No Shrine Left Behind

View from the Osaka Castle Hotel

They blew into Tokyo with the hunger of a tornado, and within minutes of touching down began devouring its neighborhoods without mercy. By the end of their first full day here, they had ticked off their sightseeing list what had taken us months to see! Tokyo didn't stand a chance against these two.

Meet my sister-in-law, Lorraine, and her son, Cameron! I don't see them nearly enough, so it was especially fun to welcome them to our city, if only for a short visit of less than a week. (I'll take what I can get, and the kids were thrilled to see their aunt and cousin again!) Time constraints did not seem to limit their excursions, and when asked what they had seen on a given day, perhaps a better question might have been what didn't they see!

At Cameron's suggestion, we traveled to Osaka to attend Day 7 of a 15 day sumo wrestling tournament. How fortunate that their visit coincided with one of the six tournaments held during the year! After three hours of brow-raising incredulity at the spectacle of multiple rounds of sumo, I firmly believe there is no better place than the Bodymaker Colosseum of Osaka to bond with your sister-in-law.  We were amazed and somewhat mystified at this interesting, time-honored art!  It is much more complicated than I would have imagined and we were awe-struck by both the agility of the wrestlers as well as the ritual of the bouts. 

The ring-entering ceremony

Victors are decided in a matter of seconds, with the the elaborate pre-match ceremonies taking longer than the contests themselves. There was plenty of salt-throwing, foot-stamping, chest-slapping - all in the name of purification and intimidation. I was plenty intimidated!

Note the agility.  I could no more squat 

like that than I could tie a knot in my leg.

In the world of sumo, you truly never know who will win.
The wrestlers are clever and quick!

Prior to returning to Tokyo, we toured Osaka Castle, originally built in 1583. Lightning, fires, battles, and wars have not been kind to this structure, but it requires little effort to imagine what was once an imposing and impressive stronghold.

The return from Osaka to Tokyo was blissfully unremarkable and a welcome departure from our train ride the day before.  The rocking of the shinkansen had not agreed with Evelyn, and she let them know exactly what she thought of the ride just as we were exiting the train. (What a way to start the weekend!)

Feeling much better, thank you!

We miss Cameron's watchful eye and protective nature.
He was a big help, not to mention a lot of fun!

I am convinced that Lorraine brings a little magic wherever she goes. Things have a way of just turning out when you are with her! Did I not just lament the elusive Fujisan in my last post? Look who shyly greeted us on our train ride home!

Thanks for the visit, Lorraine and Cameron, and for bringing a little magic our way!