Another fun day at the Basho. A few insights from Osaka: at each of the events they have a small dining room where you can get this traditional sumo soup called Chanko Nabe. It’s kind of like a vegetable soup with cabbage and some other goodies. It is VERY good, so if any of yall make it out to one of these it’s highly recommended. Sometimes the wrestlers will go in there and eat as well. There’s a small trophy case with some cool historical items like handprints and such right when you walk in the front. The arena is broken up into 3 sections. My wife and I chose the highest section bc the others are traditional boxes where you sit on a mat and we are already walking about 20k steps a day so I don’t think my legs would appreciate sitting criss cross applesauce for hours at a time. The seats are TINY so you’re going to be touching the person next to you which is kind of strange. It also seems like most foreigners choose these as we rarely see Japanese people in these seats. We’ve had to deal with annoying people in these sections which is a bit of a bummer. They don’t respect the traditions and just drink and yell things and talk loudly, even at quieter moments. “Look at that guys huge butt” etc. It’s unfortunate, but we don’t let it drag down our experience.
Onto the matches: Shishi was SO much bigger than Midorifuji it just seemed like an impossible task. We were really sad to see Midorifuji lose, but Shishi’s size seems like it could potentially give a lot of wrestlers an interesting challenge. Ura’s popularity makes his matches extra special here and really fun to watch. Any time he is announced, he gets the biggest cheers of the night. Even more so than Yoko Hosh. His win was a highlight of course. Tobizaru’s match was our favorite of the afternoon. Very intense. Endo is VERY popular out here with a lot of the crowd pulling for him. Abi as well. Onosato’s loss was met with a bit of a gasp. I think people were pulling for him to go undefeated. Hoshoryu is SO intimidating the way he stares down his opponents. When they turn around and walk away to reset before the start of the match, he will kind of stay in his stance and just continue staring right at their back. Then he gets up and walks back to his corner so aggressively, you can just feel the intensity. His win was great.
On a separate note, Asakoryu is an absolute unit. What a beast. I’d seen gifs of him flexing and such, but his strength is extra apparent in person, even as a smaller wrestler. A new favorite of mine.
Today is our last day of matches. Really hoping for wins from Asakoryu, Midorifuji, Atamifuji, Ura, Kotozakura, and Hoshoryu!
The chanko nabe is what the wrestlers themselves eat in their stable each day. During tournaments they generally have chicken as the protein, since a chicken stands on two feet (and their ultimate goal is to stay on two feet).
That's a shame about the rude foreigners. Sadly it seems the sumo hall is not unique for that nowadays. I see stories all the time of westerners behaving badly in Japan, chasing down geisha for pictures and being rude for the sake of it.
Thanks for the info! Had no idea about the chicken. Had ramen today at a place next to the arena and there were a few rikishi in there wolfing stuff down. Those guys can really put it away lol.
I love this! The hub and I are planning a trip in three years and will be attending too. It's so cool to hear this detail. I looked at the boxes and wasn't sure about sitting on mats, either (oof, the back!), but the view looks pretty remote. Does the dohyo's hanging ceiling get in the way? Do they have big screens like at concerts? :)
Midorifuji is one of my favorites, and the size difference made Shishi pretty indominable. We too have been impressed with Asakoryu. What a perspective you've had. Thanks for sharing!
The hanging ceiling does not get in the way, so there is no real barrier to viewing, but there are also no screens which means no replays or anything. You have to watch the matches intently or you just miss it and don’t get to see it again until you view it online. If you go, I highly recommend being vigilant about getting tickets right when they go on sale, even if that’s like 5am for you. The tickets sell fast, and the website can’t really handle the traffic. It took an hour of me refreshing to finally get my hands on the tickets. It’s really an incredible experience though. You’ll love it! Oh, and I recommend staying in a hotel nearby the arena so you can simply walk to the event without needing to take subways. It’s so much more convenient, and you’re allowed a single “in and out” so if you want to go check out early ranks and leave and come back for higher ranks it’s easy to do.
