Sumo night in Japan

Those of you in Canada will understand.

We are now in Fukuoka, another leg in the adventures of Marcel and Piki as well as the Sumo tour. This is one of 4 stops of the annual sumo tournaments which last 2 weeks. There we were, at the top of the stadium where we would be assured of sitting in chairs rather than on tatami mats. Actually the place is quite intimate without a bad seat in the house. The competition starts at 8:30 in the morn. But as we all know, the best is saved for last. So we showed up at 3:30 just before the parade of the superstars at 4:00pm.

The sport is very much steeped in history but modern times have forced change. The top sumo guys are Bulgarians and Mongolians. Very much like our pro sports, commercial interests have been introduced. See below for the McDonald's commercial sponsorship.

The advertising is subtle and limited. But much like hockey, they do stop the match for some moments while the sponsor parades his stuff.

This sport also has similarities to baseball and football. There is much posturing and primping. Prep time is long with the actual battle lasting from 5 seconds to a max of 2 minutes. No trashtalking but there are very subtle psych-out techniques. Definitely no arguing with the ref. Last comment, size does not always win, but it sure helps.

In this part of Japan, Piki and I are truly on our own. There are no english speaking friends to bail us out. Yes we survive. Tonight, we went to a sushi place with an English menu. Of course, I randomly pointed to an item on the Japanese only "menu de jour". I promise you, in Japan, there are no bad decisions. What did I order, you ask. I do not. There was no one to translate and there was no equivalent on the English menu. Yes it was delicious, but minimalist. But I have been eating too much lately.

Tomorrow we are off to another "end of the universe" Ryokan. They say they have internet.

Stay tuned
Marcel