SUMO

The next morning we got up at the ungodly hour of 4:45 so we could get to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market while things were still busy. The fish market was CRAZY. There were all these little scooters (more like tanks of gas with wheels) with truck beds carrying enormous dead tuna (maguro) whizzing around, bicycles, cigarettes, shouting, intrusive tourists getting in the way of these guys' real work, shouting at the intrusive tourists getting in the way of these guys' real work. It was all so macho, so masculine, in a good way. I don't really know why it was so cool, it just was. I even almost got run over a few times. By the time we were done there, it was only about 8:00AM and tickets for sumo went on sale at 8:30, so we darted over there.

Even just waiting in line for sumo was an experience. This guy was pounding on that big Japanese drum (taiko?), so me and a few other tourists in line jammed a bit. I posed like a sumo wrestler for Laura to take a picture and a Japanese guy passing on the street took a picture of me as well. From there we headed off to Akihabara, traditionally the "tech" area of Tokyo.

Here we went to Don Quixote, this crazy store with everything from hardware to...you guessed it... French maid costumes and even a French maid cafe! (I told you they like that costume thing...) We walked around for a while and I gave into the very Asian phone charm obsession and bought myself a charm that is a Shinkansen with Hello Kitty's face on the front. It's adorable. Oh and I bought a charger for my camera, phew! We then headed up to Ginza, which Lonely Planet calls, "the Fifth Ave of Tokyo," because my dad wanted me to see it. There were tons of galleries (Chloe, you'd appreciate the Japanese appreciation of art), expensive shops, and beautiful people. We felt a little out of place, so we ate delicious waffles. Finally, it was time...for SUMO!

Sumo wrestling was quite possibly EXACTLY how I imagined it and probably how you imagine it too. So they take about 10 minutes to "prepare" for the match. The faceoff and get into their squat position, do their leg stretch (check out the awesome picture Laura got of it) like they're gonna go at each other and then one will break position and head off to his corner. Then they faceoff again and you think alright that was weird, but I guess now they're going to fight. Then, the other one breaks and goes off to his corner. So now you're really like, "What are they doing?" Finally, on the third try, the crowd gets rowdy and excited, so their massive bodies leap at eachother and if you don't watch carefully, you'll miss the match because it really only takes about 10 seconds. Essentially, you just have to get the other guy to step out of the ring, but usually, they'd end up pushing eachother off the platform altogether and both would go rolling down into the crowd! Dangerous! I probably would have gotten killed down there. Soon we realized that they are allowed to do that "walk away" business 3 times before they fight for real. We figured they probably always take the full 3 because the fight itself is so short. You might as well take as much time on that stage as you can! Especially when you dedicate your LIFE to it! I have to admit, I got bored after a while, but it was good to rest my feet. So if you want to know more about sumo, Laura was absolutely fascinated, I'm sure you could ask her. I decided to check out the bathroom.

To satisfy all of you who like my Asia bathroom stories, here's a new one. While there were squatters in Japan, they were easy to avoid. They're not what was interesting. What was interesting in Japan was that the average toilet seat was HEATED! Not only that, most had the option of a bidet, and to top it all off...there was a button that made the sound of flushing water to "cover any embarrassing noises." Of course, I got to experience all three.

So that about concluded our Tokyo adventure. The next morning we were off to Kyoto. It was an awesome experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the city, the people, and the "overexaggerated-ness" of it all.

I've been to Tokyo. That's crazy.