Sumo Tournament

Since Will had Monday off for MLK day, we got to go to Tokyo for a Sumo Wrestling Tournament! I knew this was an option once we lived here, but after we got our tickets I didn't realize just how excited I really was! We took the train with 5 other couples to Tokyo, and once you get outside the train station the Sumo arena is not hard to find at all. Just follow the crowds and the huge flags with large, diaper wearing men on them. 

Flags representing different wrestlers

Our seats were actually perfect because we were on the 2nd level and had no one sitting in front of us. I even took my zoom lens with my nice camera so you could get an up close and personal view of the wrestlers. Your welcome…

One of my BREAST shots...

Sumo wrestling is actually pretty intense and we all found ourselves getting really into it. I was so fascinated by it that I researched it once I was home.

Every wrestler belongs to something called a stable which is where they live while they are young. There are currently 54 stables and each one is managed by a stable master who was once a wrestler himself. The referees and hairdressers even live here with them. The wrestlers wake up very early to train in hopes they get better to move up in the rankings. They wear the 
thong-like uniforms called a Mawashi. It is made of silk and is about 30 feet long when unwrapped and can weigh anywhere from 8-11 pounds. They do not have any other jobs and their entire life is about the wrestling. 

We were there for most of the afternoon so Will went to grab us some food from the concessions. Most everyone knows I am somewhat of a picky eater so I told Will to buy something he thought I would like. Im thinking french fries, chicken fingers or even a bag of peanuts. My husband came back with this…

This is called Oden. I would describe it as noodles, fish patty and an esophagus floating in brown liquid but the correct description is a boiled egg, daikon (radish), konjac (plant) and processed fish patty in a soy broth. You can imagine my expression as Will kindly placed this in my lap. He told me the other lines were too long and this one had no lines at all….I wonder why. 

Overall we had such a fun afternoon. We still have 3 years left in Japan and I can see us going to a few more Sumo tournaments. 

Here are some more pictures from the day. 

Cue the fart noise 

Beer keg backpack girl…we called her Ghostbuster

Much love,

Caroline and Will