Sumo!!!!

Up until a few days ago, I had no interest in sumo. It wasn't on my Japanese Bucket List, but I had the opportunity to go, so I thought why not! I am SO glad I went! Sumo wrestling is incredible and is so much more than giant guys pushing each other out of a ring. It's been around for thousands of years as a Shinto ritual to entertain the gods and hope for a bountiful harvest. It didn't become a spectator sport for fun until the 1600s. Although today it is used more as a sport than godly entertainment, it is still heavily steeped in Shinto tradition. The grapple itself is short lived, and most of the tournament is spent performing purification rituals. There are large containers of salt kept in the corners of the ring, and they are constantly grabbing huge handfuls and flinging them across the ring in order to purify the sacred space. The referee even dresses in traditional Shinto priest robes.

The rules of sumo are pretty simple. You must use brute strength to push, shove, or throw the other wrestler out of the ring. If any part of your body hits outside of the circle, you lose. If any part of your body touches the ground inside the circle (except the soles of your feet), you lose. The reasoning behind the wrestlers wearing so little goes back to ancient times as well. It is to simply show that each wrestler does not have any weapons or items on them that could lead to cheating.

The trophies that are won by the reigning wrestler at the end of the tournament are impressive. The winner we saw got 3 trophies - one "regular" sized one, one that was about 2x1ft big, and one GIANT one that was about 4x2ft big that took 2 men to haul it onto the ring. The giant trophy was carried off by the winner in one arm - these guys are beasts!

I can't wait to go back, and I'll have to take Jonathan with me next time! In the photos, find the wrestler with Charlie Chaplin on his outfit... it's great!

Giant Snail

I found a huge snail today! It's been raining all day, and the invertebrates are out full force. I found a couple of these guys, actually. Very curious, gentle creatures.

100 Yen Stores

Most of our friends know my love for dollar stores, coming in second only to thrift stores. Well, here in Japan, 100 yen stores are extremely popular. 100 yen is equivalent to about .88 cents, so they are even better than dollar stores! Yay! And the quality and selection are FAR superior to the American stores.

Not to mention, the adventures and marvelous things you will find when you explore your local 100 yen store. I mentioned in our previous blog post about the fantastic translated English you can find plastered on everything. The 100 yen store will not disappoint if you would like a stylish notebook, tote bag, or pair of flip flops with an endearing-ish quote on them.

The variety of containers is impressive, as well as the beauty supplies. I'm not even sure what most of these are for, and some have packaging that would not be allowed in the states. But, if you have 100 yen, you can get a face roller to keep your cheeks slim and youthful.

Cupcake holders for days!

They also make everything in the world with animals on them. You can get a cozy for your water bottle that is a kitty or panda. Need festive aluminum foil? It can come with pandas, lions, strawberries, dinosaurs..... you'll be a hit at your next potluck! Don't forget the mini snow globes with exotic animals in them. Great stocking stuffers!

Chopstick carrying cases.

You can make candy shaped like anything.

Cute kitty stickers.

Stationary

We LOVE the translated English on merchandise here. It is fantastic! Clothes, notebooks, home goods, and so much more. I really love the stationary. Notebooks and sticky notes seem to be the best. We are probably going to have to get the "nostalgic" notebook!

KFC

KFC is big in Japan. The locals LOVE when they find out we are from Kentucky. Clearly, Pokemon and KFC go hand in hand. You can get chicken buckets with Pikachu all over them. This picture about sums it up.

Lazy Day at the Beach

We went to a beach we hadn't been to before, and I think it may be my favorite so far! The shore was extremely fun to explore. Japanese beaches are so much better, one reason being that you can always find great shells and other treasures. In America, beach combers always clean the shore of shells and things bigger than a dime. In Japan, it seems as though locals have no interest in that, and it's typical to find hundreds of shells as big as your hand at any given time. Clam shells, conch shells, sea glass, starfish, and coral (all substantial in size, mind you), can always easily be found. I even found a bone! No idea what it belonged to, but it had been in the water a while - it's bleached a perfect white and smooth as silk.

Cuttlebone

This beach also has horses you can ride! They were too far away to get a decent picture of, but you can fulfill your dream of riding horses along the crashing waves of the beach. Heaven!

We have yet to come across a beach that isn't pet friendly. It's great! We saw this super cute pup, and he kept looking at us like he wanted to play. We wanted to take him home so badly!!

Another amazing thing I found on the shore was a cuttlefish bone! You often see these in pet stores, being sold in the bird section. You hang cuttlebones in bird cages so your birds can nibble and get extra calcium. Well, this is where they come from!

It is amazing to live so close to dozens of beaches. That's what you get when you're living on an island!

Puffer Fish!

So, we were standing on the bridge over the river by our house, watching the koi and ducks, and what swims into view? A puffer fish!! I never in my life thought that I would see one in the wild! It was amazing. It's a grass puffer, which are very common in Japan. This is the best picture I could get of it. I'm still flabbergasted!