Golden Week, Day 2: Tokyo

Good morning Tokyo!
We were greeted by this amazing view from our hotel window:

On day 2 we woke up early to head to Ryogoku, a district of Tokyo where most heyas, sumo wrestler stables, are located. Much to our dismay, our trip to Tokyo was one week earlier than the major Tokyo spring sumo competition. But lucky for us, there was a pre-competition sumo practice open to the public at the Ryogoku stadium (main sumo venue) - which many locals took advantage of to go watch. Year round, visitors can also watch sumo practice at private heyas for free. Check out the video below for a sample of what we watched...

Watching sumo worked up our appetites, so next we headed to Ameyoko Market for some lunch. Ameyoko was packed with shoppers and stores, ranging from shoes (some of which I bought, obviously), food stalls, fresh fish, clothing, and more.

Next, we headed to Harajuku, famously known for its "cost-play," visitors can see young teens dressed as characters from various manga and anime. We spotted a couple strangely clad individuals, but the costume shop lined street was mostly jam-packed with tourists.

We concluded our evening with a delicious dinner of shabu-shabu and yakiniku. Shabu shabu, literally translated to "swish swish," is a Japanese style hot pot with veggies and meat. After it finishes cooking at your table, you can eat the contents with a variety of sauces. Yakiniku, "grilled meat," is cook-it-yourself meat of various types. Both were delicious and a terrific way to wrap up our long day.