Grand Sumo Wrestling Tournament!

Yesterday may been the highlight of our trip! (I know, we're only three days in!)
Our Hotel is located on the back side of Tokyo Station, so we had not walked through to the front entrance until yesterday. It was a completely different view and vibe. And we had no idea how close we were to the Imperial Palace until we exited the front entrance of the train station! It actually was the last thing we expected to see in the middle of downtown Tokyo. We took a short stroll to the Palace entrance that was surrounded by a moat and massive stone walls. Tours are available, so you know what that means....
Remember how I mentioned David being a good sport and going with me to TeamLab? Well, it was my turn to go along with one of his ideas. Tokyo has a train route the circles the City - it takes about an hour to ride the entire length because of ALL THE STOPS. The ride to Ryogoku Stadium is only 2 stops from Tokyo traveling counter clockwise, but it is 27 stops traveling clockwise (not that I counted). We took the long way. It wasn't a scenic as we hoped except for all the people watching. And again, we were the only America's on the train for the entire trip :)
Let's get to the F-U-N. Grand Sumo Wrestling Tournament Day 5. This country is crazy about Sumo. Not quite Super Bowl crazy, but close. And I get it...there are rituals that transforms this performance into an almost sacred competition. There's so much history in the costumes, the foot stomping - it's as if they are trying to psych out the other opponent with this spiritual tension before they start their powerful grappling. Our seats were great and I was able to ask a few questions through pointing and smiling with an old Japanese couple sitting beside me.
After the long journey there, we grabbed a taxi back to the Hotel and treated ourselves to a fresh sashimi dinner. Another perfect day!Read more