Childrens Day here in Japan, with gaily-coloured carp banners flying everywhere. 
Emily was a little treasure and slept until 4.30am; woken, no doubt, by the chirruping of a bird in the tree outside the window (and the fact that the room was completely light thanks to the flimsy curtains). We noticed that she was holding her hands together for the first time. Come naptime, we managed to persuade her to go back down on the mattress just in time for breakfast, and she obligingly slept until we had just finished eating. While we ate, I was a bit worried as there was a giant hornet buzzing around outside and it seemed very close to the window I'd left open upstairs. They really are huge - much larger than those at home.
It was tempting to go to the nearby beach, but we decided to take the owners advice and do a little coast walk at Suzaki he'd suggested. This involved taking a bus into Shimoda and then another to the start of the walk. The first bus was absolutely crammed with passengers - dangerously so, I thought, hanging onto the strap as we slewed around corners. Given the small breakfast portions, we were glad to have a bit of a wait for the next bus and topped up with cake and a sandwich (mashed pumpkin - nicer than it sounds!) in town.
The route is 2.6km long and follows the cliffs and bays of the peninsula. It was a sticky, humid day, and where the path was among trees there were quite a few insects, so I wasn't convinced that I'd enjoy it, but after a while we broke out into the open and it was really pleasant. All along the way there was a variety of trees, shrubs and wild flowers, fragrant jasmine being particularly abundant. In Japan wisteria grows wild, and you see the light purple strands of flowers high up in the tree canopy.
We hardly saw a soul for two hours and appreciated the peace and tranquillity. There were a few butterflies among the vetch and smock blossom, and also lots of hairy caterpillars about. We had our picnic at a viewpoint from where we could see south to endless shapely hills completely clothed in trees, marching down to the sea. At the end of the walk we came across a rocky promontory that was seething with creepy cockroaches and landcrabs. 
We'd timed our arrival at the return bus stop quite well, particularly as it began spotting with rain. Back in Shimoda we found another cafe and treated ourselves to yet more cake before taking a fourth bus back to Shirahama.
Again, Emily did us proud and went off to sleep on schedule. We dined in our yukata, as we were planning on a bath later (we'd booked the communal bath for later in the evening). I felt a bit odd going down to dinner in just a robe, but another couple did too, and it is quite customary to do so here, apparently. We were given another free glass of home-made liqueur, this time made with a local citrus fruit, natsu-mikan. I was horrified to discover that we were being 'treated' to half a crayfish each, served in its shell. I couldn't bear to scrape the flesh out with its beady eye on me, so I only managed to eat two mouthfuls, all the while feeling nauseous. I just can't reconcile myself to eating something with eight long, hairy legs, and as for the brain...yuck. Nick was a bit disappointed in me, but I couldn't continue, even to please him.
We spent another couple of hours in pleasant conversation, before heading downstairs. As with all baths in Japan, we had to shower thoroughly first, as the same bathwater is used by successive bathers. It was at just about the right temperature: hot but not scalding. All the same, I had to get out after only ten minutes. A shame, as we don't get the chance to bath together any more. At 10, we went back to the room and woke our little cherub.
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