hakubutsukan.

Following our frolicking in the garden, it was still a little early, so Julie and I decided that for 300yen, the historical museum at the entrance of the park couldn’t be so bad. I’m a bit of a sucker for museums, but even so I thought it was quite the bargain. A very friendly curator took us around a section telling us what I’m sure were a number of very interesting facts. Even Julie said she didn't understand half of what he said, so I felt better about my ignorance, but he gave us candy so I was pre-disposed to think well of him. There are artefacts stemming back to the pre-historic era all the way through to modern times. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the older things, but I got one of this gorgeous Datsun.

There were even things for people who think staring at old stuff is boring. There was an incredible to-scale model of the Gifu area in medieval times (complete with binoculars so you could appreciate the intricacy) and a number of activities to do. I chose to try my hand at some traditional ink artwork where you layer colours to make a picture.

Best of all, Julie and I got to go into an imitation Japanese house and try on traditional Japanese clothing. I was devastated that the lighting was so poor and I only had my phone, but you get the idea of me in my faux-Japanese form.

After tearing ourselves from the museum, Julie and I finished our day in the way we always do – udon and purikura.