When you go to Japan, you must attend a Sumo match because it’s a traditional japanese sport. Baseball may be big in Japan but Sumo Wrestlers are bigger, literally and figuratively. :)
The sport is surrounded by ceremony and ritual. The Japanese consider Sumo a gendai budō: a modern Japanese martial art, even though the sport has a history spanning many centuries.
The Sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days Sumo was used in the Shinto religion.
Sumo Wrestling
The basic rule of Sumo is very simple; the first sumo that touches the floor with something else apart from his sole or leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. The fights usually last about a few seconds and its very rare for it to last for up to 1 min or longer.
Six tournaments are held each year and each tournament lasts 15 days. I don’t know how many fights go on in one day with each fight lasting a few seconds. I think they must be many fights but there are also the traditional rituals held before and after a match as well. It’s definitely something that’s worth experiencing.
Three of the 15 tournaments is held in Tokyo (Jan, May, Sept), and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November).
Beppu is known for its hot springs resorts. There seems to be a variety of hot springs for your try out there, i.e. the sand baths. The hot springs are divided into two kinds - the onsen (for bathing) and the Jigoku or directly translated to Hell (for viewing). I guess if you were to bath in a Jigoku you’d die cos it’s too hot?
Anyway, the most popular nine (also the most touristy) hells are as followed:
* Umi Jigoku
The “sea hell” features a pond of hot, blue water.
* Oniishibozu Jigoku
This hell is named after the mud bubbles which emerge from boiling mud pools and look like the shaven heads of monks.
* Shiraike Jigoku
This hell features a pond of hot, milky water.
* Chinoike Jigoku
The “blood pond hell” features a pond of hot, red water.
* Tatsumaki Jigoku
This hell features a boiling hot geyser which erupts every 25-30 minutes for about five minutes.
The most famous Onsen in Beppu is the Takegawara Onsen. It offers a variety of hot springs and pool that will satisfy patrons of all taste.
Beppu is best accessed from Kokura Station, which is the last station on the Sanyo Shinkansen before the Hakata terminal in Fukuoka (about 5 1/2 hours from Tokyo by hikari shinkansen). From Kokura Station, there are two direct limited express trains to Beppu per hour. The one way trip takes about 75 minutes and costs 4,090 Yen.
It is also possible to use slower local trains to reach Beppu from Kokura, however, one transfer of trains is necessary, and there are only about three good connections per day. The one way trip by local trains takes twice to three times longer than by limited express, but it costs only 2,420 Yen.
Kyūshū (九州) is the southernmost of the 4 main islands of Japan. The climate is slightly warmer and more tropical than Honshu, and the southern and eastern coasts are regularly battered by typhoons each year. The terrain is generally mountainous with very fertile valleys much like the rest of Japan, except for the wide plain area at the top of the island - the location of the largest city area of Fukuoka and Kitakyushu.
Regions
There are 7 prefectures on Kyushu, plus nearby Okinawa:
Fukuoka — Home of Fukuoka city, the “Capital” of Kyushu
Saga — Small and rustic, famous for pottery and pre-historic village ruins
Nagasaki — Hilly city with more than it’s fair share of history - major “foreigners port” during the closed-Japan period, and victim of the 2nd US atomic weapon attack during World War II
Oita — Rural area well known for abundant onsen hot springs especially Beppu
Kumamoto — Center of the isle of Kyushu, location of the Aso caldera, largest in the world, and the beautiful Amakusa chain of islands
Miyazaki — The surfers’ destination of Japan - big beaches, big waves
Kagoshima — Dominated by the Sakurajima volcano, hot enough to grow sugarcane, get buried on hot-sands beaches, two famous islands of Yakushima and Tanegashima
Okinawa — corals and fish! about 1 hour flight from main land Kyushu. Once an independent Kingdom leading the South-Asian sea-trade. Once governed by US. the island has a mixed culture between the West, Japan and Okinawa. Very different from the rest of the country. One of the most popular destinations for summer vacation in Japan.
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