Sumo and Okinawan Food

Saturday night I went to see sumo wrestling with Nate's friend, Tomoko, and her friend, Demon Kogure, who is a famous singer in Japan who wears make-up kind of like KISS. It was my second time going to sumo, the first time being last year's summer tournament with Nate. This year was exciting because Hakuho, an ozeki-ranked wrestler from Mongolia, won all 15 matches and was promoted to yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo wrestling. After sumo, we went to an Okinawan restaurant where Demon's friend was playing traditional Okinawan music with a stringed instrument that resembles a shamisen, called a sanshin. The food was excellent, as was the music, and we drank a bottle of Okinawan alcohol called awamori (kind of like sake).

My university, along with several others in Tokyo, was closed last week because of an outbreak of measles. Apparently many Japanese people my age were not vaccinated as children, so lots of university students got sick. As a result, I got a nice little vacation, lots of karaoke and hanging out with friends. Next weekend I will go scuba diving in nearby Izu with my university's scuba diving club. I hope the water is not too cold!