Sumo Wrestling!

Top of the morning!
 After getting up so damnably early here we are at Ryogoku's hall of sumo to get our tickets for the grand tournament. A taiko drummer sits perched on top of his watch, drumming for the beginning of a new day in the tournament, and the cheapest tickets run for roughly 25 bucks. The price is right and we're ready to watch some fat men wrestle in dirt, so let's get right to it, then!

The elite sumo of the East division during the entry ceremony.

Hakuho staring down Myogiryu.

And man, what a sport it is. Totally engrossing. Tension gets high as the sumos start every fight by staring each other down after they are called into the ring. And when it's off, it's off, and the matches are often as intense as they are short - lasting an average of 7 to 8 seconds.
 To me, the highlight was Harumafuji's match against Kitataiki, where the former, considerably shorter and lighter, threw the latter over his shoulder just as it looked like he was going to be pushed over the edge of the ring. The crowd went wild. It's no wonder Harumafuji's one of the two current Yokozuna - the elite of the elite.

 Fun fact! Many of the league's elite are actually foreigners! The two current champions are both Mongolian, but there are spatters of Europeans here and there and even a Brazilian. I'd definitely go again.