Another fun day at the Basho. A few insights from Osaka: at each of the events they have a small dining room where you can get this traditional sumo soup called Chanko Nabe. It’s kind of like a vegetable soup with cabbage and some other goodies. It is VERY good, so if any of yall make it out to one of these it’s highly recommended. Sometimes the wrestlers will go in there and eat as well. There’s a small trophy case with some cool historical items like handprints and such right when you walk in the front. The arena is broken up into 3 sections. My wife and I chose the highest section bc the others are traditional boxes where you sit on a mat and we are already walking about 20k steps a day so I don’t think my legs would appreciate sitting criss cross applesauce for hours at a time. The seats are TINY so you’re going to be touching the person next to you which is kind of strange. It also seems like most foreigners choose these as we rarely see Japanese people in these seats. We’ve had to deal with annoying people in these sections which is a bit of a bummer. They don’t respect the traditions and just drink and yell things and talk loudly, even at quieter moments. “Look at that guys huge butt” etc. It’s unfortunate, but we don’t let it drag down our experience.
Onto the matches: Shishi was SO much bigger than Midorifuji it just seemed like an impossible task. We were really sad to see Midorifuji lose, but Shishi’s size seems like it could potentially give a lot of wrestlers an interesting challenge. Ura’s popularity makes his matches extra special here and really fun to watch. Any time he is announced, he gets the biggest cheers of the night. Even more so than Yoko Hosh. His win was a highlight of course. Tobizaru’s match was our favorite of the afternoon. Very intense. Endo is VERY popular out here with a lot of the crowd pulling for him. Abi as well. Onosato’s loss was met with a bit of a gasp. I think people were pulling for him to go undefeated. Hoshoryu is SO intimidating the way he stares down his opponents. When they turn around and walk away to reset before the start of the match, he will kind of stay in his stance and just continue staring right at their back. Then he gets up and walks back to his corner so aggressively, you can just feel the intensity. His win was great.
On a separate note, Asakoryu is an absolute unit. What a beast. I’d seen gifs of him flexing and such, but his strength is extra apparent in person, even as a smaller wrestler. A new favorite of mine.
Today is our last day of matches. Really hoping for wins from Asakoryu, Midorifuji, Atamifuji, Ura, Kotozakura, and Hoshoryu!
Thanks so much for this field report Dan.
The chanko nabe is what the wrestlers themselves eat in their stable each day. During tournaments they generally have chicken as the protein, since a chicken stands on two feet (and their ultimate goal is to stay on two feet).
That's a shame about the rude foreigners. Sadly it seems the sumo hall is not unique for that nowadays. I see stories all the time of westerners behaving badly in Japan, chasing down geisha for pictures and being rude for the sake of it.
Shishi is really impressing me this tournament!
Thanks for the info! Had no idea about the chicken. Had ramen today at a place next to the arena and there were a few rikishi in there wolfing stuff down. Those guys can really put it away lol.
I love this! The hub and I are planning a trip in three years and will be attending too. It's so cool to hear this detail. I looked at the boxes and wasn't sure about sitting on mats, either (oof, the back!), but the view looks pretty remote. Does the dohyo's hanging ceiling get in the way? Do they have big screens like at concerts? :)
Midorifuji is one of my favorites, and the size difference made Shishi pretty indominable. We too have been impressed with Asakoryu. What a perspective you've had. Thanks for sharing!
The hanging ceiling does not get in the way, so there is no real barrier to viewing, but there are also no screens which means no replays or anything. You have to watch the matches intently or you just miss it and don’t get to see it again until you view it online. If you go, I highly recommend being vigilant about getting tickets right when they go on sale, even if that’s like 5am for you. The tickets sell fast, and the website can’t really handle the traffic. It took an hour of me refreshing to finally get my hands on the tickets. It’s really an incredible experience though. You’ll love it! Oh, and I recommend staying in a hotel nearby the arena so you can simply walk to the event without needing to take subways. It’s so much more convenient, and you’re allowed a single “in and out” so if you want to go check out early ranks and leave and come back for higher ranks it’s easy to do.
Thank you! It’s a ways off, but great info!
Wakatakakage has had a very tough set of opponents so far. I remain confident that he will be able to resurrect himself against the rest of the slate.
Quite the dramatic toss of Atamifuji by Shodai! The big guy still has it when he puts his mind to it.
I have to say, watching the video at .25 speed (which I'd never done) was intense. Very cool.