Well after a long day we decided to hit Shinjuku for the evening. Find a renound tempura restaurant, the go through Kabukicho, the lively, electric, and also some what seedy area that is full of life and contradictions. Continue reading →

Well we arrived to see the crowds milling round the entrance to watch the wrestlers come in. Most came by public transport, but one or two were in taxis. You could tell who the big names were as they seemed to have small gaggles of groupies. All nice and friendly though. Continue reading →

There is one main reason to go to Asakusa (pronounced A-sak-sa), and thatis the temple complex at Senso-Ji. This large and impressive temple is the most important Buddist one in Tokyo, and while much of it is post WWII reconstruction, some original bits still exist. Also, as per the norm, it is full of school groups, so far from serene. Continue reading →

Each year there are three Bashos or sumo tournaments in Tokyo. As luck would have it we’d arrived towards the end of the May one. Today is day 14 out of 16 and we went along hoping we’d have a small chance of some tickets. There are three classes of ‘boxes’, close to the arena, starting at 36,000 yen (~£180) each, Way beyond our spend limit and also booked up long ago (you can only book my phone or in person in Japan). There are also then seats in the gods, between 3600 yen (~£18) and 8600 yen (~£45). We weren’t concetrating and bought a pair of the latter. Here’s hoping it’s good. I’ve not watched any in 15+ years (back when Channel 4 used to show it) and even then I was not a big fan.