Sumo

We went to the Spring sumo tournament in Tokyo. It's held at Ryokogu Kokugikan. We were lucky enough to win some tickets in a raffle. 

The tournament goes for two weeks. There are matches all day with the opening at 8am. The bouts for the Makuuchi Grade (top level) starts at 3:45

We saw 21 bouts in the two hours between 4pm and 6pm.

Along with everybody else, we had our bentou box of snacks and food.

The 'seats' are little squares of carpets and cushions. The square next to us was empty, so some opportunists took a chance to stretch out a little.

There was a regular trade of men who would bring orders of food or drink to those who were enjoying the goings on.

For every bout, there would be a different 'ring announcer' who would call the names of the wrestlers and introduce the fight. Each one would get a large round of applause.

A little bit of ceremony and psych for the start of each fight. Knuckles down, stretching and stamping. A throw of salt then down to business.

The crowd loved Harumafuji as he got ready for his bout.

Last bout was Yokozuna Hakuho against Myogiryu. As expected Hakuho won, going 3-0 in the competition so far.
We had a cool afternoon at the sumo.