I've just landed in Tokyo for Newcastle United's pre-season tour - and this is what hit me first

It’s felt like a lifetime but I’m finally here! From Hull to Manchester then Shanghai to Tokyo, me covering Newcastle United’s pre-season tour starts here.

A journey that started in Newcastle at 9am (BST) on Saturday morning is complete after arriving in Tokyo at around 2pm local time on Monday.

After around 17 hours on flights and waiting around airports (Shanghai was a bit of a clart on!), I was ready for a kip once I exited the plane at Narita Airport. But the heat has hit me good and proper, it’s sweltering. Spare a thought for Eddie Howe and his players.

Howe’s side are first in action when they take on Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday at the Saitama Stadium (kick-off 7:30pm local time) before heading to the Japan National Stadium on Saturday to take on Yokohama F.Marinos.

We’ll be bringing you updates from Howe, player interviews, match analysis and a behind-the-scenes view on all things happening around Newcastle in The Land of the Rising Sun.

And that starts with the first instalment of our ‘day diaries’, which you can watch above to hear all about my travels and what to expect from the Magpies.

Thank you to our sponsor

Konnichiwa! Newcastle United are in Japan - and so too are NewcastleWorld!

Our Newcastle United writer Jordan Cronin is there all week, providing coverage of the tour, behind the scenes video and analysis from Tokyo. 

And we’re proud to announce that our Newcastle United coverage of the tour has a sponsor! Every story from Japan will be sponsored by Mobility Care Solutions Ltd, with the shop’s official mascot Murphy!

For more information on Mobility Care Solutions Ltd click this link.