I have found a new place to move into, it’s a little more expensive than I wanted to pay but I really liked it and it is within walking distance to my school.
Although I was excited to move into my new neighbourhood I would definitely miss the area I had lived in for my first few weeks in Tokyo. It was always buzzing, full of vibrant coloured signs and young university students running amuck. I decided to take a good walk around the area the night before I was to move with a good friend Loy. We decided we wanted to go to bed early that night but wanted to just grab some ice cream and take a short stroll. We had started walking in an area I had never gone down before. A good 10 minutes went by...then the most beautiful waves of sound ran through my ears, I could hear Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan, someone was doing some justice. I had to seek out this source, where was this coming from.
A tavern, a few blocks away from my place was the scene of a local blus jam session held once a month and I just happened to walk across it. I walked down into the basement of the large business building poking my head through the door and gazing through an ominous cloud of smoke I saw a hoard of Japanese men with loosened neckties releasing their stresses on the fret board of a guitar. And just like that, I sailed through the clouds of smoke up to the counter, “I’ll have a Guinness please.”
On a side note, if I haven’t said this before, it is legal for people to smoke inside restaurants and bars, it’s disgusting and I try to avoid it at all costs. Nothing mattered at this point though, I was in heaven. These guys were good, masters of their craft they were able to play anything and everything. There was a master, or director who had a list of about twenty names, he would randomly call upon people to play, piano, drums, guitar, harmonica or sing and they would just go up there and do it, seemed too simple really. The funny thing was that all these men were drinking Smirnoff ice, and loving it, they only needed about 2 and they were on cloud nine, yes its true Japanese people have a low tolerance. I ended up staying there for the whole night and not leaving until the jam session was over. I was able to make a new contact and friend Dimitri, a local who I hope to share a few beers with and talk about music in the near future.
Moving day...
I have now moved out of the sardine can to a lavish and larger apartment. It is two floors higher than the one I am in now and includes a much nicer balcony that I might be able to fit a chair on. The place I was living in was 16sq meters the place I have moved into is 22sq meters which is big for a single bachelor in Tokyo. There are a few new and amazing amenities that I now have, like a freezer and a real fridge, as well as my own washing machine, oh and I would also like to note that my kitchen is no longer in my bedroom! This new place is still pretty small but large enough to make it my own and feel comfortable in...I will post some photos on facebook of my new place...
Moving Day Continued...I dropped all my stuff in my new place and ran off to the sumo tournament!
A sumo wrestling tournament is a must see when in Japan. This age old classic tilt between two obese men in diapers is truly remarkable, hilarious and quite a boisterous event.
In all seriousness these “athletes” train their whole lives to have the chance to get in the circle and amaze a crowd of thousands. All sumo’s are aware of customs and rituals that are done before a fight and complete each with profound dignity and respect. This event is truly a celebration of the past and a great example of how a piece of cultural is carried through the times.
The sumo tournament I went to on Saturday started early at 8am and went until 6pm with a few breaks in between. I became aware that the heavy hitters did not come out and battle until the end of the day so I showed up with some friends around 2pm.
We managed to find our seats and comfortably hunker down with some beers to enjoy an afternoon full of grapplin’ slap happy sumo’s.
When the sumo’s enter the circle they first must complete a few rituals before the grappling begins. The most frustrating part, as an observer is the anticipation of the engagement between the two sumo’s. When each sumo enters the circle they lift their legs, smack their bums and stomachs as they prepare to grapple. These “comical” traditions are used to scare away demons and intimidate your opponent.
The leg stretch is quite remarkable, I would have never guessed that a 300+ pound man could raise his leg 4 feet in the air. In any instance where some gas is released at this point I am pretty sure they could scare away anything. And with the diet that these boys have I am sure they would push a few sour ones out. Lets just hope this happens on their own time.
After the sumo’s scare away demons and intimidate their opponent they are given 4 minutes to get ready for the match. Salt is thrown by each competitor into the ring in hopes to purify the ground. After purification both men get closer in the middle of the circle and bend down towards each other in an aggressive stance, the match is about to start! Just as everyone thinks they are about to fight both competitors stand up walk back over to their corner and throw more salt on the ring. This is done to the point that no one knows when these guys are going to go at it, they continually psych you out. Finally the moment comes and you start thinking, ok, they have done the salt throwing thing 4 times they must be ready to go by now, you are on the edge of your seat and the anticipation can be felt within your lower bowels... nope, they stand up again and walk off to the corner, more salt is thrown. At this point every gaijin in the stadium is screaming, “what the hell! Have at it!” Finally the sumo’s come back to the center of the ring... the moment you have bitten all your finger nails off for begins. The sumo’s lunge towards each other, slapping their opponents face, stomach, and well pretty much grabbing at anything they can get their hands on. This happens for about 10-15 seconds, then it’s over and you are stuck sitting there again biting off your nails watching another round of rituals take place. The tournament was a doozy, I had boat loads of fun and have taken some incredible pictures, please check out my facebook page if you wish to sneak a peek.
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