The earth moves under my feet...
The long weekend of July 15th was very exciting. My ex-workmate from Lloyds, Tash (check the links section for her blog), finally came to Nagoya after more than a year living in the deepest inaka of Nagano prefecture. The main event: Nagoya's annual Sumo Tournament!
Of course, the occasion demanded a drink or two and some catching up over a lavish izakaya spread, followed by a song or two at the local Karaoke-kan. As if to herald the approaching tournament, mother Nature unleashed her forces upon the country in grand style. The night before, Nagoya was lashed by Typhoon #4 of the season, which apparently came and went while we were in the karaoke booth, so I have yet to see a typhoon in full swing. The tournament was followed the next morning by the Niigata earthquake, which woke us up rather rudely to rattling windows and swinging light fixtures. Check out the map here. It was a 6.6 magnitude quake, which caused extensive damage and several deaths in Niigata and Nagano prefectures, but you'll be glad to know it was fairly mild here. Of course, watching the footage, you have to wonder why a country that sees so many earthquakes insists on building houses with heavy tile roofs supported by flimsy wooden walls. I'm glad my apartment is a concrete bunker in comparison...
So, on to the tournament! This post is a little overdue, as I was waiting for pics from Tash, who, alas, has a real camera with real zoom capabilities (Thanks, Tash!), as well as having a really busy week at work. But anyway, on to the pics...
The grounds of the Nagoya Bashou, right next to Nagoya Castle, were suitably festooned...
And we arrived early to watch the rookie matches close up before it got too crowded...
Ahhh, there's nothing quite like watching two big guys in diapers pushing each other around! And, speaking of big guys, check out the video Tash took of this behemoth! You gotta feel for the guy who lost, he gets up real slow after...
Of course, after a tasty bentou lunch and staking our seats, we had some time until the big matches, so we ventured across the road to do the tourist thing and have a look at the castle...
See what a real zoom can do?
And this time, they had a new bit of Engrish...
...and deer grazing in the moat.
By the time we got back, the main event was on. At half time, they came out and did a little show with their fancy aprons on.
Then the current yokozunas, Asa-shoryu and Hakuho, both from Mongolia, came out to do their own special war dance, accompanied by thunderous applause and shouts of "Yoshi!"
Then it was on to the top-level matches. Here's Koto-oshu, the highest ranked European (Bulgarian) sumo, warming up...
And the final match, featuring Hakuho and some other guy, as well as three rounds of advertising banners. The smartarses next to us were cheering "Tamahoumu!" and "Megumiruku!"
A great time was had by all...
As a bit of a post-script, last weekend we went to the fireworks on the Nagaragawa in Gifu city. It was a fantastic show, that, unfortunately, my camera can't do justice to, but I'll post a couple of pics anyway. Imagine fireworks on the scale of Sydney's New Year's Eve, but instead of running for fifteen minutes, it went for two hours! 30,000 shots! If there's one thing this country can do no-holds-barred, it's fireworks shows!
Look out for the next installment, where I'll be visiting Tash in Nagano for the local matsuri, and afterwards, at long last, climbing Mt. Fuji! Stay tuned...
Of course, the occasion demanded a drink or two and some catching up over a lavish izakaya spread, followed by a song or two at the local Karaoke-kan. As if to herald the approaching tournament, mother Nature unleashed her forces upon the country in grand style. The night before, Nagoya was lashed by Typhoon #4 of the season, which apparently came and went while we were in the karaoke booth, so I have yet to see a typhoon in full swing. The tournament was followed the next morning by the Niigata earthquake, which woke us up rather rudely to rattling windows and swinging light fixtures. Check out the map here. It was a 6.6 magnitude quake, which caused extensive damage and several deaths in Niigata and Nagano prefectures, but you'll be glad to know it was fairly mild here. Of course, watching the footage, you have to wonder why a country that sees so many earthquakes insists on building houses with heavy tile roofs supported by flimsy wooden walls. I'm glad my apartment is a concrete bunker in comparison...
So, on to the tournament! This post is a little overdue, as I was waiting for pics from Tash, who, alas, has a real camera with real zoom capabilities (Thanks, Tash!), as well as having a really busy week at work. But anyway, on to the pics...
The grounds of the Nagoya Bashou, right next to Nagoya Castle, were suitably festooned...
And we arrived early to watch the rookie matches close up before it got too crowded...
Ahhh, there's nothing quite like watching two big guys in diapers pushing each other around! And, speaking of big guys, check out the video Tash took of this behemoth! You gotta feel for the guy who lost, he gets up real slow after...
Of course, after a tasty bentou lunch and staking our seats, we had some time until the big matches, so we ventured across the road to do the tourist thing and have a look at the castle...
See what a real zoom can do?
And this time, they had a new bit of Engrish...
...and deer grazing in the moat.
By the time we got back, the main event was on. At half time, they came out and did a little show with their fancy aprons on.
Then the current yokozunas, Asa-shoryu and Hakuho, both from Mongolia, came out to do their own special war dance, accompanied by thunderous applause and shouts of "Yoshi!"
Then it was on to the top-level matches. Here's Koto-oshu, the highest ranked European (Bulgarian) sumo, warming up...
And the final match, featuring Hakuho and some other guy, as well as three rounds of advertising banners. The smartarses next to us were cheering "Tamahoumu!" and "Megumiruku!"
A great time was had by all...
As a bit of a post-script, last weekend we went to the fireworks on the Nagaragawa in Gifu city. It was a fantastic show, that, unfortunately, my camera can't do justice to, but I'll post a couple of pics anyway. Imagine fireworks on the scale of Sydney's New Year's Eve, but instead of running for fifteen minutes, it went for two hours! 30,000 shots! If there's one thing this country can do no-holds-barred, it's fireworks shows!
Look out for the next installment, where I'll be visiting Tash in Nagano for the local matsuri, and afterwards, at long last, climbing Mt. Fuji! Stay tuned...
posted by Ia Ftaghn at 5:14 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home