Well, I've reached the grand old age of 42. These days I do feel quite old and weary, and it scares me to see that ageing face peering back at me in the mirror. Emily must have been excited about my special day, because she woke me up at 5.30. Hardly surprising, as yet again the curtains were too thin and it was fully light. She is making a good attempt at saying her name now, tapping her chest as she does so, though it comes out more like 'em-me'; sometimes she also tries 'chickie' since we call her that so often.
Breakfast was traditional Japanese, though thankfully the egg was partially cooked not raw. There was a dish of natto (fermented soy beans), and I decided to try it for a second time. It was not at all bad, though this particular version had been flavoured with something quite appetising, and it wasn't as stringy as usual. There were several small fish to cook on our own table stoves - lots of bones, but very flavoursome in a salty kind of way. Emily had already eaten in our room so she was up to her tricks and into everything. With a naked flame and hot drinks around it was hard to keep her out of harm's way, especially as she insisted on bringing her monkey and waving him around everywhere.
Afterwards, we walked into Shuzenji, first passing through the nearby temple. It had been recently renovated but was still atmospheric and very attractively set among overhanging maples and with a backdrop of heavily-wooded hillside. Emily enjoyed trying to wash her hands at the purification tank with its dragon water dispenser.
In town we tracked down a bamboo grove planted next to the river. Under the green canopy, powerful new shoots several feet high were pushing their way up, coated in sheaths of protective brown furry bark.
Nick came up with an Incredible Hulk analogy, as the green stems burst their brown clothes with the force of their growth. I was a bit taken aback to see a young child wearing a Tshirt with a very odd logo (see the attached picture - a bit blurry, but I just had to capture it). Presumably the parents can't read English.
At the end of the grove was the almost obligatory red bridge spanning the rocky river. Emily was very weary by now and fell asleep in the baby carrier before we could locate anywhere for her to eat lunch, so we had to stroll around for 45 minutes until she was woken by a tannoy playing a noon chime, just as we were contemplating the menu at a cafe. After my adventurous meal at dinner I was inclined to give myself a birthday treat, so I ordered a pizza and caesar salad. Their green tea cheesecake was actually rather tasty - they use it for all sorts of sweet dishes like ice cream and cake, and I don't usually care for it much. After the boy's T-shirt earlier, a fellow diner's New York F*****g City (my asterisks) shirt slogan seemed quite tame.
Replete, we sauntered back up the hill to the ryokan, where Emily was delighted to find a book all about beetles and butterflies in their children's amusement box. She is so sweet sometimes: she actually kissed the picture of a stag beetle, no doubt remembering her two foot long stuffed version at home.
We jumped back into the car and drove the short distance to the Niji No Sato theme park. We were intrigued to see their version of an English village and also wanted Emily to experience riding on their 15 inch gauge railway. Just inside the entrance was a fake shop called 'UK Margaret' and a London bus turned into a snack bar. There were several black and white mock-Tudor buildings and a red brick Georgian style one with a massive Union Jack made of bedding plants on the lawn in front.
We wasted no time in boarding the next train, christened Northern Rock II, which was built in Cumbria and modelled on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. It was a genuine steam engine; we were in the last carriage and had good views of the train as we rounded each corner on the ten minute trip.
The track passed through a large estate with quite mature woodland and gardens that did feel vaguely English - enough so to make us feel a little homesick. After disembarking in the Canadian replica town we went to look at the engine while it was loading return passengers. Just before it set off it let out a loud shrill whistle, and Emily, who was in Nick's arms, went rigid then burst into tears. She summoned enough courage to wave goodbye to those aboard a minute later though.
We hung out among the clapboard shops and eateries for a while before walking the 600m back to the British end. Emily found a furry friend.
We were most disappointed not to be able to get a cream tea (a missed opportunity, I think, as surely a lot of Japanese would like to try an English teatime treat, not revert to dango rice balls and other familiar snacks), but we did find a cafe that served proper tea in bone china Wedgewood. We had to settle for Walkers shortbread biscuits though. Next door was a 15 inch gauge visitor centre. There was a very strong oily smell in the engine maintenance hangar, but I expect Graham would poo-poo them as toy trains. Emily fell down and cut her knuckles, and the resulting tears told us it was time to leave.
At the ryokan, she insisted on standing on the chair while we fed her. Monkey was even grubbier and smellier after she tried to feed him her curried noodles. Again, Nick had to go off to dinner while I stayed in the dark with her chattering away for nearly half an hour. There was way too much food - nearly all fish, naturally - but nothing too challenging this time. 
We followed up with another session in the rotemburo, though I was a bit nervous as a previous occupant came along with near-hysterical tales of three large spiders in one of the other baths.
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