sumo media wrestler heavy

Today me and my friend Cristina watched sumo wrestling from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. NO SERIOUSLY.

We didn't really mean to be so extreme about it.

Everything we'd read and heard about one of the six Grand Sumo Tournaments held in Japan per year suggested we needed to be aggressive about procuring two of the hundred tickets set aside daily for non-pre-buyers. The tournament started at 8:30. We figured there'd be a line, even though it's Monday, and dang it, we wanted IN -- so I left my house at 6:10 to meet her in Tenjin at 6:45 just to be safe, since we didn't really know where the event center was.

Luckily, we got on a bus and found someone who appeared to be going to the same destination:



And so we followed, or at least tried to:




(I got scared because when we turned the corner there were a whole bunch of them just standing there, out of nowhere, and they're so...UNREAL, and I didn't want to be all gawky!)

They were all standing there because the doors weren't open yet. Yes -- we got there so early not even the competitors were being let in. So we walked to get some coffee but still wanted to get back about half an hour before show time because surely we'd have some competition in line by then. While out we got a good view of some fall foliage ooo:



When we got back we faced said competition:



It was rough. Especially since we weren't exactly sure when we were allowed in (and since, apparently, I'm only capable of doing things where there's a crowd to lead my way):



Anyway, we were let in and soon found there was no reentry, which meant that we were really REALLY in since all the major matches are in the evening and all the minor matches are at 8:30 in the morning when there's NOBODY there and since we were UP and all we just decided to make a big long day of it.

And I had a blast. It was fantastically entertaining, the entire ordeal -- small match, big match, small wrestler, big (and bigger! oh man, SO bigger) wrestler -- entirely great, and the change in the crowd and amount of pre-fight ritual (ask me about it someday) throughout the affair kept it interesting. Them boys is HUGE.


The ring.


Pre-match ring-entering ceremony.

And here's a whole face-up, rituals and all:


We watched so so so so so many, and it was all so super fun happy Japan timey.