SUMO!!!

So yesterday was the big day, after much anticipation. When I came to Asia, there were 2 things I wanted to do, as a martial artist - see live Muay Thai kickboxing in Thailand, and see live Sumo in the J-dot. I can finally say I've scratched both off my list.
I actually went to Fukuoka early, on Friday, and kicked around the city a bit with my friend and neighbor Christine, who's from Tenessee (I hope I spelled that right). We took a bus in around noon, hooked up with another pair of JETs, Tori and Shawn, and spent the day mostly shopping and getting happily lost around the Tenjin/Hakata area, right in the downtown core. Fukuoka is the biggest city in Kyushu, and there's no shortage of shopping, although that seemed to be the only main attraction as far as I could tell. We went to Canal City, a massive shopping complex built around a series of artificial canals, then hooked up with my Japanese friend Tak, and hit up a local Irish bar for a pint of Kilkenny to round off the night. Christina and I almost didn't get a hotel room, due to the fact that everybody was in town for Sumo, but managed to snag a small room at the last minute, saving us from the pleasure of spending the evening in a Karaoke room.
The next morning we went out and walked around until the rest of our group arrived on the 1:00 bus. From there, we went to the Sumo stadium, and after snapping a few close-ups of the Sumo wrestlers as they came into the building, we found our seats. The photo is of Christine, some Sumo wrestlers, and some random Japanese lady who jumped into the picture.
Inside, we found our seats were kind of far back, but we had a great view anyway. We got to see the junior division bouts, had a few beers, and after a few hours the senior division began. Not knowing anything about Sumo before signing up for this, I actually learned a lot this weekend, and gained a definite appreciation for the skill and training involved in the sport. Most of these guys dedicate themselves to it from the age of 15, and when 2 massive guys go slamming into each other, trying to throw each other out of a ring, it's quite the sight. Bouts can last anywhere from a second to a few minutes, and you win when you either toss your opponent out, or make them touch something other than their feet to the ground.
The fight of the night was without a doubt when the reigning champion (or yokozuna), Asashoryu, defended his title against the popular up-and-comer, Kotooshu. Kotooshu is a foreign fighter from Bulgaria, and gets a lot of press, but to the dismay of his fans he was defeated rather soundly, in about 10 seconds. The crowd, who you would expect to be reserved (Japanese usually are elsewhere, even in rock concerts I've noticed) went wild, and threw their seat cushions all over the area. All in all, it was definitely exciting, so even though 2 fat guys in thongs beating each other up may not be everyone's cup of tea, I highly recommend it, if you're ever lucky enough to be around when one of these events is on. It's Japanese culture at its best.