色々と相撲 Random Things and Sumo

Hello!

I'm so pinched as far as time goes right now I'm gonna have to make this as short and to the point of an update as possible. With classes starting, moving into a new home, having to pack, having pink eye, having plans to spend the entire night (literally until the first train starts at about 6 a.m.) in the city, having to figure out how to pay rent, and still having an amazing adventure each day, I'm beginning to feel just a little stressed. It's ok though because I'm having the time of my life!

A couple of days ago I went to a ramen Museum in Shin-Yokohama. It was an interesting underground building designed to look like a 1958 Japanese street. All of the mock buildings housed ramen restaurants that were representative of the type of ramen served in 8 or 9 different parts of Japan. Ramen was ok, but fun little outing!

Ramen Museum

I also spent a day in Minatomirai with friends from my program and Liann's friends who are attending Keio University. It was also a fun day, Minatomirai, translatable as port of the future is at the Yokohama bay side and has sites such as the Landmark tower and many immaculate malls. There were street performers and lots of laughs, one was caused by uber small portions of food. A Myrna ordered a soup dish that I advised her to order in a Thai restaurant and it was literally 5 spoonfuls.

Yokohama Skyline at Night

The next day however, Wednesday was an epic day. It started at 6:30 a.m. when we walked out the door to buy Sumo tickets in Ryogoku, where we had a mandatory field trip to the Edo Tokyo Museum. I found the Museum to be quite interesting. The architecture of the building was interesting enough, but the artifacts (many reproductions) where extremely interesting to me. the museum told the long history of the city of Tokyo, which of course was originally called Edo.

Edo Tokyo Museum

Wood Block Print in Museum

After the museum we made our way to the Sumo tournament next door at the Kokugikan! The tournament was so fun, it was one of the moments that I had been waiting to experience for oh so long. We ate chankonabe, a dish that Sumo wrestlers eat to stay healthy and get big, and looked around the kokugikan which houses a Sumo museum.

Sumo Tournament!

Me in front of the Kokugikan (Sumo Stadium)

After the tournament we made a stop by Akihabara, the electric town of Tokyo. I don't think it's worty of the hype that it is given, but it surely is an interesting place. The people who shop there are almost all men young and old alike (all nerdy, myself included) who come to either buy computer parts, play video games in arcades, buy video games, stare at anime breasts in porn shops, or to be catered to in "Maid Cafes," cafe's where full grown women dress as maids and school girls and play games with you. Interesting indeed.

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