Day 3 - 7 Jun 15

We got up at 7am in the morning. After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and drove to Toyama Science Museum, which was only about 10min away from Toyama Chitetsu Hotel.

The playground at the compound of Toyama Science Museum was too inviting and the kids couldn't help but to make it their first stop. Of course, the adults obliged because it was 100% consensus amongst the children. Upon satisfying their top priority, we proceeded to the Science Museum. The world inside the museum was fascinating. There were so many things to see and do. As the descriptions were mainly in Japanese with very few captions in English, it was hard to fully comprehend and appreciate the various exhibits but because there were lots of interactive experiments, it did make the experience quite fun. We spent a total of close to two hours at the museum. I'm sure the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves too.

Next, we drove to Hida Furukawa. It was a quaint little small town. Very few people could be seen on the streets - a huge contrast to the bustling city life that we are used to. We stopped for lunch at one of its small eatery. I'm always amazed at the generosity of their rice serving per person; it was so much that I almost felt like I had two meals when in fact I only had one.

Time to burn off some fats. We walked along the streets and enjoyed the leisurely pace, just taking our time to admire the amazing wooden architectures that surrounded us. What was famous in Hida Furukawa was this canel - with lots of fishes - that runs through the town. The kids simply enjoyed the simple affair of throwing bread crumbs to feed the fishes. It was like the most fun things to do.

Coffee time. We chanced upon this coffee place along the streets. Light jazz music played at the background while we enjoyed our coffee and cakes - what a complete experience of the term "chillax".

Time passed by too quickly and it was almost 4pm. We drove to Takayama and headed towards our lodging at Hidatei Hanaougi - it was a ryokan. When our cars drove into its carpark, two staff members rushed towards us and confirmed our identities. Honestly, I wondered how on earth they knew that we arrived. Haha. The staff were very polite and helpful as they brought all our luggages from the carpark straight into our rooms.

We had our welcome drinks at the reception while waiting to check in. At least, it gave us some to time to catch a breather. After about 20 min, the lady brought us to our respective rooms.

Dinner was at 6pm. I had the chance to explore food that I have never tried before. Thankfully, most of them were in small portions and according to Emma, the best dish was Hida beef. Then again, me being a lousy connoisseur, it was just a question of whether good or bad. Well, my conclusion was that it was good.

We got back to our rooms at about 8pm. After putting the kids to bed, Emma went for a short dip at the hot spring. After she came back, I went to try the foot bath. It was relaxing and though it was brief, it was a special me-time.