Finishing last night's post.

So the rest of my amazing day.
First, Sumo. I actually really enjoyed it. You heard me, I sat at a sporting event for 4 hours and liked it. The guys are amazingly powerful. It reminded me for all the world of all those Animal Planet specials where the water buffalo bulls go clashing into each other. Huge but fast and agile. And I got a little radio with English commentary on it, which helped me figure out some of the finer points of the sport. But the highlight (at least for the two announcers) was when the goji (official dressed in a bright and elaborate kimono) tripped and went flying out of the ring into the battery of photographers. The former wrestler on the commentary team thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. But for me, the highlight was the yokozunas. Those are the top guys in the sport. It's a title kind of like "prima ballerina" - it's an honorific that you can never lose once you've got it, unlike something like "champion," which only lasts as long as you can hold the title. So these guys have won tons of tournaments to get where they are. There were two yokozunas fighting last night, and each one of them comes out and does a short ceremony to show off what big, bad dudes they are. It's a lot of macho posturing, but with more dignity and less clothing. The yokozuna vs. yokozuna match was amazing. Usually they're over in a flash, but these guys were so skilled and well-matched that it went on for over a minute. So sumo has a new fan.
After that, I dashed onto the subway to catch the last act of the kabuki show. I was wishing I'd gotten the English commentary, because I missed a lot in the dialogue. I got the general idea, but since a lot of the comedy was based on verbal wit, I missed a lot of the jokes. But it was still very cool to watch. A word to my Colonial Chorus people: I have a new plan for how to deal with Techs getting seen. Do what the kabuki guys do and just dress them as ninjas. Nobody seems to think twice about seeing a ninja slinking across the stage, and if they do, they'll get a kick out of it...at least I did. The other highlight of the evening was the geisha. Two of them were being shown to their seats by way of the orchestra pit area, so everybody got a good look at them. Apparently they're rare in Tokyo, because everybody leaned out over the railing to get a closer look. So real live geisha! Cool!
After that I went to Starbucks for another lavendar tea and journal-updating session, and from there on to the onsen for another bath before bed. Man, I love a good hot spring. Maybe I'll move to Iceland...they're everywhere up there... :)
Today was a very relaxed day. I walked through the imperial gardens, and the weather decided to do me a little favor. It's been unseasonably warm around here the past few days, so a couple cherry trees got confused and bloomed. They're beautiful, and when you bury your face in a bough full of blooms (which I'm not ashamed to do), they smell heavenly. A couple elderly ladies walking and admiring a few paces behind me agreed...sugoi. Excellent. So in spite of the fact that I visited out of season, I got to do a little sakura viewing after all. My luck is extraordinary. I can't believe it - blossoms in January!
After that it was off to a little shrine, feeling most peaceful and relaxed, and then back to the Kabuki-za for one more show. This one needed no explanation. It was a dancer mourning over lost love. It was exquisite. If you've seen Memoirs of a Geisha, the dance she does must have been inspired by this one. It's a woman walking in a snowy landscape, complete with snowfall. She's dressed in beautiful kimono (which change like magic in an instant with the pull of a few strings), and the lighting is very dark and ominous. As the dance went on, she became more and more wild with grief. Her elaborately done hair fell out and she ended it looking as if she'd run out of the house into the snow in her nightshirt. It was amazingly performed, and their lighting and set designer deserve a medal. Beautiful. Exactly what I was hoping to see while I was here....you can't beat it.
Tonight I'm staying in a capsule hotel. I'm tired of the smoky-smelling place I'm staying now, so I figured I'd try out the capsule thing...should be interesting. But supposedly I have a TV in my cube...I can watch CNN! Yay! Maybe I can catch some inauguration coverage in the morning!! Bye bye Lonesome George!