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| whole sumo arena view! |
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Two sumo wrestlers in
actions in front of the
Ryogoku Station! |
Today, I went to my first Sumo Wrestling match! It was very spontaneous. After class at 12:40pm I just asked anyone who I saw on the campus (that I knew, of course), and asked if they wanted to watch sumo. At first, I tried to call the Box Office number for tickets because you can only buy the unreserved tickets on the day of for 2100yen and they could be sold out. But after countless busy calls, we just decided to leave for Ryogoku, the location of the Sumo Stadium and Museum. I actually just went to the Sumo Museum this past weekend as a field trip for the MCC (Contemporary Japan: from Ramune to Anime) class, required for all UC EAP students. At the Sumo Museum, it was really interesting seeing hall full of pictures of the past and current sumo wrestlers, and their bodies were quite large. Did you know that sumo wrestlers have virtually the same longevity as the average human person? Wow. There was even a rock with the hand imprints of sumo wrestlers and it's about twice the size of my hands... hugemongous.
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| Okay this is my friend's hand compared to sumo! still huge tho! |
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Us following sumo
wrestlers
back to the Station |
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Us following sumo
wrestlers
even more closely |
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Whole section of "orange people" cheering
for their favorite sumo wrestler!! |
Okay, back to the Sumo wresting match. On the way from the station to the stadium, we saw a line of people waiting outside, and they were regular people waiting in line to see their favorite sumo wrestlers enter and leave the stadium. Super dedicated :) So we got to the Box Office only to find out that the cheapest tickets were sold out already! The next level up were reserved seating tickets at 3600yen. We bought them. We already took the train all the way to Ryogoku (much into the city than ICU is located in), and we did not just spend money on the train to not go into the sumo stadium. So this is how it works: there are matches the entire day, one after another, and you can buy a ticket whenever you want to go in and watch the matches. Before each match, the sumo wrestlers bow to each other, do exercises at their own corner, and throw rice/powder onto the wresting "ring" (although it is not surrounded by strings. It's just a mini stage), and do the routine a few more times before officially beginning the match. My friend said that the rice/powder is to make the bad spirits or sin go away before they begin the match. I am still quite unsure of the exact details and significance of each action for sumo wrestling, but it was so fun to watch! the excitement as both sumo wrestlers are head on, wanting to win. If you trip on the stage and fall down, you are out. If you get thrown or pushed off the stage, you are out as well. Sometimes it was so intense that one sumo wrestler actually rolled off the stage into the audience area, perhaps squashing the audience member...But still, sumo is such an interesting, uniquely Japanese sport. and the sumo wrestlers are very respected. Also, sumo wrestlers eat "Chankonabe" which is basically like a pot of stew with everything or random things thrown inside. and during a short break, we were able to buy chankonabe at the stadium for a very cheap price! It was soooo yummy, and I'm sure the sumo wrestlers get even higher quality Chankonabe stews. But yes, sumo is definitely something you don't want to miss out on if you are in Japan! And the sumo tournament lasts for only two weeks in Tokyo before it moves to another city!!! Definitely don't miss out and do some research about sumo wresting before hand!
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| Chankonabe! |
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| Sumo Match#1 - getting ready! |
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| Sumo Match#2 - fight!! |
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| all the sumo wrestlers came to greet the audience! |
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| Sumo match#3b - oh! they both fall!! |
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Sumo match#3a - oh! the other guy
is about to fall out of the ring |
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| Sumo match#3c - so who wins o.0?? |
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| Sumo match#4a |
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| Sum match#4b |
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| Sumo match#4c |
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| Sumo match#4d |
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| Sumo match#5a |
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| Sumo match#5b |
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| Sumo match#5c |
Can I please mention that even the bathrooms are amazing. the sink in the Sumo Stadium has a faucet for water, dispenser for soap, AND a dryer for your hands... So amazing!!
<-- amazing sink in the bathroom!
