Emily was kind to us and slept until nearly 7am. I have yet to stay anywhere in Japan that has curtains which actually block the light. These were particularly thin, though luckily we were facing north: a good thing since it was a really bright morning. After a hearty western-style breakfast we quickly prepared to go out as our host had kindly offered to drive us somewhere for a walk. As we drove on the partly cross-country route in his 4x4, he regaled us with tales of acquaintances who are great adventurers, like the young Japanese woman who is the only surviving female to make the ascent of K2, or the old man who used a parachute as a brake while skiing on Everest. Mr Yanagidaira is himself quite a character, having hiked up a nearby 2,800 metre peak with a keyboard to give a solo performance on the top, and has also skiied down Fuji-san and other 3,000 metre peaks.
We came to a halt after a treacherous drive down an icy, rutted track with a fifty foot drop on one side. I was holding Emily in the back, unable to plug the seatbelt in and praying he kept his eyes on the road as he chattered away with Nick. From the frozen waterfall where we stopped we walked back down to the village, through straight-trunked trees rising from a carpet of dwarf variagated bamboo.
Most of the two hour stroll was on quiet roads that afforded an amazing panorama of the ring of Alps around us, many with snowy tops. Mountains always look more unattainable when frosted, but it was an awesome sight and had us yearning for some trekking, crampons and all. 
On our way down we passed many attractive wooden lodges and again started thinking about a holiday home in this wonderful place; a bolthole from the concrete and crowds of Tokyo. I was surprised to hear the shrill song of a skylark as we passed through some fields, the little bird fluttering with its telltale jerky flight high above.
Emily had her nap in the baby carrier and woke up just as we arrived back at the visitor centre; perfect timing on her part as we were ready for lunch and some respite from the strong sun. The cool alpine air made it comfortable but we were all starting to exhibit red noses and cheeks. After all, we are on roughly the same latitude as Italy and the sun should therefore be treated with respect even in March.
From the restaurant we explored some of the other attractions at the centre: there was a small lake, a large grassy area, and some play equipment, including a big green slide. 
Nick persuaded me that Emily should go down on her own, and I admit that she did enjoy it, though I was a bit scared for her the first time. Below there was a small death-slide which I rode several times, though Emily got upset watching me do it, for some reason. 
As we walked away from the slide I saw an ominous yellow stain on her lower back; we laid her down in the warm sunshine on a bed of leaves, and found our suspicions were confirmed. It was an exceptionally full nappy and had spilled out on all sides so it needed a total clothing change as well. How nice to do it al fresco though! Her bodysuit was sadly beyond salvation by the time I was able to deal with it, however.
After all that activity Emily seemed happy to sit in the baby carrier as we walked for half an hour to the local onsen bath. As is often the case, the buildings and adjoining hotel were very ugly, but Nick assured me that the baths were decent enough (I decided not to bother this time as it was very busy there). The place was packed with working class Japanese and there were many elderly people. Nick said it was like a geriatric ward outing in the rotemburo bath. Back at Zigzag we relaxed while Emily went crazy; when she is most tired she seems very lively and laughs a lot. Again it took a while to settle her on the futon before I could join Nick for another delicious meal among the rampant greenery of the living room-cum-conservatory. Before we turned in we popped outside to look at the stars, as the sky was so clear and there was little light pollution. We didn't see any shooting stars but it was too cold to stay long and our necks soon began to ache.
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