Today was a wonderful day except that I am too small

You want to know why???

Well let's start 2 days ago. On twitter I am following everything about sumo. Well the all thing is in japanese so I understand 1% of it. Mostly I look at the pictures.

But 2 days again the sumokyokai has posted a link from a shrine.

I was wondering… but I know that sumo often do ceremonies in shrine.
So I have copied the text and let it translated: the translation was ok, and saying Friday at 3 pm Hakuho will do a ceremony in the shrine Sumiyoshi in Fukuoka and this is free.

Can you imagine???? No?

OK so today I was very happy and hopping that my information was right.
Because my school was finishing at 2pm20 I have decided to take a taxi.


So quick quick the last course is over, I grab a cab, jump in it.  Well jump is not really the case, because in Japan the door is open automatically, so it was slower than that! Then with my best japanese: こんいちわ　しみぞし　ぎんじゃ　まで　おねがい　します. Then minutes later I was at the shrine. And I was not the only one (I was thinking japanese are always working, so why?????)

There were a lot of official people. Like these 2. I found them very funny :-)

Or him, by the way he was not sleeping, just when I took the photo. But his clothes are very nice

And me there. So you understand why I want to be bigger!!!
I was also thinking japanese are small, but I was surrounded by big guys, that was terrible!!!!

And then he came the great yokuzuna Hahuho. with a black and white traditional clothe, so handsome!!!!!
Then he has done some ceremony in the shrine, but there I was definitively too small to see something :-(
And then he left...

To come back….

To continue the ceremony

 and there, there is nothing to say except wouahhhh
what a man. His legs have the size of my body

and all the girls (well actually old ladies) saying, wouahhhh kirei desu, totem kirei desu!!!!!
Actually I was thinking kirei is only for girls….

I think everybody fall in love.
This was so impressive to see him so closely
The ceremony was so great!!!!!!

There was also ladies in traditional kimonos

And after that everybody saying bye bye

These are priest girls from the shrine

This where the 1st part of the ceremony was held

I managed also to make some videos. There is also the traditional sound from sumo, that I like so much.

Well after so much emotions and pure pleasure and very hot time, it is like 25 degree in Fukuoka and very humid, I went back home!!!

Matsuri in Karatsu

Today is an holiday in Fukuoka and we went in Karatsu with the school to see the matsuri.
Matsuri are kind of carnival. There are some associations and the all year they prepare some floats that they show on that day.
This is the occasion for everybody to meet, eat and drink!!!

The first thing we have visited is the castle in Karatsu:


The castle looks like that in Japan.
Big (many floors) and white.

This one is from 1602

 Most of the time there is nothing to see inside, but in this one they were some paintings

and some armors.
This is always nice to see, but a bit scary no???











Here some views of the city:

 The city is near the sea and you can see some islands nearby

 One koy, this fish very emblematic in Japan.

Some vegetation, as you see very green. It means: It is raining!!!!
But ok today the weather was great.

Maybe a bit to great, I think I have a red face now!!!!!!





And then we went to the matsuri. I spent the day with Sophie a german co-student, who is also living in Zürich, did I say how many swiss people are in the school (unbelievable!!!!):

As you see these one of the float. This is quite big.
In this matsuri they were many of them.

Some guys are having an easy job, just staying at the top and telling the others what to do.

Oh it remember me something…..

These festivals are for everybody, young, old, women and men.

And of yours and because we are in Japan, there are many things to eat.

This one is one of my favorite: Tako yaki: this is a batter with octopus.
This is the kind of junk food you find in a matsuri

And now more closer

This is delicious even if my picture show something a bit ugly!!!!

I found this guy very interesting, if I was not in the matsuri I would I thought I am near a sado-maso club

But no, this guy is ok :-)

Easy job too, but the interesting part is the bandage that they have. This is very representative from Japan.
I like it very much!!!!!

In each float they play some music with the flute and some drums and they also sing
You can enjoy it in the videos later….

Well we very not the only one there.

But lucky us, the japanese are rather small, so we can see very well!!!!

Yeah life is not always easy and this hot today :-)

The traditional/modern Japan
They always have their cell phone

Well I have mine too, but nobody to call :-(

Ok that one is the not easy job part.
These guys are pulling the float and these things are very heavy

and this is the same for all ages
And please follow the rules.

