I woke up about 7, needing to go to the restroom. I had not woken up at all during the night so I must have slept well. I got up when my alarm went off at 7:30. I don't know why it was so quiet. The sound is turned all the way up. I took my shower and swallowed a packet of vitamin C. For breakfast I ate oatmeal cookies and seed crackers and natto. I drank some water with my supplements, then filled my water bottle for the day. I enabled the GPS on my tablet so we could track our travel. It crashed and I had to restart it. I put in the hotel as our home and it showed an overland route to Nippori (Textile Town). I deleted a round of e-mail and looked at a few. Then we headed to the front desk. We asked how to get to Nippori and she showed us which subway to take and where to connect to the train to get there. We also asked about riding the limousine bus to the airport tomorrow. She said we had to catch the 7:30 bus to be there 2 hours before our flight leaves. I suspect we will be there 3 hours or more ahead, but the next bus won't leave until 10. Then we walked to the same subway station as last time. Myra bought us 24 hour passes. We got on the Hibaya line and rode to H17. We got out at Ueno and looked for the JR line, which is an overland train. Their ticket machines take coins, so we used our coins from the subway. FYI, anything less than $10 here is a coin, not a paper bill. We stopped at the restroom, then navigated our way to the proper platform. The train arrived presently and we rode it two stops to Nippori. Then we were a little lost. There was a sign board for Tomato Fabric Shop at the platform so I took a pic of it. We found our way towards the exits. Then a map board showed us that the east exit was closest to the textile street. I should have taken a pic of it. When we got out of the station, we had no idea of where to go. We showed the pic of the fabric sign at various places to get directions. And then, there we were, walking down a street lined with fabric shops, ribbon shops, leather shops, etc. It would have been heaven if the weather hadn't been so cold. We looked at all kinds of fabric. Some places specialized in lace or wool, but the Tomato place was several buildings, some 5 stories high. Any fabric you could think of was there. Myra did not buy much but I indulged myself. We continued on down the street. We stopped to look at the map and decided to find something called Cotton Matsui. But on the way we stopped at a department store to get warm. I bought another pair of socks to add to the ones I was wearing. There was a 100 yen section ($1 store), and we bought stuff we wouldn't have otherwise. I bought Chris an earwarmer (which I later wore). I also got two solar lights there. Then we paid for our items and sat in the coffee section while I put the new socks over my old socks. We decided to go back. We saw the stores on other side of the street. We went back to the first store that had Asian prints and bought more. They were so beautiful. The shop owner seemed a little testy. I am not sure what he did not like about us. Maybe he wanted to close early. Anyway, that was the end of our fabric spree. We found our way back to the train station. We bought return tickets, then found a place to sit near a bunch of concession stands. One had pictures of kimbap in front so I went there. But the lady explained to me that it was not available today, or so it seemed to me. I went to another stand and bought something on a stick. It tasted like fish. Myra got coffee and a baked good. We ate, then found our way to the appropriate platform. The train had just arrived and we were the last people to jump on. We stood for the two stops it took to get to Ueno. Then we used our day passes to get on the Hibaya line. After a stop or two, we found seats for the rest of the ride. When we got off, we headed to exit one. Myra noticed a young Korean woman whose card beeped as she came into the station, indicating that she did not have enough money on her card to make the fare. Myra gave her her daypass. So I handed mine over too; we weren't going to use them again. Going out exit one made walking back easier. When we got to the hotel, we poked our heads in at the Sunrise Cafe to see what was on the menu for tonight. Then we went to our room. We dropped all our stuff. We added to our list of who owes who what to keep track for splitting the bills later. I checked e-mail quickly. I saw that Anna had posted about sewing tomorrow, which I was going to do. So I messaged her to find out the plan. Then I e-mailed my list of ladies who are not on e-mail and might want to come to sewing class. Then Myra and I went downstairs to the cafe. She wanted to stop at the gift shop but it had just closed. (The Nex and the gift shop open late and close early so we never got to see either one) We went to the cafe and were seated at a table with menus. Then the waiter came by to answer questions and take our order. I just wanted a bowl of soup and a little something else. But the soup and any other (healthy) items was more than the soup and salad bar, so I ordered that. Myra got that, too, with a side of fries. So I got a bowl of soup and discovered that it was very hot. Then I went back for salad. That was quite enough. I wanted to go back, but my stomach said no. The waiter wanted to take Myra's soup away, but she said no since it had finally cooled down enough to eat. Then he brought the dessert tray. Myra was tempted into getting a piece of stawberry shortcake. She put both our meals on her card because I was hesitating over how to fill out the ticket. Then we went back to our room. I read some e-mail, then started typing my blog post. Myra talked to her husband on the phone. I am not sure how she could use her phone but I could not. She packed and took a shower while I kept typing. Then I had to post so I could pack and go to bed.
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