Sumo Tournament in Tokyo

What a cool experience it was checking out our first sumo tournament in Tokyo over the weekend. Sumo has been a part of the Japanese culture for well over 1,500 years which is why everything about the sport is so steeped in tradition.

Bern and I first started our excursion with an hour bus ride to Tokyo for Sunday brunch at the New Sanno Hotel. It was nice to have an American style breakfast since this hotel is only for U.S. military personnel and guests. The food, customer service, and ambiance were all first class!

 

After brunch, we boarded back on the tour bus and headed over to the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo arena. Our tour guide, Kazumi, was a huge sumo fan. It seemed liked she knew everything about the sport and was so enthusiastic because this day was the final day of the tournament; the championship! There are only 6 sumo tournaments a year in Japan lasting for two weeks each so that made it even more special. Included in our tour package were tickets to the Edo-Tokyo museum which was literally right next to the arena so we decided to check that out first since we had plenty of time to kill before the important sumo bouts began. To me, the exterior of the museum resembled either the library on the campus of UCSD or the main headquarters of OCP in the old movie Robocop. Anyhow, there were some fascinating exhibits explaining the history of the capital city dating back hundreds of years when it was originally called Edo.

 

 

 

The museum even displayed a sample of Tokyo's marketing material when it hosts the Summer Olympics in 2020.

 

 

Heading back to Sumo tournament, Bern and I couldn't resist taking some funny photos near the entrance of the arena.

 

Bern being rescued by a popular Sumo named Endo

Dang these sumo have a lot of surface area!


Before returning to our seats, we stopped by the cafeteria to try a sample of Chanko stew which is what the sumo wrestlers eat to really bulk up.

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, Sumo is full of traditions...many of these rituals derive from the Shinto religion. Everything about sumo has a purpose or a meaning, so here are a few examples:

 

The roof above the sumo ring resembles a Shinto Shrine.

The "gyoji" or referee wearing ceremonial Japanese clothing

Sumo wrestlers from a certain division step into the ring with their ceremonial aprons (kesho-mawashi)

 

Sumo throw salt in the ring to purify it, then they squat in front of each other to show respect,

raise their legs and stomp them on the ground to ward off any evil spirits,

and finally spread their arms and clap twice to signify they are not carrying any concealed weapons.

 

 

   The winner is the one who makes his opponent step outside the ring or touch the ground with any part of his body

 

 

In any close bout, the outside judges will convene for a final verdict

 

 

Really popular sumo wrestlers will have sponsors display their advertisements.

For each banner, sumo receive about 30,000 Yen bonus ($300)  

 

 

After all the sumo matches are over, the ceremonial Yumitori (bow dance) is performed 

 

Towards the final sumo matches, the crowd really started to go off and we didn't know why. It took us a few minutes to realize that they were welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the arena. It was surprising to me that he just sat down in the middle of a seating area with the rest of the fans around him...like he was a regular guy. That would never happen with the U.S. President.

Prime Minister Abe in the grey suit

Since this was the final day of the tourney, Abe was there to present the winner with a big ol' trophy 

    

 

 

Bern and I had a great time & hope you enjoyed learning a little something about Sumo.

 

  

    

 

 

            

             

It's GODZILLA!!!!

Tucked away in the hills of Kurihama Flower World lies the one and only...GODZILLA!

 

 

 

Leave it to the Japanese to create a 15' model of their world famous monster icon inside a flower park of all places. The funny thing is that people can actually climb inside Godzilla and slide right down his backside, making him look like he just pooped! HAHA Godzilla welcomes guests to a particular section of Flower World that has a huge adventure playground equipped with wooden log bridges, rope ladders, a rollercoster-type slide, zip-line, & look-out towers. So of course Bern and I had to try this out for ourselves!

 

 



After all the shenanigans, we did check out all the beautiful flowers that were in full bloom. Thank goodness I took my allergy medicine before coming out here!

 

 

 

 

The fish streamers that you see in the picture above are called ko-in-o-bori. They are used to celebrate Children's Day in Japan which is part of Golden Week (a full week of public holidays in early May). As the koinobori are waving in the wind, they represent the carp fish as they battle to swim upstream. So it makes sense that these koinobori are flown in hopes that children will grow up strong and healthy. Bern and I have this very same wish going out to all of the children and Godchildren in our lives. We miss you all!

