We arose very early for our trip by train to the sumo wrestlers. We were fortunate to have Reika joining us for the day. We made our way through rush hour traffic but we were so disappointed to find that the sumos were not practicing this morning!
Fortunately, the Electric City is only two stops from the sumo stadium. The group showed its typical good spirit and handled the change of plans with grace. We wandered around the Electric City for a while before breaking into two groups.
One group slowly meandered back in the direction of the hotel, stopping for some lunch along the way. The other group took the train back to Ginza and the Sony Building. Jono had unfortunately left his Pokemon designs in the building yesterday. After searching in vain for the designs, he and Axel gave the others a tour of the PSXs, wide screen TVs, robotic dogs and other amazing sites.
After lunch, that group went to the four story Apple store for some free internet access. We sent emails home and gazed longingly at the hundreds of iPods. Amazingly, Jono’s designs were found by some guards in the Sony Building and returned to him- spirits were high!
The entire group met back up at the hotel around 2:30 pm. Hiroshi and his mum took us by train to the Harajuku area for some wandering around Kiddie Land, home to floors of Pokemon, Hello Kitty and other assorted Japanese toys. We met up with Hiroaki and Yuki and their mums for a delicious dinner.
After many laughs and funny stories, we made our way back to the hotel for bed. It was pouring down rain, but no one minded. The return trip offered up a fine example of the camaraderie that is developing on this trip. Aisleen and Alexandra noticed that Tom didn’t have good rain protection so Aisleen offered him the choice of her umbrella or her raincoat.
Although our two days in Tokyo have been jam-packed, we have also had plenty of time to absorb the sites and sounds as we walk and train around the city. Everyone has been amazingly flexible as we deal with finding our way through the metro, searching for good eating spots and generally experiencing life as a traveller. As Ms. Tebbutt has said, the joy of travelling is more in the journey than the destination. Our group has really taken that spirit to heart.
Tomorrow is an early start as we leave Tokyo by bullet train to Hakone, Mount Fuji, hotsprings and more!
P.S. Photos shall be posted tomorrow!
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