe aritsune, who carves traditional oni, or demon masks, worn by the festival's dancers. translation: there's some chair. _ 0k. one more, one more. 0k. one more, one more chair. here? no, next to. next to it. laughs we got there in the end. what's in front of me? so, five oni masks in front of you. the masks are a tactile symbol of what once was and what is now. and i think that's beautiful to still have that within the small communities of the island. so, here is his mask. so that usually male only closing their mouths. 0h. 0h! that's scary. how does it feel when you see your masks in the festival? are you proud? i loves the lion's mechanicaljaw. i think that was one of my favourite parts. yeah, i like that. the tactile experience is now going to make the festival come alive to me in my mind. i now have a picture of what they may be wearing. i can have an audio description of how they dance, and then i'm hearing the music. i can fully immerse myself in the festival, so i'm really excited. drum beats there are over 100 onidaiko dance groups on the island and they dedicate their performances to a shrine. the lions came out. now, she's trying to scare them. wow. they're so close. yeah. the lions are moving around as well. yeah. applause yay! woo! thank you. 0h! he's got, he's got hair. i felt that day shifted my mind—set. i always thought that my blind experience was less than... oh, what are these for? ..that when i felt something tactile, i didn't see that as valid as actually looking at that thing in real life. this is the god of snake. the god of snake. that day proved to me that my tactile experience was as valid as a visual one. yes! yeah. thank you. up the road, a children's dance group is performing door to door to the families in the village. i love that it's all really immersive. the kids are so, so cute as well. what are they saying? kids chant it doesn't mean anything, but it's cheering the people up. so, you mean like "yay"? yes, that's. .. yay! chuckles chanting in japanese this trip has made me more confident. i truly believe that the way i interact with the world in a tactile way when i go back home is enough. chanting continues i am enough. chanting oh, my god. the energy is so electric right now. i'm so excited. it's just the chanting. it's like, makes you feel like you're in a bit of a trance. chants yay! the kids are shouting. it's just such a sense of community. in the second part of my travels, i'm back in tokyo... go. ..asking whether guide dogs could be replaced. faster, faster, faster. i've never been guided by ai before. this is so cool! squeals and i head to hiroshima to find out about the resilience of its people. hello there. let's take a look at the weather for the week ahead. now, it was another day of contrasts again on friday with a band of heavy rain across the central belt of scotland, also for eastern areas of northern ireland. towards the north of that band of rain, some brightness. towards the south, a lot of sunshine, such as here in bedfordshire. now, towards the south, it is going to feel quite humid this weekend. fresher conditions further north and some rain wherever you are, courtesy, on sunday, of this deep area of low pressure that's going to be pushing its way further northwards and eastwards, and that's going to help to spark off some heavy, thundery downpours. on saturday, a bit of wet weather around as well. possibly a rumble or two of thunder in some of these showers towards the south—west of england. our band of rain further north is gradually fragmenting, it's weakening, but still some showers, i think, for the north—west of england. some brightness across scotland. the best of the sunshine again towards the south—east of england and east anglia with that south—easterly wind just drawing in humid air from the near continent. in the best of the brightness and sunshine, temperatures could get as high as 26 or even 27 degrees celsius. on saturday night, again, a range of temperatures out there. it's going to feel really quite cool, i think, towards the north of scotland. lows here of around 3 degrees celsius underneath clear skies. but towards the south—east of england, again, in that humid—feeling air, temperatures may not drop much below 16 or 17 degrees, so an uncomfortable night asleep here. and it stays humid in the south on sunday. the humidity, that deep area of low pressure will help to spark off the heavy, thundery downpours that will gradually push further northwards and eastwards throughout the day. mostly dry in eastern scotland, the wind turning more south—easterly as we head throughout the day. again, a range of temperatures. we're hanging on to that humid—feeling air. watch out for some frequent lightning strikes perhaps towards the south as we head through sunday night and into monday. but we're all going to be seeing fresher—feeling conditions into next week. it's a very active week weather—wise with cold fronts pushing eastwards throughout the day on monday. behind the cold fronts, of course, fresher—feeling conditions. but some sunshine ahead of that main rain band and some sunshine behind it as well but also, a rash of showers, so plenty of wet weather around on monday. we'll stay in that humid—feeling air until we get to the afternoon. towards the south and the east, 2! or 22 degrees celsius. still fresher—feeling conditions digging in behind. and there's plenty of activity out in the atlantic as we head through the rest of the week, some of these systems tied up with the remnants of hurricane lee. let's take a look at tuesday. so, at the moment, we think it's probably going to be quite a showery day. the winds will be strengthening as the second deep area of low pressure starts to approach. temperatures will be a lot closer to the seasonal average — really, the mid to the high teens — so already feeling cooler by the time we get to tuesday but, curiously, on wednesday, it could turn milderagain, particularly in the south — that's because we have got that tropical—feeling air coming through. a deep of low pressure out towards northern ireland, western scotland — some strong, gusty winds here and plenty of showers. these will be the day's highs on wednesday. fresher again towards the north but warmer in the south. and more showers expected on thursday. again, some very strong, gusty winds. the details of all of this are likely to change as we head through the week but what we do know is that we'll see a return to those fresher—feeling conditions and it will be very wet and very windy at times, particularly out towards the north and the west. so, a very active week. westerly winds. fresher—feeling air. here's the outlook for our capital cities as we head through the week. do keep an eye on the forecast. good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and ben thompson. our headlines today: the government admits it will "take a while" to ban american xl bully dogs in england and wales, despite a pledge to do so by the end of the year. a bbc news team in eastern libya finds that significant amounts of international aid are yet to arrive, five days after huge flash floods. things like cars that have been picked up and crushed all through these streets, they have been trees ripped from their roots and you can see now the scar on the landscape where buildings once stood, people once lived, and there is nothing left. the family ofjoanna simpson, who was killed by her estranged husband, renew theirappeal for him to stay injail, as his november release date edges closer. good morning. an emotional andy murray dedicates his latest victory to his grandmother, after he revealed he missed her funeral to represent great britain in the davis cup against switzerland. "we want our sand back": campaigners in the seaside town of llandudno want the rocks removed from their beach, and the sands to return. good morning, a real mix of weather out there today,

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