Blogs from Ryogoku, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

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Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku July 8th 2018

Sunday, 8th July 2018 We took an overnight flight from Singapore to Narita International Airport via the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. During the flight, we were happy to be "upgraded" to the extra leg room seats for free. As usual, Singapore Airlines impressed us with their quality in-flight service and we were well taken care of even though we were seated within the Cattle Class. By Sunday morning, we had landed safely to welcome our 10-day vacation in Japan. Sorting out our pre-booked tickets at both the JR and Keisei Rail Offices at the Airport took a while as there was a fair bit of crowd ahead of us. Everyone was making use of the various value-for-money Railway Passes to embark on their land journeys in Japan. The journey from the the airport to our hotel at ... read more
Flight Details
Breakfast on Board
Welcome to Japan

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku September 28th 2015

Taki wlaśnie mieliśmy plan. Pochodzić po stolicy i obejrzeć to, czego nie zdązyliśmy zobaczyć po przylocie. Plan planem ale głową muru nie przebijesz. Dziś przecież poniedziałek. Droga z Hakone do Tokio zajęła nam ok 2 h. Bardzo chcieliśmy przejść się jeszcze po Tsukiji Market, ten na który wstaliśmy pierwszego dnia o 3 w nocy. Wtedy poza aukcją tuńczyków nie obejrzeliśmy w zasadzie nic bo siadły nam baterie. Dziś baterie po 7 h snu były naładowane jak nigdy i żadną przeszkodą nie było dla nas nawet to, że na stacji przy markecie nie znaleźliśmy tzw coin lockera, czyli szafki na monetę, w której moglibyśmy zostawić nasze ogromne plecaki. Mój był szczególnie duży, ponieważ do zwykłego plecaka dopieliśmy jeszcze mniejszy, czyniący ze mnie typowy long vehicle. W zasadzie to Basia powinna mi zawiesić na nim z tyły czerwoną ... read more
Tsukiji Market
Tsukiji Market
Tsukiji Market

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku September 24th 2014

There is some interest around this topic, so I have decided to make a blog post just for it. Of my 14 nights in hotels, I opted to stay in Capsule/Pod hotels for eleven of those. I think most people would agree that that was too long an experiment, but looking back on it, it worked out fine. I stayed in two Capsule hotels, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto. In each of those hotels, there were eight capsules to a room. My capsule room in Tokyo at the Hotel Nihonbashi Villa cost me just 18,100 Yen or roughly USD $165 for a seven night stay. My capsule room in Kyoto at the Capsule Ryokan Hotel cost me just 14,000 Yen or roughly USD $126 for a four night stay. The capsule room at the ... read more
Hotel Nihonbashi Villa
Hotel Nihonbashi Villa
Hotel Nihonbashi Villa

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku September 16th 2014

This was one of the top three events on my agenda prior to arriving into Japan. When I thought of Sumo Wrestling, the only thing I could think of was a scene from a James Bond movie where he goes and watches one match while meeting someone. Thus, I had little idea of what to expect. It turned out to be a fairly interesting, but long day. There are some five or so Bashos (tournaments) every year and it seems a majority of them are held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Each Basho runs for two weeks and I believe every wrestler has a match on each day. This particular Basho I attended started on Sunday 14 Sep and ran until Sunday 28 Sep. My accommodations were at the Hotel Nihonbashi Villa, which was about a ... read more
Same Day Ticket Window
Drum Tower
Sumo Wrestlers

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku September 15th 2014

While waiting for the advanced ticket office to open at Ryōgoku Kokugikan , I just happened to notice the Yasuda Garden next to it, but had no idea what Zen like moments actually waited for me inside. It wasn't a huge place, but this was yet another data point of the Japanese love of nature. There were a few park benches around the edge of the pond, which I found to be generally true of parks in Japan, but good luck finding somewhere to sit in public that isn't in a restaurant anywhere else. It is free to visit the park for as long as you like, and the pond is home to numerous Koi fish as well as some turtles. The truth is, I found Koi in about every last ornamental pond or moat that ... read more
Tokyo Sky Tree in the distance
Island

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku May 24th 2013

this has to be posted on its own due to the file size - about 16mb to me but not sure what it will be on the sight. It is a LONG sumo bout - all of 9 secs (most were merely 3 or 4 secs!). I realised that as they were so short the best way to catch them was on video (not what I normally do at all) on my small Casio camera - which had both the zoom reach to do it from the bleachers so to speak and also one-button push for video. I did a number of them but this was really the only one that really worked in terms of showing you what the tussle is like and how a moment of being off-balance can mean the end of the ... read more

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku November 18th 2009

Well it certainly was a dark and early start at just after 445 am. I hope its worth it. Last chance right might as well make it happen. SO as quiet as i could be i sent off into the dark. Trouble was i didnt have a key so i had to leave it unlocked. Hopefully they dont get pissed at me. When gay ppl get mad its not pretty haha. ... read more
Empty subway millions sleeping still
gas station with no pumps
Auction @ 530am

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku 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

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ryogoku 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
Ceremony before the match
Wow
No weapons

Asia » 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
Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan
Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan
Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan




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