Changes

I spend my morning packing up my stuff and checking out.  Instead of taking off for the airport, I get to lug my luggage (now I know why they call it that) into work.  I padded my time to make sure the check out went OK and that I could get through security in the building.  Well, reception was dead and check out was a breeze.  Security only stops you if you don’t have an access card.  I did so up I went, 30 minutes early.  No problem, I have work to do while people may not be in so I don’t bug them.

Around 10 minutes after 9:00AM and no one in the office, I begin to wonder if this office is like the ones in the states and this is an off-Friday.  Crap.  Well, I can’t check in to my new hotel until 2:00PM and I’m sure as heck not going to go hauling this crap around the city with me.  A few minutes later, everyone comes lumbering in to start work.

I work, I do IT stuff, etc.  Around the end of lunch time (everyone just grabbed food at the convenience store along with me.  Still good though), one of the guys that has been here forever starts chatting with me about the September Sumo Tournament going on right now and how much fun it was when he went years ago.  This will probably be his last trip and last weekend here in Japan, so we both decide it would be a kick ass thing to try and go see.  It is the second to last day and the top 3 tiers are competing and there is some excitement brewing around the rookie, Ichinoji.  He’s been beating the yokozuna (grand masters) and for a rookie to make it this far in the tournament is rare.  The last rookie to win a tournament was in May 1914, 100 years ago.

So much for my boring plans of walking a garden area near the Imperial Palace and the shopping district near Tokyo Station.  I’ll do that Sunday, or go to Akihabara, or Kamakura.  Thoughts?

The problem with wanting to go see the event tomorrow (Saturday), is that it has been sold out for weeks.  However, there are the general admission seats that go on sale the day of the event.  So, I will be trying to do that.  I have to be at the Ginza Station near my hotel at 5:09 AM.  That is very early.  So I do not have a lot of time to explore for dinner.

I check in to the hotel after guessing the right way to go and get into my room at 4:05, just in time to figure out how to tune into today’s sumo matches among the top two tiers.

Since I had little time and I just spent two hours watching sumo, I just went to that awesome sushi place, Itamae Sushi, that I had for lunch on Monday and had a new dish: Pickled Tuna rice bowl with a spicy tuna roll and miso soup (replete with shrimp head, woot!).  Man, this place never disappoints.  Back at the hotel, relaxing, and writing to you guys by 8:00.

I am hoping that tomorrow’s post will be all about the sumo tournament.  Changes can be nice.  Oh, and my room number here at the New Otani is 888.  Very lucky.