Sumo Weekend! March 20-22nd

Saturday 20th:
SOOOOO SUMO TIME!!!! Waking up on a Saturday morning at 7am is a horrible thing, but well worth it as I met up with the others in front of Toyama station to check in and pay money for the tickets and rental cars. It was also the first morning in what it seems like eternity that we were able to enjoy a sunny and cloud free day. It was a wonderful feeling to have the sun beam down on us as we embarked on our journey to Osaka! The car ride was interesting, full of good music, conversation and random bouts of sleep. However we ended up hitting a traffic jam and what would have been a four or five hour trip turned into an eight hour adventure (as we did get lost once). Nevertheless we arrived in Osaka, checked in our hostel, and ventured out for some energy replacement. The group decided on this all you can eat pizza place a few blocks from our hostel. It ended up being a magnificent choice since we managed to get buffet style food ( not just pizza; chicken, salad, sweets, fruits, etc…) and an hour nomihodai all for around $16 bucks or \ 1500 yen. After stuffing ourselves, good conversation, and bathroom breaks Ryan, Nicole, Laruel, Alexis, Revan, and I went for some Baskin Robins (where we saw a all girl group dressed in wild electric/neon colors. I assume they were a roller derby team! LAWL), and then went to an appliance store to shop around. I ended up purchasing a deck of “KiKi’s Delivery Service” playing cards, and a Final Fantasy XIII figurine ( I currently have 4 out of 6 now). With money successfully spent on something OTHER than food the group went over to the Karaoke place next door and sang it up for three hours. My love Nicole can truly sing and we sound pretty good together. If I go out for the charity show/play next year I hope she auditions. It would be awesome to hit the stage with her!

Sunday 21st:
The day of the SUMO. Another early morning for us we marched down the streets of Osaka at eight in the morning to watch the Sumo matches held in the arena a few blocks from out hostel. Although there were around fourteen people total on this Sumo Trip the same group I hung out with the night before was the same group I traveled with to Sumo. Once we were seated that was it! We managed to be at the Sumo tournament from 8:30am to 4:00pm. I wouldn’t have guessed that I would enjoy sumo as much as I did. I can truly understand why the Japanese love it so (though it leads me to think about the irony in it all. For a country that can stand the idea of an over weight person to have a sport that basis is on being a rather large person both in muscle and in weight… it makes me just shake my head. Japan will make sense one day haha ). The only break from watching the matches (8:30am-2:00pm preliminary matches) was a quick trip to the local Mc Donald’s for lunch ( in which I lost my ticket getting snacks from the konbini on the way back and had to ask to be let back in! Thankfully being black had its advantages since I was like the only one there so he HAD to remember me! Hahaha ) The major sumo players came out around 2:30pm and they were wearing their special garbs and went through a few ceremonies before it began. These matches included the Yokozunas! (Which nostalgically brings me back to the first time I played Tekken) When Sumo was finally over the group simply walked around Osaka and I watched them play some games in the arcade. This one particular game that flips tables for points is something I know Tocky would LOVE. When I have a chance I will upload the video for viewing. The night ended finally with Alexis and I going to Toho Cinemas to watch Disney’s “Princess and the Frog” movie. We both quite enjoyed it! I felt like I owed that movie a theater watching (cause otherwise torrents go!). Disney has been around for a hot minute and we are just now getting a black princess. Yay! for progress ^^.

Sunday 22nd:
The entire group went to breakfast together and then hopped in our respective cars for the trip home. The trip home was relatively shorter then the trip going to Osaka and I managed to catch an hour or two of sleep in the process. When I got back to Toyama I ate some foods at Vans house, said my goodbyes and caught the train home!