Today started with a special stop at a small shrine directly next door to our hotel. We passed right by it yesterday, but this morning Will suggested we stop in. It turned out to be a beautiful little place, complete with a small Buddha just for kids. We lit a candle and some incense and then said a short prayer for all the kids we know. From there it was off to watch sumo.
On our way to the sumo stadium we walked into the middle of a manga fair, which consists mainly of teenagers dressing up like their favorite manga (comic book) character. The pictures tell the story.
Then we entered the sumo stadium. What an experience! A huge arena full of thousands of crazed fans screaming to watch massive, nearly naked men knock each ore off a two-foot high mound of clay. Most matches last 15-20 seconds anew are preceded by 4-5 minutes of leg stomping, thigh slapping, glaring, and throwing salt into the ring to ward off evil spirits. We watched about 50 matches over the course of 7 hours and it was AWESOME! The grand champion received 15-20 trophies ranging from a 5 foot high cup, to a 3-foot high silver Coke bottle. He seemed more exhausted from the trophy ceremony than from his match.
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| The little shrine |
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| Manga, manga, manga |
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| Boys will be boys...or girls in this case |
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| Cute, but they didn't talk much |
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