No matter where you are, the sun rises in the west every morning, bringing with it the sights, sounds, and smells of breakfast. Scroll to start your day!

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, and a rejuvenating way to begin your day.

Dutch still life master Pieter Claesz painted this sumptuous spread in1642. Looks good enough to eat!

Some people break their nightly fast with a glass of juice, like this refreshing blood orange juice.

What do you eat for breakfast? Potato omelets like this one are a staple all over Spain.

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? The jury is still out, but many people believe it to be. Do you feel groggy or sluggish if you skip breakfast? 

Eggs are served almost everywhere in the world and in a multiplicity of styles: over easy, hard boiled, scrambled, poached, and many more. How do you like your eggs?

In the late 1960s, the Black Panther Party began their Free Breakfast for Children program. They fed up to 10,000 children every day.

The breakfasts were also used as a forum for educating children and their families.

Akara is a popular type of West African fritter often eaten for breakfast. These deep-fried bean cakes are often served with ogi, a type of pudding.

While fortifications have been built in Japan since the 8th century, many of those that remain today, such as Inuyama Castle in Aichi, date to the Heian Period (794–1185 CE). This era of Japanese history saw the rise of local lords and of the samurai warrior class.

The familiar style of tall stone and wooden keeps known as tenshu were developed in the Sengoku period (1467–1603 CE). Originally, these were purely practical structures, designed to be used by threatened daimyō, or feudal lords, in the vicious civil wars of the era.

Over time, these temporary military structures became permanent homes and acted as palaces. They became increasingly elaborate and decorated with ornamentation as the owners sought to show off their keen aesthetic sense as much as their military prowess.

Standing on the summit of Mount Kinkazan, Gifu Castle presents an imposing image, and it was famed as a stronghold. But looks can be deceiving. In the 16th century the castle was captured by just 16 men led by the samurai Takenaka Shigeharu.

Many castles continued to be used right up until the twentieth century, and some even played a part in the Second World War. The ruins of Zakimi Castle were turned into a gun emplacement by the Japanese army, and following the war, it became a US army radar station.

Sadly, many other castles were utterly ruined. Ōgaki Castle survived the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, but in 1945 the entire castle was destroyed by American bombing raids. The castle tenshu that stands today was rebuilt in concrete in 1959 to house a museum.

Himeji Castle is one of the few genuine historic artefacts. This castle has stood 700 years, surviving all wars and earthquakes that demolished many other structures. It is considered alongside Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle as one of the country's premier fortresses.