Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo

Two of my Friends, Simon and Jenny were on honeymoon in Japan and invited me to join them for their last weekend where they were watching the Grand Sumo tournament in Tokyo. It sounded like fun, so I decided to join them.

I cashed in some air miles to pay for my plane ticket. There were no economy seats left, so I had to use my miles to fly business... but the generous measures of Glenfiddich persuaded me it was worthwhile...

Big Measures of Whisky in Business Class

As I was traveling alone, I decided to try one of Tokyo's 'Capsule Hotels' where you sleep in a coffin-like enclosure with its own alarm-clock, TV and radio. The capsule hotel had really good communal facilities and was very cheap for Tokyo at 25 pounds per night. You can see my room below:

My Capsule Hotel 'Room'

Before the tournament started I went with Si and Jenny to see some of Tokyo. Taking the lift to the upper floors of many high-rises affords fantastic views:

Tokyo Harbor

The City Skyline

The Sumo tournament itself was held at a stadium near Ryogoku subway station and it was really wierd to see Sumo wrestlers in full costume riding bikes, using the subway and generally just hanging out.

Mural at the Ryogoku Subway Station

The tournament itself was great fun. The early fights go very quickly, but by the end of the day, the biggest and best fighters get into some epic struggles:

The Wrestlers Square Off

Clashing Wrestlers

One thing I was surprised by was the McDonald's product placement. Is this the secret diet of sumo wrestlers?

Unfortunate Product Placement

All in all it was a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing Simon and Jenny again.