Blogs from Ryogoku, Tokyo, Japan, Asia
September 27th 2010
Adventures in Yokohama: So, besides going to school everyday. I try to do exciting things like eat, go shopping, do laundry, talk on Skype, and hang out with the Policemen of Yokohama. On Friday, I decided to attempt to register my bike. While I still know only the basics in Japanese (Hello- Konichiwa, Gomen- Sorry, doi tashimashite- you're welcome, Shoganai- It can't be helped, and Gonbate- Press on/You can do it). You may imagine that none of this knowledge was especially helpful when I arrived at the Police Department to register my bike. In fact, it continued to be useless as I was led to a bike shop by one of the studdly patrol men, as he talked with the bike shop owner, led me back to the bike shop, then contemplated how to tell me ... read more
April 4th 2009
Welcome to the blog chronicling my trip to Japan. I suppose I should start by introducing myself, although most of you reading this probably already know me. I’m a Junior at LaGrange and a Computer Science major/Japanese minor. I’m also and avid video game player, and occasional writer. So, there you have it. Those are the basics. Now, on to the trip. People have a lot of reasons for forging out on adventures, fame, wealth, the thrill of it. As for me, I tend to adventure vicariously (hence all the games). So, when I found out LaGrange’s Japanese program offered an exchange to Japan, I figured it was my chance to stop living vicariously. This would be MY adventure. My reasons? Well, there were three, really. First up: Games. Yeah, probably a bad reason to do ... read more
January 18th 2009
Two weeks to glory. Three times a year, the big boys of Japan gather to see who is the most agile, powerful, and awesome. There are about 240 competitors that separate themselves by age and by winning. The field is narrowed down over the course of try-outs and competitions. Each event is 15 days long starting on a Sunday and finishing on a Sunday during which time, men excel by beating their fellow man, compiling a winning record, and finally capturing the championship. Much like a football line-man, these guys spend most of their jr. and adult lives training for this. There are a few differences, of course. These guys weigh 400 pounds, drink heavily after lunch, and die when they're 60. They also make between $100-300 k a year...which seems like a relatively big sacrifice. ... read more
Super Sunday: Sumo, Sake & Sugar-Daddies
Published: September 14th 2008Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku
September 14th 2008
Well, I'm really tired but we had such a great day today I have to share! It'll mostly be pictures, but that's good, too, right? Especially after my venting yesterday? :) Today worked out just about perfectly...like it sometimes does after a storm. Maybe we were just in a place to be appreciative and happy? At any rate, Samia & Alice decided to go to Kamakura. Rachel wasn't interested & I already went with the tour group. So, we split into two groups. Rachel and I weren't sure what we wanted to do, but we definitely wanted to take it slow. She hasn't been feeling 100% and I'm just tired...pretty typical, actually. We knew from before that there was a Grand Sumo Tournament starting today, but we didn't have any details. We couldn't get tickets online, ... read more
April 4th 2008
So here we go, day one of a trip that has been a long time in the fantasising about. Will the land of the rising sun live up to my probably unrealistically high expectations of beauty, serenity and out and out weirdness... here are some first impressions. Well the first thing to say is that it is all very very cool. Arrive into Narita absolutely killed by the jet lag but despite a head swimming with 12 hours time difference didn't find the train system to perplexing. Somewhat surprised to be in the equivalent of the the metropolitan line rather than being whisked along at 100mph on a bullet train but I guess that will all come later. Decide that the best course of action is to get at least a little bit of sunlight so ... read more
January 14th 2008
Monday 14th Jan 08 The plan for today was to get up early and go into Ryoguku to line up for Sumo tickets. Well it was a good plan until about 0715 when we decided to have a sleep in. An hour and a half later we finally got out of bed and down to the train station we eventually got to the Sumo stadium around 1100 (tickets sales opened at 0840) only to find a “Sold Out” sign in the window. Luckily an English speaking lady in the ticket office came over to us and told that they keep a few tickets or dumb-arse tourists like us who turn up late, so for the princely sum of ¥2100 each ($25.00 AUD) we got some tickets. Although the bouts go all day, the higher level ones ... read more
September 11th 2007
Comme il annonçait de la pluie cette journée là, nous avons opté pour une journée au tournoi de sumo. Le tournoi dure plusieurs jours. Les matchs commencent à 9h00 pour se terminer aux alentours de 18h. Ça commence par les plus jeunes sumos, puis, graduellement, vers des sumos plus expérimentés, pour finir avec les sumos professionnels. Traditionnellement, le sumo était un rituel religieux pour chasser les mauvais esprits. Ses origines sont bien présentes dans le sport actuel. Tout d'abord, l'arène semble sacrée: quiconque s'en approche ou s'en éloigne salue l'arène. Les costumes des officiels sont égalements traditionnels japonais. Avant le match, les lutteurs font un rituel bien particulier, celui de lacer du sel et de lever chaque jambe très haut l'une après l'autre (les lutteurs sont gros, mais tout de même flexibles!). Nous avons vu deux ... read more
