That's one thing we have come to love about Japan. How everything seems to always be precise. From the chef cooking Kobe steak and wiping down the grill with purpose, to the server in a pub giving us our burgers and seemingly taking a sense of pride when he told him the food was good, like he was him who put the love and care into the food, to the teenager who walked us to the mall so we could find our steak restaurant...these are the interactions that I will remember long after we have left this country.
We made our way to the station to meet Yosha's second cousin's cousin (or something like that), Thilina, who met us at the station. One benefit of the lack of diversity in Japan is that it's pretty easy to describe yourself to someone coming to meet you at a popular stop. Just look for the tall white girl and Sri Lankan girl :) it was entertaining watching Thilina try to get my huge 50+ lb suitcase out of the backseat of his Mazda rx8! Even though the place is a good hour outside of the downtown core, between a bus then train, it's nice to have a place to hang our hats for a few days!
On Saturday we went to an area of town known for their kitchen stuff. There were tons of stores that sold an amazing variety of kitchen stuff: everything from knives, bowls, takeout containers, restaurant staff uniforms, and plastic food! From there we met Makiko at the sumo stadium. It was such a great experience! We saw a few sumo wrestlers walk in before their matches. The bouts are really short. Essentially the goal is to shove your opponent out of the ring without you stepping out of the ring or touching the ground with your hands. There were a number of wrestlers from Japan but also from Mongolia and china, and a couple from countries like the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. One thing that amazed me was the high standards of sportmenship the wrestlers seem to have. Whether they won or lost, they remained expressionless. There was none of this throw your hands in the air and swearing nonsense we typically see in North American sports. The highlight of the night was a bout between the Japanese wrestler with the perfect record to date and a very strong Mongolian wrestler. The crowd was cheering, encouraging the Japanese wrestler and were totally into the match. In the end the Mongolian wrestler won the bout, but the intensity of the wrestlers could easily be felt in our nosebleed-level seats. It was great having Makiko there to explain everything to us. On our way out we saw a few sumo wrestlers walking out on their own (it's not like they need bodyguards). One of them walked beside Yosha. It was cool to compare the difference in size: while they were about the same height, most sumo wrestlers are between 350-400 lbs!
From the sumo match we went for dinner with Makiko and her friend Haruka, who did a master's degree in linguistics at U of T so we had lots to talk about, between the four of us who all spent some time at some point in Toronto. The restaurant was awesome: they take you through a ninja training camp, where you go through hidden staircases and dungeons to find your way to your seat. I had an amazing beef tenderloin dish, chosen from a menu that was rolled up like a scroll, and the girls had a ninja-themed eight-course tasting menu. One of the highlights was definitely the magic show. At one point a "ninja master" came to do card tricks at our table. Say what you want about magic: there is nothing that brings out the kid in you more than a magic trick! (Though admittedly there is very little that doesn't bring out the kid in me!)
On Sunday we took part in a morning bus tour of the city, where we saw a few of the major sites of Tokyo: the Tokyo tower, the imperial palace grounds and the senso-ji temple, a temple that enshrines a golden image of Kannon, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. According to legend, she was miraculously pulled out of a nearby river by two fishermen in 628. (Note: it remains to be seen if the ancient image of Kannon actually exists, as it's not on public display).
From the tour we went to Yoyogi-Koen, a park where all sorts of wackiness come together. One of the highlights was a group of rockabilly dudes grooving to the song Footloose. They had some serious moves to go along with their amazing outfits of black jeans, perfect pompadoured hair, leather jackets and leather pointed shoes that were layered with electric tape since the shoes had worn down so much from the twisting and dancing.
From there we went to Harajuku, the shopping Mecca. There was a huge range of clothing stores, from high end Louis Vuitton/Dior/Fendi to funky accessory and shoe stores. Unfortunately one of the downsides of being taller here is that the shoes and most clothes don't quite fit...which I suppose isn't necessarily a bad thing as I would be tempted to empty my bank account here. It was great to see Tokyo fashion at its finest. I'm not quite sure how to define fashion here. General wardrobe staples seem to be lacy socks with shoes or sandals, flowery tights or skirts mixed with a random mishmash of colors. Yosha and I like to play the "what doesn't fit here" game when we people watch, as there usually seems to be one piece of clothing that is slightly off, at least but conservative government-town Ottawa standards!
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| Outside the sumo stadium |
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| A sort of blurry shot of a sumo wrestler up close |
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| At Senso-ji temple |
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| Tokyo Central station |
