Anyway, brief Japanese lesson aside I guess this post is going to be dedicated to things that could be related to a sumo wrestler. Namely: Thanksgiving Dinner (looks small when compared to a sumo`s daily diet) and naturally, a sumo match (after all, nothing gets more sumo than a sumo match).
*Note: this blog post will be photo heavy (heavy, you know, like a sumo....lolz)
Oh and as per usual, click to enlarge photos.
Ready, Set, Sumo!
So, as can be expected, Thanksgiving in Japan is non-existent. The day after Halloween the one hundred yen shops ($1 stores) swap out their Halloween decorations for Christmas decorations. Likewise, traditional Thanksgiving foods such as Turkeys, and pumpkin pies are things Japanese people would gawk at should they randomly/magically appear in their supermarket. So, in order for this American tradition to be carried out on the little island of Oshima, Matthew and I decided to have a vegetarian Thanksgiving get together with one of our other American ALT`s, Jessica.
Seeing as Matthew and I both have special diets, me being a pescatarian and Matthew a once vegan turned vegetarian (Japan will do it to you) opted out of the standard Turkey fair, and due to lack of access to other traditional Turkey day foods we improvised to make our own hybrid Japanese/American vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner.
On the menu we had a delicious tofu scramble (Matthew makes this really really well, so delicious), faux meat burritos with salsa, lettuce, and cheese, some homemade sweet potato chips, and a all veggie Japanese nabe stew. Oh and for dessert, my favorite, MOCHI!
check it out:
Our Thanksgiving Feast!
Really delicious sweet potato chips
And to round out the Thanksgiving experience we even had Turkey napkins, and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. (The previous evening we watched The Land Before Time 7, Thanks Mom.)
After stuffing our bellies fit to burst, the following Saturday we were all set to watch the National Sumo Finals in Fukuoka (Kyushu). Unfortunately, I left my sumo pamphlet in Fukuoka (staying out all night will do that to you) so I cant tell you all the awesome things that I had learned about sumo (drinking at the sumo event and after to celebrate a friends birthday will cause you to forget all the fascinating things you read about sumo). So you will have to rely mostly on the photos I managed to take and whatever brief commentary I can muster up to accompany them.
Ciaran (my Irish friend who lives across the bridge) and me enjoying some prime sumo. Thanks Brad for the kawaii bunny ears.
The Upper level sumo's doing their entrance ceremony before their matches begin. These guys are HUGE! Ciaran had the honor of bumping into one in the bathroom.
In between each match these guys came out marching some banners around the sumo ring. Do you know why?
They are advertisements. Pretty cool ne?
Two Sumo getting ready to take one another down. This match was actually pretty exciting because both of them fell out of the ring at what looked like the same time. And I was betting 100yen on the match.
And so, these guys had to come up into the ring and deliberate to decide who the winner was. Lets just say I was 100yen richer after their decision. #win
Anyway, the matches seemed to get more exciting as they went, but it might of had something to also do with me drinking more as the day went on. Also, I started to enjoy placing bets on each game, turns out I am pretty good at predicting the winner as I made about 800yen over 6 matches.
One of the best matches of the day also happened to be the shortest. After doing the leg lifts and belly pats that are typically portrayed in sumo matches the two guys crouched down. After a very brief stare down one of the sumo rushed to charge down the other, and what did that other sumo do? He simply stepped aside and the charging sumo went tumbling out of the ring. Simply ingenious. Easily everyones favorite match as well as the most memorable.
Other best part of the day. Seeing a real life Geisha at the sumo match. So poised, so elegant. Keri is so Jealous.
I am going to try to post more often. Hope you enjoyed the photos in this blog since the past few have been kind of lacking.
P.S.
check out the pineapple's blog too!
http://pineappledesu.blogspot.com/
4 comments:
I love it! First, your pun is great. Don't feel like it isn't. Second, about two thanksgivings ago we had our friend from Osaka (Toyomi-san) come celebrate with us. She had never had an American Thanksgiving before and, as I'm sure you can picture, displayed the utmost excitement as any Japanese grandmother could. She seemed to love it, but what I loved was the home made shabu-shabu and tempura she cooked for us. Oiiishiiii
You are making me miss Japan and real Japanese food and culture. I'm losing it here. I should start taking language classes again so I can speak as well as you!
Looks like you're having a blast!
Great meal Keri! You are doing an excellent job of relaying Japanese culture. I'm glad you are taking advantage of all the opportunities. We miss you! And I too loved the pun.
That unknown is your Aunt Lauren by the way
Nothing beats a bad-pun title
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