Picture of the Week 25 – Stormy Weather

A typhoon came by the Tokyo area today, so I thought this would be an appropriate picture. This is in Futamatagawa in Asahi Ward, Yokohama.

Picture of the Week 24 – Minato Mirai View

Earlier this week, I ate at American House restaurant in the new TOC Minato Mirai building by Sakuragicho station. This is the view from the restaurant.

September 2010 Aki Basho Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament

On September 13, 2010, I attended my third sumo tournament of the year.  There are 3 sumo tournaments in Tokyo each year, with the other 3 being in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.  This is the first tournament after the return of the suspended sumo wrestlers.  As I mentioned before, those sumo wrestlers were suspended because of illegal gambling on baseball.  For this tournament, I was seated even closer than I had been before.  Directly in front of me was a walkway, so I had no one sitting in front of me to block my view.

This day had a little excitement.  First was a crazy fan of the sumo wrestler Hakuba.  He was shouting and cheering Hakuba’s name, and even ran a quarter of the way around the arena to try to get Hakuba’s attention.  Down below, you can watch a video of this fan.  Also, I happened to see 3 retired sumo wrestlers that I recognized quite well.  First was Tokitsuumi, who is now the head coach of the Tokitsukaze stable.  Then I saw Kitazakura, one of my favourites who retired this year.  He was well known for throwing large handfuls of salt.  And finally, I saw Takasago, the head coach of the Takasago stable, which was Asashoryu’s stable.  Tokitsuumi was the only one to walk directly in front of me.  But the biggest thing was when I arrived.  I arrived at the same time as Goeido, a young sumo wrestler who is thought to be the next best hope to become Yokozuna in the future.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures and videos!

This is a Makushita division match.

The lower seats are mat seating, while the upper seats are stadium seating. I always get stadium seats.

This is my view at this tournament. It's closer than ever.

This is the ceiling. It looks like pretty much any indoor arena.

This is Takamisakari versus Mokonami. Takamisakari won.

Takamisakari is a big fan favourite, because of how he acts.  After this match, I got to watch the crazy Hakuba fan.  Here’s the video I took of him.

This is Tokusegawa versus Tochinoshin. Tochinoshin won.

This is Sekiwake Aran versus Kotoshogiku. Kotoshogiku won.

This is Kyokutenho versus Sekiwake Tochiozan. Tochiozan won.

This is Ozeki Harumafuji versus Homasho. Harumafuji won.

This is Wakanosato versus Ozeki Kaio. Kaio won this match. He's the oldest active sumo wrestler, and is very popular. He's been one of the longest Ozeki in history.

This is Ozeki Baruto versus Komusubi Kisenosato. Kisenosato won.

This is Komusubi Kakuryu versus Ozeki Kotooshu. Kotooshu won.

Finally is Yokozuna Hakuho versus Tokitenku. These are some of the sponsors for this match, including McDonald's.

They're still going through their preparations. Hakuho won this match. He's going for a record winning streak.

Finally, here’s a video of Yobidashi singing near the main entrance as I was leaving.  Yobidashi are the men who sing the names of the sumo wrestlers before their matches, basically acting as musical announcers.  They also do other odd jobs around the ring.

I hope you enjoyed the photos and videos.

Picture of the Week 23 – Lions Versus Marines

On Sunday, October 10, I went to my first Japanese baseball game. It was a playoff game between Saitama Seibu Lions and Chiba Lotte Marines. The game was at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama prefecture. The Marines won the game 5-4 in 11 innings. Long game! This picture was taken from my seat.

Picture of the Week 22 – Night Time Curves

Sorry for the lack of posts this month. I hope to be getting back to posting pictures very soon. But for now, here’s this week’s picture. This is outside Lumine Wing, the big department store in Ofuna. The building curves on one side.

Picture of the Week 21 – Magical Mintnight

Baskin Robbins is having new special flavours for Halloween, and I tried one of them this week. This is Magical Mintnight. It’s bitter chocolate, mint and pop rocks. There’s nothing like exploding candy in ice cream. It was pretty good.