I got up around 7 had a shower and used the internet a bit. Hotel M Matsumoto where we were staying had a buffet for 500 yen which looked ok but not quite as good as Kyoto Morris`s. I used the computer and waited for Clive. He didn't want the breakfast so I did without but kind of regretted it, Clive and Frances ate at McDonald's and I had some supermarket food I had left over but was still a bit hungry. We walked to the castle and followed a recommended route on some map although it didn't really take us past much. We saw a clock that was a ball with a hand that was interesting and a small not special at all shrine. The castle looked decent as it would being one of the top 3 or so castles in Japan (3rd best as a comedian would say). It was 600 yen to enter and Clive wanted to go in and as there wasn't much else we were doing today I was happy and we all went in and had a look round. The grounds were not that big but well looked after and the castle had 6 floors all wooden and it was older than some of the other castles we'd seen. We went up inside the keep and as usual had to take our shoes off and there were some information boards and displays inside including weapons and armour. It wasn't so busy but there will still queues as some staircases had to be used in both directions and were quite steep. I tried to take a picture of one of the staircases and a man there wouldn't let me and put his hand in front of the camera. I didn't see any reason not to so I kept taking pictures including some of him and then went up the stairs. The views at the top were quite nice including the garden and the moat and we headed down after that which took us around different parts of the castle including the other 1 of the 3 keeps and the moon viewing area. We tried to head out the side but the gate was shut so we went back the same way and into the museum which was included in our ticket price. It was ok but not great and was about Matsumoto area and had a lot more described in Japanese than English. Clive and Frances got a bit bored and we agreed to meet on a hill about 40 minutes walk away for the views. I finished up in the museum ad headed off, but went to a couple of bookmarked places on the way. First was a school museum which was in a good, old building but cost 300 to enter so I moved on and the next was a samurai school and someones residence but it was only open on weekends and public holidays. I headed towards the meeting area and chose a route that took me through more green areas. Clive had maps.me installed now so we were both going to the same viewpoint and I got there first going past a golf course where people were using mallets and then past a big slide or luge. The place was not really a viewpoint and was more of a small zoo and attraction which didn't charge as far as I could see. I had a look around and kept returning to the same point and saw some of the animals including a lot of monkeys they had in one enclosure and some kind of coyote looking animal. Clive and Frances turned up after I`d been round and seen a view which wasn't great and also a adventure park place with an obstacle course. I wanted to go up the observation tower and they wanted to see the zoo so we met up again in a few minutes and then went up the observation tower again which had the best views for the area and also a bit of information although not much. It was 5 floors up and we could see some of the Japanese alps but it was a bit misty so we could mainly see the plains which had a lot going on there with little natural or brown sites. We left and headed back as we wanted to get the 2pm bus and Frances and I went to the supermarket while Clive got their bags. I had to rush back and get my bags and forgot to heat my food so I had the tofu as it was on the bus. The journey was about an hour and a half and went to Hirayu Onsen a small town in the mountain area but not Kamikoche which is where I thought we were staying. We arrived and checked into our onsen hotel which had a baths with water from the hot springs like most places in town and using it was included in the guest price. We had a reasonable sized room with 3 futons and left our luggage there and decided to go for a walk to the waterfall nearby as it was still early. It was quite cold outside with piles of snow around that still hadn't melted from the winter. The walk was not too far and the waterfall was not bad, one of the top 100 of Japan apparently (so between 90 and 100 maybe). We headed back into town and looked at a restaurant which was inside another onsen hotel and seemed ok. Back at the hotel Clive and Frances went for a private bath and I headed out to have a look around town. It was a small area so I walked all the way around it in 30 minutes and there was a lot of water being pumped around to the various places and then going out through the sewers which had a constant stream of water like you would have if there was heavy rain. The town also smelled a big of egg from the sulphur and there was one shop which was actually ok so I bought some nuts and cake and a type of beer or cocktail or something which was 9% and made by Asahi. Back at the hotel Clive and Frances had just finished their bath and we went and got another drink from the shop and went to the restaurant. We ordered a few dishes to share including 2 noodle dishes, one beef with rice and a fish. It was all ok and Clive and I had a beer and I was feeling the alcohol a bit having finished the 2 Asahi 9% cans fairly quickly. We went back afterwards and played some card games and then Clive and I watched half of the new Ghostbusters film before calling it a night and going to sleep.
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