Sumo!

We were pretty keen on going to see sumo while we were in Japan. This national sport is so iconic and different that it just seemed like a must do. Unfortunately, the tournament in Tokyo only lasts three weeks and the locations in other cities (Nagoya and Osaka) didn't match our time line. We did our research and attempted to get tickets, but they sold out in about an hour of opening. 

You could get resale tickets from sites like Klook, but they were easily four times the price, and for a back row seat, it just didn't seem worth it. It seemed like our chance was over and we just had to be content with the sumo we saw back in May at a local festival. By chance, my friend David travelled around to Osaka and told me about a sumo show he saw there. 

The Sumo Hall Hirakuza Oaska put on a sumo show experience that was as good as we were going to get. We only had two and a bit days in Osaka before we flew home, but I was pretty determined to fit it in. We booked a night session that included a bento dinner to enjoy while you watched. 

The show had an introduction section (explaining the rituals and history), sumo training and a match. The training was impressive, since the sumo are so flexible. Then they had people from the audience "fight" the sumo. The whole thing was very staged, but it was oh so fun. When they announced at the start that people from the audience could sign up for the raffle to fight the sumo, Sophie leapt up immediately and joined the line of men who were putting their names down. 

We enjoyed the show thinking it was pretty unlikely Sophie would be chosen, but lo and behold, her number was drawn from the box! It was hilarious! 

Sumo getting ready for their match.

They took her and three other guys back stage to get ready (into ridiculous, puffy sumo suits) and then the competition began. The three men went first, each choosing a sumo to fight and before being thrown to the ground. When the second guy went down, I turned to Steve and said: "Sophie's going to win this." 

Sophie got up and they asked her name and where she was from. The cheer from the crowd when they heard Australia was huge. She was quite cautious at the start of the match, but the sumo she fought was so fun and great with her and the crowd was cheering so much, soon she was pushing away to try to knock him down. You can watch the video here. 

Rachel's reaction when the match ended was pretty fabulous. 

We were pretty proud of our Sophie for getting up and giving it a go. What a way to finish up our time in Japan! 

This is the story she tells everyone when they ask how was Japan and what was the highlight. 

Got to say, it was a pretty big highlight for me too. So fun!