Sumo and the problem with trains

  Tokyo, Japan
Thursday, January 24, 2008

Sumida River, Tokyo

After years of eating Japanese food and surviving Malaysian food M thought whatever fruit of the sea they could stuff in a rice ball he could eat it... which is true as he was undone not by a child of Neptune but by a small red pickled plum. By and large food here is a little bit of guesswork and luck, especially if the menu isn't accompanied by pictures or plastic models. We've had wonderful ramen, udon, unagi, tempura but no sushi yet. Perhaps tomorrow at Tsujiki market.

Sumo Makucchi wrestlers

Today however we made our way to Ryogoku Kokugikan Stadium for the Sumo. It is the first Basho of the year and tournaments are held in different cities every 3 months. The tickets allowed us in for the day. However the big guns in Sumo only really get going from 14.30hrs when the professionals step into the ring. At 16.00 the English commentary starts and the Sumo elite get to grips with each other. This year there is a big grudge match between the top 2 sumo wrestlers (yokozuna). Hakuho has only won tournaments when Asashoryu was not participating and is now being rumoured to be the weaker of the two. To dispel doubts about his wrestling prowess Hakuho has to win this championship. Right now the 2 of them are neck and neck. It will all be decided on Sunday.

Apparently centuries ago the Chinese traders dubbed Japan "the land of the dwarfs" because they were shorter (a case of pots calling kettles black I think). No longer me thinks because those Sumo dudes have height as well as girth. Watch as they indulge in their 4 minutes of pre-wrestle posturing and you can see thigh muscles rippling every time they ritually stamp out evil spirits. The pros weigh over 150kg and they can lift each other out of the ring. That takes serious strength. Their weight isn't just for strategic inertia. We watched one makuuchi propel his opponent out of the ring with a well timed belly expansion. It has to be said that it is still quite amusing to watch such big men wiggle their hips (a strategy to prevent the opponent getting a good grip on their mawashi). We noted a few pink skin tones. There were Russian and Bulgarian makucchi competing as well though none have I think made it to yokozuna.

M & I have decided to walk in preference to using the train system. Problems encountered have been:
1. Difficulties translating the map. Not all maps have Romanised names.
2. There are 3 different rail companies running trains and they use each other's stations. So if you are not careful you will catch the wrong train and have to pay another fare (lines are colour coded so watch the train colours)
3. Even if you are on the right train it may not stop at your stop because there are Rapid Express 1, Rapid Express 2, Commuter Express and Limited Express trains on top of the Local one (which stops at every stop). Again the carriages are colour coded. There are maps that encode the mysteries of the various trains, they may even have english translations, but the chances are it won't be insight if you have to check an incoming train.
4. Even if you get on the right train to the right place if you have to transfer to another line you had better put your ticket in to the right coloured exit machine (the orange ones) or you will be paying another fare.
5. Sometimes the right train will reverse unexpectedly or become the wrong train (watch for lots of people leaving the train, they obviously know something you don't).