Mortal Coil

Japan so far:

• Tokyo
• Hakone and Nara

After the forested temples of Nara Park, a short train ride brought us back into modernity with a bang and deposited us right into the middle of the buzzing burg of Osaka. Later, we moved on to Fukuoka to catch the yearly sumo tournament.

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OSAKA

Osaka is a paradox – a city with seemingly little to see from a typical tourist’s viewpoint, but a city that remains nonetheless very compelling. Aside from Osaka Castle and a couple of other attractions, the main pull for Osaka has a rather more hedonistic bent. This is, after all, the city which boasts a special word for “eat until you drop” and the same might be said of the attitude towards drink. More working-class and street-food-oriented than its big brother Tokyo, less stuffy than its neighbour Kyoto, Osaka is proudly brash and boldly neon.

To get it out of the way: yes, we did visit Osaka Castle. Sadly, we did so having suffered the after effects of our first night out in Osaka, so we might not have been best placed to appreciate a seven story climb through a museum stuffed to the rafters with Japanese pensioners and with little in the way of English commentary. We did however appreciate the walk, and the obligatory green-tea ice cream cone in the park outside.

Osaka Castle Moat

Osaka Castle and Autumn Colours

Osaka Castle and Autumn Colours

But, dear reader, the main event in Osaka is the nightlife. This is truly a city that looks better when the sun goes down and the neon signs ignite. Ridley Scott famously quoted night-time Osaka as his inspiration when designing Blade Runner, and he returned here to make the Michael Douglas-starring yakuza drama “Black Rain”. In any case, we enjoyed galavanting up and down the Dotonbori canal and main street, and even ventured far enough abroad to Shinsekai, the dodgier end of town, to go up a pointless viewing platform in a faux-Eiffel Tower and eat many varieties of fried foods. A good time was had by all.

Osaka Canal Reflection

Glico Man, Osaka

Glico Man Reflection, Osaka

Dontonbori Sign, Osaka

Hozenji Yokocho, Dotonbori, Osaka

Shinsekai neighbourhood, Osaka

Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku Tower, Osaka

Of course, we occasionally saw the dark side of hedonism (or perhaps Japan’s ever-fluctuating economy) and Osaka had its fair share of down-and-outs, including this poor chap:

Homeless Man under Overpass, Osaka

FUKUOKA

After a couple of nights’ liver damage, and a daily rate of one okonomiyaki per person (which is frankly unsustainable) we moved on to Fukuoka, a medium sized city at the north end of the southern island of Kyushu. Fukuoka is another place one could reasonably say held little in the tourist-magnet department in terms of sightseeing, but for those of a foodie persuasion, Fukuoka is a bit of a mecca. Not only is it the home of the lovely and very-bad-for-you Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen, but there are also heaps of street food vendors in stalls called yatai lining the many waterways running through the centre of the town.

Yatai food stalls along the river, Fukuoka

The main reason we had for coming to Fukuoka, aside from the lovely food, was to visit the 2012 Fukuoka Grand Sumo competition on its penultimate day. I had been to this same competition in 2007 but timing then meant that I could only stay for the midday session, when the lower-ranking rikishi (fighters) had their bouts in front of an empty hall. This time, we had ensured that we arrived in Osaka with enough time to enjoy the full afternoon of competition, being able to see the higher echelons of competitors in the juryou and maku-uchi divisions (the latter including the highest class of Yokozuna). This time, as the afternoon wore on, the crowd filled in and the hall was soon filled with raucous cheering, no doubt enhanced by copious amounts of beer and sake being consumed in the seats and boxes all round. This was definitely a higher class of sport than what I had previously witnessed.

Sumo Rikishi outside Fukuoka Kokusai

Rikishi entering, Fukuoka Kokusai

Fukuoka Kokusai

Entrance of the Juryou Rikishi, Fukuoka Kokusai

Juryou Rikishi sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Juryou Rikishi sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Juryou Rikishi throwing salt, Fukuoka Kokusai

Juryou Rikishi sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Juryou Rikishi sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Entrance of the Maku-uchi Rikishi, Fukuoka Kokusai

Maku-uchi class sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Fans enjoying sumo, Fukuoka Kokusai

Maku-uchi class sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Maku-uchi class sumo match viewed from the fighter’s tunnel, Fuk

Maku-uchi class sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Maku-uchi class sumo match, Fukuoka Kokusai

Entrance of the Maku-uchi Rikishi, Fukuoka Kokusai

Next time we’re going to venture south into Kyushu, into rolling grasslands, volcanic lakes, burbling hot springs, and samurai castles…. see you then!