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Published: November 15th 2007
Not much to report today. I keep having problems adjusting to GMT+8 so I tend to sleep away until noon and stay up much too late in the night to compensate. I noticed an email in my inbox informing me that my hotel booking in Kumamoto had been cancelled so I figured I might as well seek out a travel agent before heading out to the Kokusai venue. Having walked past a number of establishments the days before it wasn't quite as easy trying to remember exactly where they were. I figured I might as well have a look at that magnificent shinto temple a few blocks away as I was sure there was a travel agent around there somewhere. After some random criss-crossing of streets I decided to look for one inside the Tenjin underground instead, which proved more successful. I laid out my plan to the woman at the desk and she proceeded to dig up some really affordable hotels in strategic locations in Naha, Kagoshima and Kumamoto. At least now I know where I will be staying, useful to know since some of the cities have more than one railway station. One thing I've noticed is the horrible
The magnificent temple complex north of Tenjin
As photos go, this one sucks. Not a whole lot to do with boxed in marvels such as this one. If you are in the neighbourhood, go have a look.check-in and -out hours here in Japan. In the three places mentioned, check-in time was 2 pm, 3 pm and 4 pm respectively. Four o'clock in the afternoon? And check-out at 11 am? Seriously... are you shooting a television series on the premises during the working hours or what?
Afterwards I headed straight for the basho and got there just in time for the opening of the juryo matches. The arena is still fairly empty, even when the makuuchi rikishi enter the ring. And then there's that devious smell of pancakes floating in from the food court through the back door. I might have to check those out, especially if there is a chance to get some
chanko nabe sumo stew as well. The day's matches were entertaining if not spectacular. Still, the more desperate measures and crazy moves will come as the tournament goes on and more pressure to perform is added for the rikishis to carry. After the matches I went back to Showa-dori and sought out one of the Italian restaurants I had found earlier in the day. I then had the fortune to return to the hotel to continue work on the blog; as much
as I enjoy getting the story out while it is still fresh there is still the fact that it steals precious holiday time. Especially when you return from the day's matches with 1100 pictures to sort through...
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