Out of necessity, today's blog is going to be a reflection of our schedule this past week .... busy, rushed, all over the place, and long. We have done so much in so little time that it is hard to know where to begin. I will follow blog protocol and reflect upon our latest adventure that included a 7:00 am wake up call, our first Tokyo Couchsurfing * Experience, an attempt to see Sumo, a long journey to watch our first Verdy Beleza game, and dinner at a Izakaya in Ryogoku with 13Couchsurfers representing 6 different nations.
So, a lot to cover and once again not much time. The one thing I was absolutely certain of before coming to Japan was that I wanted to see a Sumo wrestling match. Well, I was in luck because there is a large tournament in Tokyo going on right now. The only problem is, I am not the only one who wants to be a spectator. We woke at 7:00 am yesterday to get to the stadium by 8:30 am to meet up with about 15 Couchsurfers to get the tickets for the day. Unfortunately, at this point, the two cheapest tickets were already sold out .... and since we are traveling on a budget, the next steep price was not one we were willing to pay.
Not all was lost, however, and what could have been a major disappointment actually turned out to our benefit. We had planned our Sumo day on a Monday, the typical day off for Beleza, But since it is currently a national holiday in Japan ( respect your elders day ... I love you Mom and Dad, Molly, and Peter), Beleza actually had a game on Monday instead of it's normal Sunday. With the Sumo plans already in place we thought we were going to have to miss the one opportunity to see Beleza play (all of their following games will be away games). With no Sumo, and tickets already secured for the next days matches, Rebecca and I jumped on the opportunity to surprise our fellow teammates and go to the game. It was fate.
We stopped first to grab breakfast and coffee with our newly made friends from all over the world .... France, Canada, Japan, United States, Greece, and Thailand ..... obviously we had plenty to talk about and luckily it was all in English. As this was going on, we began to make mental plans to journey to see Beleza, Mapping out our route, and creating an ETD.
At around 11:30 am we jetted off to the "home" game that started at 1pm. I put "home" in quotes because a home game is anything but, and from what we had heard it would take us a LONG time to get there (our fellow Couchsurfers were up for coming and then bailed once they saw how far it was). Although at times we had our doubts if we would ever make it (and if we did the game could be over), we pushed on with fortitude, letting nothing stand in our way. After asking six nice Japanese travelers desperately for help, about an hour and a half train ride on the Shohan Shinjuku line (one we had never heard of at that time) and a ten minute taxi ride to the stadium, we had reached our destination.
As we stood staring at the intimidating gates, fate was again on our side. We immediately were approached by a friend of our teammate who was sent out with the mission to find the two wandering Americans that were rumored to be coming to the game. With a personal escort we finally arrive, just before halftime, to loud cheers and a score of Good Guys (Beleza) 1 and Bad Guys 0.
As we were met by smiling fans (we even signed a few autographs), excited teammates, and constant stares (we often feel like zoo animals here), we both felt that the long journey was every bit worth it. The loud cheers of Beleza's raucous fans made us immediately envious of the support that surrounds the team. With a legitimate "cheer leader", matching garb, loud body shaking drums, and coordinated cheers, the Beleza fan section is one we would love to take back with us to the States. They can be heard from miles away as positive chants, claps, and songs flow from their music.
Ninety two minutes later and a final score of 2-0 we are greeted by our teammates with open arms. We are thrilled to share in the joy of victory and even more thrilled with the appreciation of our perseverance (to them it was quite impressive that we made it that far). The day deemed a success, we travel back to Tokyo with our tired yet happy teammates in an effort to meet up with the Couchsurfers we left behind.
Prior to our departure for the game, dinner was planned for an Izakaya (an interactive restaurant with a Sumo pit in the middle where Japanese singers perform for the eating audience) immediately next to the Sumo stadium. The reunion with our new eclectic group of friends provided us with a much needed boost of energy. The group consisted of Japan locals, Japan visitors, teachers, nomad travelers, athletes, salary men, students, and more. Over beer, rice, salad, sushi, and numerous other amazing dishes we all ate, drank, and shared stories of past experiences. We spoke about the greatness of Tokyo, the nuances of Japanese culture, and upcoming events we could all enjoy together. We now have friends to visit all over Japan, both North and South that we plan on staying with on our extended travels after our training season. It was an incredible event that once again reinforced my love for Couchsurfing and provided Rebecca her first but not last real taste of this traveling community.
At about 9pm we headed back home to be greeted by Taejo and resigned to our futons not much later. It was a day of victory, on many accounts, and we looked forward to our adventures of the next ........ TO SUMO WE GO !!!!!!!!!
Much, much more to come .......
Scenes for next blog:
1. Top Quotes
2. Memorable Moments
3. Japanese Bathhouses
4. GanChan Chome
5. Guest appearances
6. Additions to cauSAWAnnabeher
*Couchsurfing: An online traveling community similar to facebook that consists of individuals that seek world wide authentic experiences through culture exchange. A website that has legitimately changed my life and provided some of the most memorable moments of my life in several different countries around the world .
No comments:
Post a Comment