Sumo Wrestling

One of the last things on my list of things to do while I was in Japan was to go and watch sumo wrestling. After being in Japan for about 8 months I decided that if I didn't buy tickets soon that it probably wouldn't happen. After some research I bought tickets and Nate and I had a great time at day #10 of the sumo tournament in Tokyo. Each tournament is 15 days long and each wrestler wrestles once a day. The day starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs till 6:00 p.m. Nate and I were warned not to go too early because it becomes quite boring after you watch the wrestlers throw salt for a couple of hours. We went at about 3 and left at 6 and honestly I thought it was a lot of fun. I left wanting to watch more and that is probably a better place to be than wanting to leave after a little while.
The actual sumo wrestling in each match last about 10 seconds. The other 5 minutes or so that the guys have in the wrestling ring, which is called the dohyo, is them showing off. Each wrestler's name is announced by the announcer in his super, poetic, sumo name that I could never understand. Then they enter the ring and do ceremonial stuff that includes: leg-raising and stomping (Each guy would almost do the splits vertically and then all the crowd would cheer.), slapping themselves, stretching, and other stuff. When they decide that it is time to wrestler they get into their squat position as if they are going to wrestle, but then one of the guys decides that he is not ready and so he gets up and walks to his corner. At this point he grabs a towel and wipes down his face, grabs some salt and throws it on the mat. Both wrestlers do this about 3 or 4 times and then they finally wrestle.
Overall, the whole day was a lot of fun. I would definitely go back and watch some sumo wrestling and would even consider going into the sport. (Yeah right!!) All of the common beliefs that sumo wrestlers are huge guys and wear this tiny loincloth to wrestle in are correct. I would definitely recommend this if you ever have the chance to go to Japan.