Chasing Sailor Moon: Day 4: Sumo in Fukuoka

Fukuoka, specifically Hakata Station, was about a two hour shinkansen ride from Beppu. It's home to the sumo tournament in November every year. We used http://www.buysumotickets.com/ to purchase our tickets ahead of time while we were still in the States.

We stayed at our first Western style hotel near the station, the bHakata. This was an excellent hotel both in price and location because it allowed us to walk back to the station and grab a bus headed for the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. In general, we were surprised by the affordability of Fukuoka. Our hotel per night cost half of what it cost to stay in Tokyo! The glimpse we got of the city as our bus wound its way to the tournament showed us a modern city. The roadways were wide with plenty of sidewalk room. The buildings were newer. All in all, we got a good vibe from the city.

Ceremony introduction Makuuchi division competitors

Now, onto sumo. The hubby and I really didn't know anything about sumo and wanted to watch it for the novelty, but it quickly became one of his favorite hand-to-hand sports. Fortunately, the ushers at the tournament provided some information in English including a booklet about sumo's history and how the matches are played. The last division, Makuuchi, started at about 3:30 PM so we were there 30 minutes early and got to see some of the previous division's fights.

We were surprised by the lack of filled seats in the stadium, but we were also there very early in the tournament (which lasts 15 days). The stadium had a mixture of seats and floor mats. There were many enthusiastic spectators some carrying man-sized banners with the name of their favorite competitor. Sumo fans are vastly different from fans of American sporting events. There is no wild cheering, booing, chanting, theme songs, waves or anything of the sort, but everyone is equally passionate and extremely focused on the action. For the most part everyone speaks softly and allows others to hear the action and announcements coming from the ring far below. It didn't seem like microphones were used at all. For example, at the beginning of a match a man sings the names of the competitors toward the side on which they enter the ring.

Also unlike American sporting events, the price of beer is not inflated at all. A normal can of beer runs the same as it does in any vending machine, approximately 350 yen.

We both picked our favorites for each match based on their poise and balance as they go through the pre-fight rituals which include a lot of "mental warfare" where they just stare each other down. Sometimes the matches would last but seconds once the two finally engaged. The match is over once one competitor steps or falls out of the ring or falls while inside of the ring. We saw everything from fighters being picked up by their competitor and set outside of the ring to being tossed out and tumbling into the spectators nearby. We also saw one match where it ended in a draw since both fell at the same time. The judges conferred and had them re-do the match! We realized that sumo is not a sport about weight and size. It's about strength, balance, power, and technique.

Random pre-match belt slapping

Ceremonial dance featuring Yokozuna Hakuno

Maybe it was fate, but we happened to be at the tournament on a very special night. It was the night the Yokozuna Hakuho LOST his first match after 63 consecutive wins. He was attempting to beat the all time record of 69 wins during this tournament, but it was not to be. He and his competitor Kisenosato were the last match of the night. They wrestled for quite a while until Kisenosato was able to push him out of the ring. The entire stadium erupted in a standing ovation and cheers. I was somewhat shocked, but I figured it was out of respect to Kisenosato. The Yokozuna title is the highest rank a sumo fighter can achieve--there have been periods in history where no Yokozuna was named. As the tournament is over now, I can safely say that Hakuho went on to win every other match and take the championship title. The news coverage of his loss the next day was significant.

We noticed that the sumo tournament was broadcast on basic TV every night for the last division from 3:30 to 6 PM without commercials, too, throughout the country. Astounding.

We didn't get good pictures of this, but Hakuho had his own cheering section which included a lot of kids. They were all dressed in Mongol garb and held up a Mongolian flag (Hakuho is Mongolian). When we watched the tournament on TV later in the week it seemed like we could hear this section that was still there!

After the tournament we took the bus back to our hotel and set out to find dinner. We happened upon a charming restaurant not too far away that we failed to get the name of. Basically, the picture menu on the outside attracted us in. The staff spoke very little English, and they didn't really have an English menu, but we were able to point to what we wanted which was a set-course meal for two.

Wonderful, delicious food! My favorite was the pork--the broth was incredibly delicious with just the right amount of sweetness. Fukuoka is supposed to be known for its pork-flavored ramen broth.