I'm Coming Home!!

The last few days have been a whirlwind of traveling/getting up at the crack of dawn. I went to the Fushimi Inari shrine, a stunning shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of rice. There are four kilometers of torii gates line up one after another, almost touching in places. The wooden gates are replaced every ten years, by corporate sponsorship - the company that pays for the replacement has its name engraved on black on the torri gate in question.

After one last dinner out with Yashi, it was time to leave Kyoto. I woke up early the next morning to go to the Toji flea market, a not-to-be-missed monthly event that happened to coincide with my departure date. The market was held on the Toji temple grounds, with stall after stall peddling everything imagineable. Lots of secondhand kimonos that were awfully tempting except for how HEAVY they are! I picked up some smaller, lighter things, as well as the best mochi I've ever eaten, made by this guy:

His wife was helping him at the stand, and didn't speak any English. She asked me in Japanese where I was from and I responded "San Francisco." She chatted happily away in Japanese while I smiled and nodded and feigned comprehension. Five minutes later, her husband asked if I was from America and you should have heard her laughingly scold him for not paying attention! It transcended the languaged barrier as she shook her head and clucked at him: "San Francisco!" They were an adorable couple - and their peanut powder-dusted mochi was pillowy-soft. Oishi!

I then hauled my backpack through the now torrential rain downpour to the Kyoto station for my second Shinkansen ride. A mere two hours later, I arrived in Tokyo, dropped my backpack off, and hit the streets. I had bought a ticket back in Kyoto for the sumo tournament, and was eager to see my first match. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but it was AMAZING! The stadium was immense yet sold out, and the thrill of the crowd was electrifying. The actual wrestling only lasted seconds but the crowd would be on the edge of its collective seat for that time, roaring as the wrestlers surged first to one side of the ring, then to the other, before one finally stepped out. Or fell out, as happened more than once, resulting in a 400 lb wrestler falling on some observer in the coveted first row of ringside seats.

This morning I woke up early again to see the Tsukiji fish market. Row after row of stalls peddling their fish, eel, octopi, scallops - all so fresh that there's no fishy smell. In the back of the market are the auctions, where immense fish are laid out and examined by prospective buyers. It was an incredibly hectic atmosphere, both at the auction and in the aisles between stalls, as men on motorized carts and pushing wheelbarrows ran up and down the aisles delivering fish to their buyers.

It's been a great trip, but I'm ready to head home. I live for the airport in two hours, and have a fun fun fun eleven hour flight to look forward to!