Day 16 - June 11, 2006: Odaiba and Ryogoku Sumo

It's our last full day in Japan. We're headed to Odaiba this morning, and then to Ryogoku to catch the sumo tournament in the afternoon.

We had to take two boats to get to Odaiba. The first one was quite crowded.

The second boat we got on was very futuristic looking...

...and not as crowded.

A big Ferris wheel marks the entrance to Odaiba.

Almost as soon as you set foot on Odaiba, you realise the place is called Toyota City and it's one big concept car showroom.





	We decided to get on the Ferris Wheel.
My wife made this face throughout the ride.
	The view would have been good if the weather was better.
This looks like a highway but is actually a long covered pedestrian walkway.
	We decided to take the automatic electric car ride around Toyota City.
There's a steering wheel and some buttons but you don't actually do anything but sit and watch the car drive itself.
	There wasn't much else to do in Toyota City, so we headed to the Ryogoku - the national sumo centre. We were in time to catch the 2nd half of the tournament. The place was packed. Our friends Adrienne and HT were able to get tickets to join us but had to sit elsewhere.
	The whole tournament takes place in one day. Dozens of wrestlers had already been knocked out in the earlier rounds but the favourites were still in the running. The favourites seem to be the foreign wrestlers. A pretty young lady sitting beside us was rooting for an Ozeki (1 rank down from Yokuzuna or Grand Master) from Mongolia with the wrestling name of Hakuho. She was holding her breath every time he fought. I thought she was going to faint at some point.
The action was intense. Some matches were won by strength, some were won by skill and some by luck.

Some videos of the matches.



The match where Kotooshu's sash comes undone (part 1)
	Part 2 of the same match

	This one had some hilarious moments

My favourite match of the the day. A must watch! The wrestler in red is Asasekiryu.
	The final match between Hakuho (purple) and Asasekiryu (red).

The traditional champion's dance with the ceremonial bow.
	Commutting home after a hard days work.
We had dinner with Adriene and HT. See Ming let slip earlier that we were celebrating our anniversary so they surprised us with a cake.
	Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip to Japan. Please send us your feedback and comments if you have any. Thanks Adriene and HT, and double thanks to Adriene for helping us get back our camera.