Sumo Wrestling: The Best Way to Start Your Day
With the Tokyo Marathon quickly approaching, we decided to slow our roll just a bit. This week join us as we unpack one of our last two days in Japan including visiting the restaurant wrecked by the Crazy 88s, and walking the Shibuya Crossing. Oh and of course, Sumo Wrestling: The Best Way to Start Your Day!
Starting the Day by Running with the Sumos
Traveling in the off-season has it’s benefits:
- Less tourists
- Better views
- Ability to get seating at restaurants
But it also has some down sides, like missing out on some of the big draws of tourist season. For Tokyo, this included the blooming of the cherry blossoms and for us, watching Sumo wrestling. Not wanting to miss out completely, Stephen’s morning run route took him by the Ryogoku Kokugikan National Sumo Arena.
On to the Expo
After enjoying our typical breakfast of salad, curry rice and coffee, it was time to head over to the Tokyo Big Sight Expo Center to pick up Stephen’s bib, race shirts and Covid tests. Though it was a week day and the public transit was packed, we were so AMAZED at how orderly every thing was…even during rush hour.
We arrived about 30 minutes before the doors opened, joining in the queues for the runners and spectators. When the doors promptly opened at 10, the volunteers lined up and applauded the runners walking into the hall. It was a pretty cool moment, even as just a lowly Sherpa, who holds the gear.
We heard later that the lines to get into the expo were hours long so we were pretty happy with our life choices.
Lunch at the Kill Bill Restaurant
As fans of the movie, Kill Bill, we were stoked to find out that the iconic restaurant fight scene between Uma Thurman (aka The Bride) and the Crazy 88’s was based on a real restaurant in Tokyo and that were were able to finagle reservations for lunch! Check out Gon Pachi! Not only was the vibe lively, the food was AH-MAZING. And weirdly, the lunch crowd seemed to be locals rather than tourists, which works for us.
Watching the Craziness at Shibuya Crossing
So to be honest, I expected all of Tokyo to be like Shibuya Crossing…sort of Times Square on steroids. But as I’m sure you saw in the past weeks, Japan was scenic, orderly and peaceful. Having experienced all of that, we felt it was time to mix in! We crossed first on the diagonal walk and then went up to see it from the Shibuya Sky observation deck.
Not only did we have an amazing 360 view of Tokyo, the sky deck had a helipad, a compass to help you identify major landmarks and hammocks to kick back and watch the clouds roll by.
Ending the day with music, friends and wine
As the day progressed, the weather took a cold turn and we battled wind and rain most of our way home. Happy to be indoors, we were just about ready to call it a night, when we got a text that some friends wanted to meet up for a drink. What could we do but gear up and head out? We ended the night at St. George’s bar, where we talked running, drank wine and listened to a wonderful jazz trio.
Join us next time as we unpack our visit with Godzilla and share about the collision in the crevice…all on the road to Tokyo Marathon!
This week, Stephen is heading out to Las Vegas and Zion National Park for a trail relay race. Be sure to follow his adventures on Instagram at The__Travel__Oracle or if you like our curated content right in your mailbox, subscribe for free today!
