I made sure our last full day in Japan would be one to remember. I scheduled a live Kabuki performance, the famous Fish Market, and the final day of matches for the September Sumo Basho! Are you ready for this?
First thing in the morning we queued up to get sumo tickets. The general admission seats cannot be bought in advance. Even though the show didn’t start until the afternoon you gotta get there right at dawn to make sure you get your seats!
After we snagged three nosebleed tickets we headed towards the Fish Market. On the way we came across this TOTALLY Japanese concept car, the Nissan Pivo.
Because Japan is a very silly place, they had a cute model sitting in the Pivo making the cockpit rotate left and right all day long while she smiled and waved at passersby. Nice job, lady!
At the fish market we got a chance to see some of the giant tuna being prepared from close-up. That was amazing. Try and imagine all the plates of sushi this badboy could provide…
I also brought my folks to a famous knife-making shop. Japanese are dead-serious about their cutlery. Provided you have the cash, this place will make you a custom knife while you wait. If you’ve got slightly less cash you can just snag one from a display case. They’re all excellent to begin with so it can hardly be considered a loss!
Finally it was time for some lunchie-munchies. A bowl of tuna sashimi atop rice is one of my favorite Japanese dishes.
After lunch it was Kabuki time. If you’re not familiar with Kabuki please check out the awesome Wikipedia article. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the theater, so this external shot is all you get:
Take it from me, your trusted Japan travel expert, Kabuki is awesome and not to be missed! (It’s also quite affordable)
Finally, it was time for SUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Kotoushu, my favorite wrestler, lost the final match to Asashoryu, the reigning Yokozuna, but it was still a fantastic day. Sumo is fun on TV but absolutely compelling in person. Mom bought little Sumo chocolates, I think she enjoyed herself!