Outdoors In Japan

If you think that Japan is all about sushi and shopping - boy ! are you wrong.  My girlfriend who is in Japan permanently is doing more outdoor stuff than when she was in the West - and she had photos of her going for white water rafting, atv rides, snowshoeing and hiking and camping outdoors as well.  Just the other day - she wrote to me asking me to look for atv winches for her - as well as hiking stuff.  So if you are heading to Japan - you may want to try doing one of these sports if you haven’t - they are quite fun.   As for myself - I haven’t done any of it in Japan - like most people we go shopping and eating in Japan - and enjoying the scenery - but I would love to go for an atv ride - or white water rafting sometime.

Sumo Show

I found pictures that was taken many years ago - when I was still living in Japan for 6 months while working for a hotel chain in Asia.  i remembered vividly - how excited i was when my co-workers told me that got me tickets to see a real sumo wrestling show in the sumo stadium called the Kokugikan.  I had never seen a sumo wrestling show before - so I wanted to take lots of pictures and experienced it for myself.

It was a full house night that night and the banners on top of the stage - was the Japanese sumo wrestling association thanking the patrons for filling up the seats.  I saw many tourists and foreigners like myself - and my co-workers were very kind to explain what was going on during the whole event.

I wished we had better seats but for $50 - you can’t really asked for a lot.  The capacity for the stadium was said to be 10,000 - and it sure looked like there were that many people there.  Taking the subway to the stadium is not difficult at all - check with your concierge - and I was told not to book a tour - it’s a waste of money.  Don’t forget to visit the Sumo Museum while you are there - entry is free - but so small - not really worth going - but only my personal opinion.  But I did have fun - even though I didn’t really understand all those huge men trying to throw each other down.

Toy Store - Blister

Massive figurine toy store - in Shibuya - check it out.  So if you want to carry Yoda or Darth Varder home - this is the place to be.   Anime fanatics will be right at home at this place.

Used PC In Japan

A very, very small used computer store right in the middle of the busiest part in Japan - so if you are looking for used computers/PC  - head over to shibuya.

Nagoya Pokemon Center

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I had almost forgotten about the Nagoya’s Pokemon Center because there is another one in Tokyo - that looks a lot nicer than this one.  But if you are in the Nagoya’s vicinity - and a Pokemon crazy fan - you can check it out.  If I remembered correctly it’s located in the Oasis.   Do check out the internet/manga cafe while you are there - pretty interesting - hopefully they are still there though.

LaQua

it is free to enter the La Qua at Tokyo Dome city - but you have to pay for the rides and the attractions. Opens from 11am - 9pm daily- the LaQua has many good food places to eat and the largest natural hot spring spa in Tokyo.   You have to check out their specialty stores and many games and rides to go on.  Move aside Disney Land - move aside Sanrio Land - this place is great for both adults and kids.

Japan Iron Man Retires @ 81

Japanese marathon runner who used Kettlebell and competed at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki has finally called it quits at the age of 81.After taking part in three marathons this year Keizo Yamada has decided it is time to scale back his activities and retire from competitive running.

Yamada, who won the Boston Marathon in 1953, bade farewell to Boston in April when he ran the event for the 19th time, a month after completing the Tokyo Marathon in a time of five hours, 34 minutes and 50 seconds.  Yamada, known as ‘Iron Man’, will continue with his daily 20km jogs but told Sunday’s Sports Hochi newspaper “I’m not getting any younger so I won’t run any more 42km (26 mile) races”.

“I will carry on running for fun to stay in shape,” he added.

Yamada was one of the pioneers of Japanese marathon running, along with Shigeki Tanaka and Hideo Hamamura, who won in Boston in 1951 and 1955 respectively.

Kokichi Tsuburaya put the sport on the map in Japan by taking bronze in the men’s marathon at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.  Japan’s women have had more success than their male counterparts in recent years, with Naoko Takahashi capturing gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and Mizuki Noguchi winning the 2004 title in Athens.

Tokyo, DisneyLand’s Food

There were so much to choose from to eat when we were at Tokyo Disneyland.  All of them were so cutely presented..!  even i cannot resist it.  And if you have been to any Disneyland, you know you just can’t seems to finished all the rides and try out different games.  We did eat alot there.. and food wasn’t cheap either.  But we figured .. we were only gonna be there once .. so we might as well try everything.  This was a hamburger, mickey mouse style.

Isn’t this cute..! i know kids fussy with food would eat even this.  So Disney like.

A late snack .. at about 5pm.. and still we haven’t finished visiting the whole of Disneyland, Tokyo.  But we stayed behind for the evening parade.  The afternoon parade was great.. ! but the evening ones.. were spectacular..!  But that’s for another day.  At the end of the day.. and the amount of food we ate, you know who needs to look for some diet pills when we get home.

Sumo Wrestler

Japanese Sumo Wrestling is one of the oldest martial arts in Japan. It is such a popular spot in Japan and considered the national sport. The sumo wrestlers are treated with alot of respect. Most elite wrestlers are highly trained athletes and between 20 to 35 years old. Besides working out, the wrestlers are eating large amounts of food and go to bed right after eating in order to gain mass. The wrestlers are living in special sumo stables where the rules are very strict, especially for lower ranked wrestlers. Most elite wrestlers are highly trained athletes and between 20 to 35 years old. Besides working out, the wrestlers are eating large amounts of food and go to bed right after eating in order to gain mass. The wrestlers are living in special sumo stables where the rules are very strict, especially for lower ranked wrestlers. One wonders if Sumo Wrestling is fixed..??

A sumo wrestling match is accompanied by a lot of traditional ceremony. The marching-in of the wrestlers is a sequence of formal rituals. The wrestlers are accompanied by two assistants - one walking in front and one behind him - the one behind is usually hard to spot. The referee is clad in a luxurious kimono and wears a strange hat. After performing a series of opening rituals, the contest begins.

The wrestling match is all about pushing or throwing the opponent out of the doyo - the ring - or to bring the other guy down on the floor. Sumo does not know any weight categories. There are a few basic techniques - from pulling the opponents legs to grabbing his belt and trying to throw or carry the opponent out of the ring.