What a day!

First, I want to tell you about two things that are awesome. Starbucks lavendar tea lattes, and onsens. I hate to plug the evil conglomerate, but you can't get that stuff anywhere else. Remind me why America stopped using flowers in its food?
Onsens are amazing. I've been to one in the neighborhood the past two nights. Nothing like a trip to the sauna followed by a meter-deep, scalding hot mineral bath to recharge the batteries. America needs more public baths. You walk outta there feeling like a million bucks. Did I mention America needs them? If Japan brought us the concept of death from overwork as a corporate drone, it also brought the ultimate de-stressing mechanism. We should follow their example...on the bathing...not the stress...

Anyway, I woke up early this morning and went to the wholesale fish market. I missed the auction, apparently it's insanely early as opposed to "really early," which is when I got there. Then, since I was there, I waited in line (with a film crew, interestingly) for the sushi place on the dock. It was the most amazing sushi I've ever had. It was actually beautiful to look at. It was so fresh it gleamed (I'm sorry Nikki...I know it's because it was alive not so long ago...I know you're cringeing as you read this). But it was delicious. The texture was so delicate, and the salmon tasted like what think heaven probably tastes like. Incredible. Worth the hour-long wait.

After that, I took the subway up to the sumo stadium and got nosebleed seats to the tournament. Turns out they're pretty good seats! Since I was there so early, it was still amateur hour, so I went to the Tokyo-Edo museum to kill some time (great collection there). Then it was sumo time! I hung out by the South Gate with the superfans getting pictures of the wrestlers as they came up. Then I went in to my seat for the grand parade of giant wrasslers. It was awesome. So much pageantry and tradition. I loved it up. And it turns out I kind of like sumo wrestling itself, too. I'll explain more later, because they're trying to close up shop here (it's midnight and I've been going all day!).
But it was awesome. I loved it, then I went to see some Kabuki. Which was also awesome. G'nite! More when they're not shutting the lights out on me...!