An all around GREAT day!

Yesterday started out with a wake-up call from the nephews....always a great way to start any day. We chatted with Aaron about his upcoming b-day party and learned that Kyle is now saying "Auntie & Unc Unc":) Love those kids!!!

After that I chatted with Nicolle for a bit. While I was on the phone with her Jamie was on the computer trying to install a program that a friend had told us about. He told us that if we went to the web-site http://www.myp2p.eu/ we could watch any kind of sports game live!!!!!! Just as I hung up with Nicolle, the program had be installed and BAM......we had the St. Louis / Canucks game on! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! The quality isn't the greatest because it is streaming from the net, but it is good enough! It was awesome to be able to see our team play! And just in time for the playoffs no doubt :)

Soon after we headed out to a place called Slices in Shinsaibashi. Jamie had heard that it was owned by a couple of Canadians and that poutine was on the menu. For obvious reasons we decided to check it out. As we were walking there we saw the popular British rock band Muse. We were in the funky shopping part of town called Americamura and as we turned the corner they had just gotten out of a van. I guess they had decided to spend the day shopping as they had just finished a gig the night before.

You might be wondering how I knew it was them. Well, first....you never see a bunch of white guys get out of a van anywhere around here, unless they are someone special....ha ha ha! Secondly, as soon as I spotted them I recognized their faces. I knew who they were, but I couldn't spit out their name for the life of me....hence not going up to them and getting a photo. DANG!!!!! It was bugging me all day and it finally all came together when we met a guy at the bar later that night who was telling us about their concert. All the pieces finally fit. Anyways...we had lunch at Slices and enjoyed a little taste of home!

After lunch we headed to Namba to check out the Grand Sumo Tournament. As we approached the gym we saw loads of people lining the streets to welcome the wrestlers. I found it interesting that they entered the gym through the front door like everyone else did. You would never see a professional athlete do that back home, eh? We took a few photos and made our way inside.

Someone showed us to our seats, which were pretty high up. Since the tournament lasts 15 days and we went on day 6, there we plenty of vacant seats, so we decided to make our way closer until someone claimed the seats as their own. That never happened :)

To be honest, Sumo isn't the most exciting sport in the world. Everytime they would bend down and look like they were ready to go, one would stand up, and then both would walk to their corners and wipe themselves off, have a drink, stretch etc. Once they actually did come into contact, one of them was pushed out of the ring in a matter of seconds. I think the longest match we saw was about 30 seconds!

Even though it wasn't super exciting to watch, it was really cool to see them in person/admire the apparel/learn about the sport & it's traditions etc. I think we were there for about 4 hours in total. We decided to go towards the end of the day as the lower/smaller ranked guys fight first....and honestly we didn't want to spend 10 hours there watching every single wrestler!

Before we went to the tournament we knew the bare minimum about the sport. Pretty much the first guy to fall in or out of the ring (a.k.a - dohyo) looses. Afterwards we learned a lot more about the sport, so incase you are interested...here ya go!

Sumo is a sport that dates back almost 1500 years with its origins being quite religious. The first matches were a form of ritual dedicated to the gods for a bountiful harvest. Once a military dictatorship was established, sumo was used as a means of increasing the efficiency of fighting men. Once peace was restored , a period of prosperity followed, marked by the power of new mercantile classes. Professional sumo groups were established to keep the classes entertained and it was during this time that sumo came into its own as the national sport of Japan.

The ring is called the dohyo and is made from clay and covered with a thin layer of sand. It spans a little over 15 feet in diameter and above it suspending from the ceiling is a roof resembling a Shinto shrine with 4 giant tassels hanging from each corner to signify the seasons of the year.

The only thing worn by the rikishi (a.k.a - wrestler) is a silk loincloth called the mawashi. It is approximately 10 yards long and 2 feet wide. The mawashi is a fundamental piece of equipment as there are 70 winning tricks, most of which are achieved by maneuvering the opponent with a grip on his mawashi.

Once the rikishi enters the dohyo a series of symbolic movements occur. To cleanse his body and mind, he symbolically rinses his mouth with water, the source of purity, and wipes his body with a towel. Each member also scatters a handful of salt to purify the ring and protect him against injury.

The rikishi then squat and face each other in the center of the ring, crouch forward in a "get set" position supporting themselves with their fists and proceed to glare at each other. This portion of the ritual is called shikiri. However, the match doesn't start right away. They go back to their corners for more salt, scatter it and return to glare. They repeat this process again and again for up to 4 minutes. Theoretically the time is used until they feel they are both readyto fight.

A bout is won by forcing the opponent out of the inner circle OR throwing him in the dohyo. The first person to touch the ground with any part of his body loses. It is prohibited to punch, pull hair, gouge the eyes, choke and kick. Hence there is a lot of pushing going on. As there are no weight limits, it is possible for a rikishi to find himself against an opponent twice his own weight.

There are 6 tournaments a year (3 in Tokyo, 1 in Osaka/Nagoya/Kyushu). One tournament lasts 15 days with each wrestler fighting once everyday against a different opponent. The rikishi with the best record is awarded the Emperor's Cup on the final day after the last match.

There are presently 800 rikishi in professional sumo starting from the lowly trainee to the yokozuna at the top.

On each day of the tournament before the ranked matches are scheduled, the colorful dohyo-iri or "entering of the ring" ceremony takes place. Each wrestler wears a colorful, embroidered apron made from silk and hemmed with a gold fringe. They can cost anywhere between 400, 000 to 500, 000 yen. Once the rikishi enter the dohyo they perform a short ritual ancient tradition.

Once the matches of the day are over, a final ceremony takes place and is performed by one rikishi. This is called a yumitori-shiki or "bow dance" in which the rikishi performs a brilliant routine with a bow.

OK, now that you are all educated and stuff I am sure the pictures in the slideshow will make more sense!

Enjoy looking at the pictures as much as we did watching the real thing!