A swathe of flashing cameras and grinning, waving faces turned out to catch a glimpse of their heroes. Fans broke the barriers and ran alongside the coach at tremendous speeds as hysteria levels reached fever point.

The players were just as excited as the fans with many of them using handheld video recorders to ensure that they have a permanent record of these amazing scene.

"I would say that, in terms of exuberance and sheer jubilation, this welcome is absolutely beyond precedent," the F.A.'s Executive Director David Davies told TheFA.com.

"There were thousands of people there and it was a well organised, safe passage for the players despite the amazing levels of excitement which greeted us."

Denmark, South Africa and even World Champions France have all arrived in Japan at the same airport and boarded their team buses without any fanfare over the last few days. Clearly even the likes of Henry and Zidane are no rivals to Michael Owen and David Beckham in the hearts of the Japanese fans.

On the injury front, the squad enjoyed a final training session in Korea prior to departure. David Seaman pickup up a slight groin strain and is unlikely to play against Cameroon on Sunday but the injury is not one which will threaten his participation in the World Cup.

David Beckham, Ashley Cole and Kieron Dyer all did gym sessions as they continue their hopefully speedy road to recovery.

The team are now safely ensconsed in their new hotel in Awaji, which will remain their base for the entire duration of England's World Cup campaign.

It looks sure to be a real hit with the players who will be able to enjoy the delights of English television which is being specially streamed into their communal areas. Other leisure activities provided for the players will be an air hockey table, a games room containing fifteen full-size arcade games, a table-tennis table, three table football games (which exactly replicate England's three group games), plus a Sony Playstation for each member of the squad.

"We've worked hard on making sure that the players have plenty to do between games to keep the spirit as good as it has been until now," explained Ben Wright, Brand Manager for the England team at the F.A.

Let's hope the team's stay in the Westin Hotel, Awaji, is a long one. One thing is for sure - we won't be lacking any support.

From Daniel Freedman in Japan.