We begin our day at TeamLab Planets. We paddle through the knee height pool into the dark and change Koi into blossoms, tussel with other children and bounce giant illuminated balloons against each other, search for and catch extinct animals, attempt to cross a soft, flexible floor which constantly deforms only to find oneself being bounced and jostled as one fights to seek safety scrunced onto a narrow ledge against the wall in the dark.

The experiences continue and we are on sensory overload. Tea and Sake inside an orchid glass house sounds just the thing to calm us down and bring back a bit of reality. The bar caters intimately for six and the only light comes from the illuminated ice in our glasses. We sit back and share stories with our new companions- Brian, Cameron and Mason from California.

Another recommendation – Immediately outside TeamLab Planets, is the automated Yurikamome Line around Tokyo Bay, over the Rainbow Bridge, and a fabulous waterfront transit line. An amazing way to see the city and its incredible architecture and infrastructure. We rode to the start of line, Shimbashi and took the Asakusa Line back to Skytree.

It was time to see the city from the world’s tallest free standing communication tower. It’s 634m tall and is exactly that because 6-3-4 can be read as ‘Musashi’, the historical name of the region where Tokyo stands today. We rode to Tembo Galleria 450m and admired the view. It is such a big city! And so flat!! The day had been beautiful but at this height we became aware of how hazy it was. Despite that we noticed people were gathering in an area where, if it was not so hazy, we would have seen Mt Fuji. I checked. It was about twenty minutes to sunset. We decided to wait. The setting sun silhouetted glorious Mt Fuji. A quietness descended and as the last rays disappeared a communal sigh expressed our shared awe.

Taiko was on my list. I was very keen to see a performance of Japanese drumming. It was not to be however, as a consolation, John discovered a drum museum just a few minutes walk from our hotel. You really had to know it was a museum as it was exceptionally discrete. This may have been the reason we were the only visitors. The room was large and according to the blurb there were 800 drums on display many of which we could play. We were like kids in a lolly shop. I think we played for an hour! We will both be looking out for Taiko when it come to Australia again.