For the second trip, we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, to watch Sumo wrestling and to do some shopping in Shinjuku!
It was exciting to take the train, as in my home city in Mexico we use car or bus, but we don’t have trains. I am amazed how it connects all Japan and makes traveling more easy. As soon as we arrived , we went to the Museum. It was incredible to experience being part of ancient Japan, I was particularly excited about the temporal of the “Ukiyo e” as I feel that art is the best way of portraying the history of a country; we went around looking at all different kind of interesting objects of the Edo period in Japan. From books to fire extinguishers, to old toys and miniature and normal size houses, I got to get a glimpse of Japanese tradition. It was also the first time in the museum for Yuma, Shirasu and Yoshiaki, so they were really excited too. Ukiyo e was incredible, I like a lot how the manage the color in each painting and the attention to details, the paintings were absolutely beautiful.
After the Museum, we were really hungry, so we went to eat “chanko nabe”, the portion was huge! We had a really delicious meal and a good talk of various themes. I feel really happy that we can understand each other so well and share these moments, stories, photographs and more.
I happen to like japanese cuisine a lot! I like how some food can be cooked by yourself while you talk or spend time with your friends and I also find it very interesting.
We went to see the Sumo wrestling! That was the moment I was the most excited to see! I am not really fond of sports but Sumo is totally different; you could feel the excitement of all the people cheering for their favorite wrestler. People of different ages were gathered, there were also foreigners. I was blown away by the ritual to start the fight, it was really solemn and respectful, it was contagious. Each action or gesture of the wrestler conveys different meanings to ward off evil spirits and I am glad to see how Sumo it’s really true to Japanese traditions. The fights were interesting, brief and they were really exciting! I was on the edge with each fight! Sumo wrestler are very strong and great athletes, after watching Sumo for the first time, I can say I am a fan! The fights were stunning and I was really happy to spend it with my friends here!
Final part of the trip was to Shinjuku, which is totally different from Sagamihara! We went to buy some things we need for the third field trip! I was impressed by all the lights and how many people walks on the street!
We took a short break on a coffee shop and on a bar, where I tried “unagi” (eel) for the first time. It was delicious!
We talked and we shared japanese and spanish words, so I bet I would speak a better japanese in a few weeks!
