On our way to Tokyo today! And another day of adventures and new experiences. Assorted public transportation conveyances and lots of walking brought us to our hotel where we would be staying while in Tokyo.

Just a few pictures from our walk to the hotel. They were not ready for us to checkin, so what’s the next best thing? Lunch! and then we would be off to the Hokusai Museum.

I am sure that you recognize this picture? It is Japan’s most famous artwork! A woodblock print of the Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai. Do you see Mt. Fuji in the middle of the picture? This is the most famous piece from his 36-views of Mount Fuji.

Now it was time to check into our rooms and then it was off to our early evening adventure which would be a sumo-wrestling match!

Along our walk to the Ryogoku KokugiKan Sumo Hall.

Waiting to get into the sumo hall! Looks like this is quite a popular event!

This is a suspended Shinto-style roof over the dohyo, which is the ring where the match occurs…and according to Wikipedia:

“The dohyō (土俵) is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyō is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.

A new dohyō is built prior to each tournament by the yobidashi, who are responsible for this activity. The dohyō is removed after each tournament, and in the case of Nagoya, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs. The yobidashi also build the dohyō for training stables and sumo touring events.”

The kensho banners are the advertisers for each bout. The more importance of the bout, the more advertisers there are!

It was a very enjoyable experience!

Time to move on and who do I find myself waking behind? You would think that they would have better bags than what they are carrying?

Another fabulous evening of Shabu-Shabu as we entered the restaurant, Hananomai.

The table was all set and it was such a feast for the eyes! This was different from last night as the vegetables for the shabu-shabu were already in the pot, just waiting to be cooked.

and there were these additional plates of delicous morsels that accompanied our meals.

and then when that was over…more food just kept coming and coming! I was sitiing here with Pat, a BFF and since she’s not a fan of the raw seafood, it left more for me.

We were all looking away as we quickly learned that this was…

where the sumo wrestlers in traning came to practice!

All too soon this fun-filled evening was over and time to go to the hotel and turn in. A few of us needed to do laundry though…

and thanks to Debby for these 2 pictures! We all got a kick out of the scenery…

Goodnight Tokyo!

and for now, I will say…sayonara