One of them was not dress correctly, mama mia this was a story :-)

Some of the nice floats

The chicken was the most scary one:-))))

Most of the time, the matsuri are organized from shrines
So these are the traditional clothes

I find them beautiful, colorful, I especially like the hat





And now some videos, watch out the sound :-)

After that we went to a big supermarket where I have tried many things:
Red beans cakes (delicious), jasmine tee, nori tee: the water was great, ocean feeling but the nori inside, was for me terrible, like with some glue around oops difficult to eat :-), some dried fishes, …

very nice

After all these adventures I was dead and red
So just went to my place and rated at my cafet (no I am not eating all day, but I know some people that do:-))

You can find more pictures in the Japan page!!!

The food

If you have ever been to Japan, you should know that one of the most important thing here is the food.
When japanese go on holidays somewhere they don't send postcard but the bring some miyage (みざげ).
You can buy them everywhere, especially in the train station.

So let's look at some food stories:

Yoshinoya:


Yoshinoya ist a fast food company.
You have them everywhere in Japan.
So when you see this kind of orange building this is one of them!!!!!

In there you have this kind of food. This is called tondon.
This is a bowl with some rice and some pork.


You can choose different size of bowl and some menus (with soup, egg, …)

 

And as you see this extremely expensive :-)

This is very easy to go in this fast food:

The menu has pictures of the meal

Sometimes you use a vending machine or a staff member will ask you what you want.

This is a vending machine.
You find it in many restaurant.

Put the money press your choice and you've got a ticket

Half a milli second after a staff member is coming

And a few minutes later you have the food :-)

In these restaurant you find mainly men and me :-)

Most of the people are eating alone, this is very often the case in Japan, so everybody is looking at his phone or iPod in my case!!!

Bref this one is my favorite

And you know what, I have a big one 2 minutes away from my place, open 24 hours!!!!! Just in case :-)

My Breakfast

Where I live ( a girl dorm) I can have the breakfast if I want.
This is my cantine :-)
And no you are not dreaming this is my breakfast:
Steak,  spaghetti (with parmesan chisu if I want :-), the chisu is very important in the story, this is cheese in Japanese), toast, salad, soup and a green tee.

At my place the breakfast are very lunch oriented!!!

There is always a soup, tee and vegetables.

Last time I had an egg with french fries
Sometimes it is a bit hard for the morning, but it gives energy for the rest of the day!!!!!








Vending machines:


In Japan you will find these vending machines everywhere. And when I say everywhere that's  really everywhere!!!

There you have all kind of drinks: Soft drinks, strange drinks, energetic drinks and of course coffee.
Japanese are crazy about coffee, they drink a lot of it.

As you can see some of the drinks have a red sticker. It means that this is hot.

Yes, yes, the can is heated, and you can have your hot coffee.

This is so great!!!!

My favorite is the cherry drink :-)


 My lunch

Today I went near my school, there is an arcade an plenty of restaurant.
So I choose Tempura!!!
I took the menu with the soup.

Very important in Japan, you always have a drink included: water or tee.

For lunch I had this barley tee, this has a special taste, very strange at the beginning.


So now I am getting hungry, I will goo to have some food :-) itadakimasu いただきます

 

I can not remove these blank lines everywhere, tonight this is not working so fine :-)

Sumo

Today I saw my first sumo!!!!!!!!!!
Ok it was a juryo, but better than nothing :-)

I have no pictures, but it was like that.

On my way home, not so far from my place, a sumo in red yukata is riding a bicycle having his phone on his hand. And being very fast.

Wouahhhhhh just so great!!!!
I know that the sumo are in town :-)

Next time I hope that I can take pictures!!!!!

My Phone

So for my first part of Japan trip I have rented a phone.

Hopefully the company is for foreigners so there is an explication of the phone in english :-)

Can be very difficult otherwise!!!

So this is my phone:

I like it very much, the black color is so nice. And this phone is very Japan typical: square form, glancing. The only thing missing are these straps. You know these small figurines that you can put at your phone. Some Japanese (girls and boys from every age) have a lots of them in their phone

Look at that: www.strapya-world.com/

 but as you see mine is very sober, he is too european, I will see what I can do :-)

normal characters but also some hiragana, this is one of the alphabet in Japan.
There are 3 of them :-)
Who said it is easy!!!!








And look: my phone have a small characters doing different things depending on what I am doing.
And this is an aries. Is this a coincidence or because they know my birthdate they put this one? Who knows

So now I am waiting for the calls :-)