We had a great evening at a dinner event with retired sumo wrestlers. The MC for the show was American, a big showman and very animated. He engaged well with Aiden who was the loudest cheerer in the audience. The kids love all you could eat hot pot and edamame, fried chicken and Japanese desserts. We learned a little bit about the history of sumo, the culture of entering the sumo stables at age 12 or 14, and the value of living like brothers for many years. He explained a typical day including the huge amount of food, consumed at two meals a day, an immense amount of exercise and strength building the wrestlers go through each morning at their intensive morning exercises. Two wrestlers demonstrated three matches for us, and then members of the crowd were allowed to challenge one of the wrestlers. Although Aiden and Clark put their names in the hat, they didn’t draw the correct straw to their disappointment. Caroline had previously attended a real sumo tournament and shared that the environment here was much more focused on entertainment and both the sumo wrestlers seemed to be performers with good sense of humour. There was a seriousness when the match was in play and it was a great opportunity to learn. The show began with a dance from a Geisha, who later joined for pictures.
Our final day included, checking out the famous area of Shibuya Crossing, the stores and sites in the vicinity. We enjoyed our final conveyor belt Sushi experience!
