After all the walking we did yesterday, we were all determined to take it easy today. The only thing on the schedule was a Sumo experience that included going to the Sumo stable and watching either a practice session or a match (depends on what’s going on that day) followed by lunch. But… the tour guide came down with a cold so they cancelled our trip at the last minute.

Not to be dissuaded, we figured we could go back to the market we found yesterday and get a baseball cap then go to the Tokyo Suntree for an unbelievable view of the metropolis, followed by a quick hop to the fabric district. That was the plan, but…

To have a casual day, we left the hotel at about 9AM, right in the middle of rush hour! I had forgotten how crowded the subway cars get at that time. Most of the trains we saw were 15-cars long and took up hundreds of feet of station platform. To say that we were squeezed in would be a vast understatement. We were jammed so closely that we literally could not move. It was worse than being on Bourbon Street at the height of Mardi Gras! I wanted to take a picture but couldn’t move my arms.

We got off the subway at some arbitrary stop just to gather our wits. We waited for a few trains to go by and then got back on and arrived at our stop a few minutes later.

We walked a short distance to the Sensō-ji temple we visited yesterday because we knew it had an expansive market area surrounding it. It was so packed that actually looking at stuff for sale was difficult to say the least, but I did find the smallest McDonalds I have ever seen. And I got a ball cap.

Not wanting to get packed into another train car we opted to walk the mile to the Tokyo Skytree. Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It is the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012, and reached its full height of 634 meters (2,080 ft) in early 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world. It was a quick 50 seconds to go from the ground up to the first observation platform at 350 meters. That was high enough for me. The views were incredible and even with a slight haze in the air, we could see for miles and miles in each direction.

After downing some quick street food of dumplings and noodles, David and Lynn headed back to the hotel while Mae and I headed for the fabric district in search of Japanese cotton, particularly Kurume cotton, is known for its high quality and versatility. It is traditionally used to create garments such as kimono, samue, and hanten jackets. Additionally, Japanese cotton fabric features intricate patterns, including traditional motifs like cherry blossoms and koi fish, making it a popular choice among designers and crafters.

Well we should have gone back with David & Lynn. An hour after we separated they texted that they were back at the hotel. Our response was that we were still trying to find our way out of the Suntree complex. There are multiple train stations in the area and each time we got to one expecting to find the right train, we missed the departure. (I have included an image of the train network for context.) Finally we walked to one and took the first train that we thought was going in the right direction. That worked kinda fine in that we were heading in the right direction but did not understand the Japanese announcement that if we wanted to continue in the same direction we had to disembark and wait for the next through train. So at that point, the train reversed direction forcing us to get off at the next stop. We hopped on the first train that was heading where we intended and finally made it to Nippori Fabric Town. The map showed that it was only a few blocks walk from the station to the store that Mae had identified. That was true, but we arrived at a different station and walked about a mile to get there.

After Mae successfully snagged some fabric at two stores we walked a few blocks to a train station and about 30 minutes later we got back to the hotel. After spending some time relaxing at the hotel we went to the fine dining Japanese restaurant in the hotel. It was a great experience. I got sushi and grilled black cod. It was filling and comforting.

Tomorrow, if it’s not cancelled, we’re going on a Secret Food Tour. We’ve taken these tours in multiple cities around the world (see last summer in Istanbul and Porto) and have never been disappointed.

Oh, we walked over seven miles.