JAPAN, Tokyo - Shopping, Sumo and Memorial Park

There is great TRADITIONAL Japanese

shopping in Asakusa.

We bought MOCHI -

a traditional Japanese treat.

Japanese shoes - 'flip flops' - for Haleigh

Japanese socs - the kind with the split between the big toe -

for Haleigh and Caleb.

and a KIMONO for Ammon.

For me ...

Japanese dishes.

For Fred ...

 A trip to the Sumo Museum,

which closed 10 minutes before we got there.

We were lucky to see some SUMO wrestlers

leaving the gym

and watched one ride away on his bike :).

We were told, at 4:00, that we could watch a sumo wrestling

practice at 6:30.  This was an opportunity
we did not want to miss so we decided to wait.
 We had some time to kill so...

we walked to a nearby memorial spot.

Which honors those killed in the 

"Great Earthquake of 1923"

killing between 100,000 - 142,000 people.

Ammon played at a playground

while the rest of us relaxed by the peace memorial.

The outline of children holding hands is
created with plants and flowers.

At 6:15 we made our way back to the SUMO's

practice gym only to find a note posted,

written in ENGLISH (so we KNEW it was meant for us), 

announcing 

"No view of practice today."

VERY disappointed we made the 

one hour train ride back to the hotel.