 

                

 

  

       



     

Costco + Michael Jackson + $2,000 = Our Weekend

This past Saturday, Bern and I took our very first trip to Costco in Yokohama. So at first glance, there are many similarities between the Costco here in Japan and the ones in the states. Being welcomed by giant TV's, long lines, & all the big ticket items...

And no trip to Costco is complete until you load up on the H2O and the toilet paper...

 

But here are a few things I noticed that make Costco in Japan really stand out. For instance, of course Japanese people love rice, so why not have a entire aisle full of rice along with an industrial sized rice cooker:

 

 

Speaking of rice, Sake is used for both cooking and getting intoxicated so here's another aisle dedicated to this special beverage:

 

 

 

Now it's here in the Deli/Seafood department where I saw the most significant differences. First off, there's got to be sushi at a Japanese Costco:

Two never before seen types of ready bake pizzas:

BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA



SEAFOOD PIZZA



Forget Zion Korean Market when you can get:



BULGOGI


Here's the coolest part of our Costco adventure. The samples here in Japan are the REAL DEAL! Take this rib eye steak cart for example. I thought I was in Benihana or something, thinking she was going to do the onion volcano next! Haha Probably the BEST Costco samples I've ever had in my entire life...sorry Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Bowls, you're out!

IT WAS GOOD!

     

And just look at the line for this sample cart:

 

 

In addition to the pizza & hot dogs, Costco in Japan does have a few unique choices:



 

The pineapple smoothie and the bulgogi bake were our favorite. And you don't just leave your cart next to you while you eat, you have to park it tandem in the designated area.

 

   

 

On Sunday, we went to 11am mass on base and then headed to the NEX (Navy Exchange) for their annual customer appreciation event. They were raffling off some cool prizes throughout the entire day and had many activities going on like a three person bus pulling competition, street-ball demonstration, Hula dancing, kimono fashion show, & a Japanese Michael Jackson impersonator. 

 

 

At the end of the performance, we wanted to do some grocery shopping so we headed toward the commissary where they had some specials outside of the store. As we were looking around, they were announcing the winners for NEX gift cards over the loud speaker and the grand prize winner was about to be called. We didn't think much of it but as soon as they called out "Bernadette," we paused and listened carefully to the last name..."Matsunaga." We were so excited! I told Bern to run up to the stage before they called out another name while I got up on a bench and started yelling out "She's on her way! She's coming!" Bern was the lucky winner of a $2,000 gift card!! WHOO HOOO! Still can't believe that she won. We plan to keep $1,500 and save it for a new TV when we get back home to SD and spend just the $500. A very memorable weekend to say the least!            

 

 

 

 

 

  



Sarushima Island AKA Monkey Island

On Bern's day off, we decided to take a short 10 minute ferry ride from Yokosuka (Mikasa Park) to Sarushima Island otherwise known as Monkey Island. The story behind the name goes back to the early 13th century when a Buddhist priest was lost at sea during a heavy storm. Supposedly a white monkey appeared out of nowhere and guided the priest to the island...but there are no actual monkeys living on the island. It is the only natural island in Tokyo Bay though.

 

 

We were hoping to make a whole day out of the trip and just relax but the beach is only open during the summer months. Regardless, we still hiked around the entire island which only took us about an hour or so. This used to be an old Japanese military fort so there were plenty of left over remnants from that era. Bern and I were in awe to see how the buildings were incorporated into the natural surroundings of the island.

 

 

 

On the other side of Sarushima Island there is a tide pool area which really reminded me of the Cabrillo tide pools in Point Loma. I decided to explore and noticed that there were a number of Japanese fishermen/women looking around for clams I think.   

 

 

 

After our hike, we arrived back at the main entrance and ate lunch. Good thing we decided to pick up something from 7-11 before coming to the island because the restaurant was closed as well. I guess the best time to go to Sarushima Island is during July-August when everything is opened (beach, restaurant, & rental shop) but it'll probably be super busy too. As we were finishing up lunch, I discovered a new vending machine I have not seen in town yet...stocked with beer?! There's no better way to end a fun day-trip than with a pretty lady in one hand and a nice cold one in the other. haha Kanpai!