Kaoru woke up early this morning, to have a bath – which I knew would happen. What I didn’t know is the view she was going to be treated with for sunrise!

I had a case of bath envy when I got up, so went to the bath on the other side of the hotel (mountain-side), and was treated with a different view.

We met downstairs for breakfast. This was a proper Japanese breakfast, so we had much more variety than at Toyoko-Inn. It took me a few trips to get through everything. We finished breakfast off with a raw egg, mixed in some soy sauce and bonito flakes, poured on rice.

We were quite full by the time we left. We returned to our room to get dressed, and then drove to Okaasan and Ottosan’s house. We had a cuppa and an apple, and then it was time to take Okaasan to her singing group. So I drove us there – Ottosan was very happy being a passenger! After dropping Okaasan off, Kaoru, Ottosan and I went to a temple to pray. It was the same one we went to on New Years Day many years ago.

Then back in the car, and we drove to the farm, to get some soft serve. We also bought some to bring home, and went back to the house. Kaoru and her father talked for a while – I wandered around the property, and had a bit of a doze. It’s always so peaceful and relaxing here.

For anybody who we have tried to describe a wet room to; you can see the shower and bath in here.

Kaoru and I picked Okaasan up from singing around 12.00. She then took us round the back where there were a couple of people doing Kyudo – Japanese archery. This is something Kaoru used to do as a child. It was interesting seeing the size of the bows, and the focus used to prepare for every shot.

Then it was back to the house for lunch – Okaasan had prepared Japanese Curry already, so it was just a matter of heating it up. Delicious! It’s nice not having to think about where and what to eat for every meal. And knowing that we are getting lots of vegies in too!

Otoosan had a nap, while Kaoru and I re-packed our suitcases. The intention is to not to have to open them tomorrow. I’m going home with 2, and want to leave Kaoru’s as empty as possible for anything more she may want to buy.

We then all had a chat in the lounge, and watched some TV, until 3.00 when it was time for a snack and hot drink. I also installed Teamviewer on Ottosan’s computer – it had crashed since I was here last and set everything up, and Kenichi had to factory reset it. After that, Kaoru and I returned to the hotel to have a bath. It was a lot busier today. There was even a young boy in there with his father (maybe 8 or 9?). I used the inside (public) bath this time, and it was noticeably hotter than the outside one I had used yesterday. Once the outside one was empty, I moved out there, and it was much more comfortable. The cool air really helped. I had a shave, which was great with the nice soft skin after my bath.

I knew Kaoru would still be a while, so I had a go on the massage chair downstairs. It wasn’t anything fantastic, but killed some time. Kaoru arrived quite soon, which was a surprise. I must have been in the bath longer than I had thought! We went to our room to get dressed, and came back downstairs at 5.00 for “welcome snack”. We were about 5 minutes past 5, and it was much busier than yesterday!

After our snack, we hopped in the car to return to the house for dinner. Okaasan had made Sukiyaki (at my request). By coincidence, Youichi’s parent had just sent some Kobe Beef to Okaasan and Ottosan (they regularly send seasonal food back and forth, because their areas are so different).

We couldn’t quite finish the second plate of meat – although we had a good crack! It’s so nice, with the raw egg.

We chatted for a while, and then returned to the hotel, in time for 7.00 dessert, 8.00 “all you can drink”, and 9.30 “private bath”. For a relaxing few days, it’s still quite busy! We didn’t get to dessert until 7.30, but it went until 8 so that was fine. It was quite busy, and the same creme brule as yesterday. We tried out the massage chair for 5 minutes or so, and then got a seat at the bar before it opened – because the place was looking busy, we thought it would fill up quick! Once they started service, I started with a Riku whisky, which was a bit harsh at first, but once it had warmed up, it smoothed out nicely. I followed that up with a grape sour, and then a beer to finish the day.

At 9.30 we went to our bath, using the same one as last night. There was a very light rain as we got in the water, but that was fine. It made things a little bit cooler so I could stay out there longer. However I was getting tired, so we only stayed in for 15 minutes or so, before calling it a night.