big bellies and teriyaki chicken bowls

We weren't sure what to expect as we stood amongst a large population of Asians....there were people there of all ages; little Asian children sat on the sidewalk doing homework (that's why Asians are so smart. The American children waiting were playing with action figures- hm). There were giant flags with Japanese writing on them, amazing Japanese food being cooked all around us, and precious little elderly Asians that seemed barely able to walk. We waited outside of the doors for almost 2 hours with our excitement brewing. After assembling into lines to enter, a drummer came out to announce the beginning of the show. We grabbed our green tea, teriyaki chicken and rice, our Tshirts and our fan.


We actually learned a lot about Sumo traditions and customs. They showed us their routine stretches and our neughbors sitting next to us explained the rituals they do during the match. They drink a shot of Sake and throw salt in the air and onto the ring- the ring is actually clay. I think it's clay. Whoever gets their opponent to step outside of the ring, or slams them to the ground, wins! The Russian men were unbelievably enormous...it was actually surprising how gigantic they were. They also lift their legs and slam them down to intimidate their opponent. After facing each other, it is my understanding that the wrestler with seniority can choose to intimidate his opponent by walking away, throwing more salt, and slamming down his leg. It's a game of intimidation- the bigger, the badder, the stronger, the better. Very interesting.

They bagan the show by wrestling the future stars of sumo. It was adorable. The children were towered by the Sumo wrestlers but sometimes the big guys would let a kid win. The crowd loved it. I also thought it was interesting that there were women dressed as Geishas sitting on floor seats which were $420/seat. Hm. David and I found the whole even fascinating. It was amazing. More pictures and videos here!


Sumo is my favorite sport ever. Who nees football? Sumo is amazing.