After a week and two matches in Ireland, Chelsea’s pre-season quickly rolled onto Japan.

A late Monday afternoon flight from London Gatwick to Tokyo Haneda saw the Blues touch down in Asia on Tuesday afternoon, with those among the party, which included 24 players, having rested well.

The 12-hour flight was broken up with the usual entertainment, movies and box sets, as well as many a game of Uno, the game of choice for the French-speaking foursome of N’Golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Kurt Zouma and Michy Batshuayi.

Most players pair up together with a regular travel partner – it is rare to see Kante not sharing a double seat with Olivier Giroud, while Jorginho and Emerson often share.

With no Willian, who is still on vacation following the Copa America, it was left to Mason Mount, who before travelling on Monday signed a new five-year contract, to accompany David Luiz.

Lunch at the hotel was followed by media duties for Frank Lampard and Mateo Kovacic, who spoke to the media for approximately 20 minutes alongside their counterparts from Kawasaki Frontale.

Then, it was off to training, with a new member of the travelling party in tow. It has been a long time coming, but Christian Pulisic is now firmly a Blue, and after a week off following his exertions with the US national team at the Gold Cup, he undertook his first training session under Lampard’s watch.

The coach welcomed the 20-year-old into the group, with Chelsea TV on hand to capture the American’s first session as a Chelsea player.

Afterwards, it was back to the hotel for dinner and a relatively early night. Wednesday promises to be a busy one for the Blues.

Read more tomorrow about the Blues' trip to Japan - and don't forget there is plenty more to see on our 5th Stand app and social media platforms.