I want sumo fans to go to Japan and enjoy the sport (and the country) first hand. I also hope to expose more English speakers already in Japan to the sumo world. In that vein, I will offer my recommendations and encourage others to do the same. But, be open and frank with your relationship to the service and/or restaurant. Let’s face it, it’s very different to hear a recommendation from a customer, employee, owner or paid spokesperson. All I need to do is point at a supermodel and say, #FyreFestival, and you should get my point:
General recommendations and advise are always helpful, and I’ve got a few of those I’m going to share with you now. Don’t expect the same level of “food customization” that we have in the US.
The “Have it your way” philosophy just doesn’t seem to have taken off over there. In many cases, it’s easiest to do the “omakase” (chef’s recommendation), but have an open mind. And if you’re crazy like me, and open to eating stuff that even native Japanese don’t touch, like eel heads, 白子, 馬刺し, or grilled rooster comb, it should go without saying not to whinge afterwards. BTW, 馬刺し and grilled rooster comb are awesome. Just for the record.
So, I’m going to create a page for travel-related recommendations to focus on the four sumo venues: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. It will be in the menu bar next to the link to the Youtube video, for easy access. I know that finding posts on this site can be a bear, especially if the post was written a few months ago. But I want it to look nicer than what I’ve got for the “Japanese Lessons” page right now that’s basically just a series of links. It may start out that way but I’d love to have a way for people to share their own recommendations, and maybe even photos.
Also, Twitter is another great medium for sharing photos. Please Tweet to us or Instagram. I just signed up for Instagram on @tachiaiblog. I don’t have anything up there yet but will start sharing some of my sumo related pictures there.
Dear Tachiai
Why not Nagoya?
I have been 3 times in Japan. Each time I have been to Nagoya to watch sumo
I can’t compare to Tokyo, Fukuoka or Osaka
But Nagoya is better than it seems.
I have even made a page (in french) to help people
https://travels-notes.blogspot.ch/2014/04/japon-nagoya-assister-au-tournoi-de-sumo.html
To be honest I visit Japan in summer because we travel with our kids and only in summer they have enough holidays for a long trip
Thanks a lot for your blog
Regards
Christophe
I forgot Nagoya, which is dumb because I watched Harumafuji win there last year. I updated the post. Thank you!
I’ll hopefully be at the Nagoya Basho this year so will be able to contribute after that (hoping to be in Nagoya for about a week or so). Also should be in Japan for around 2 months so can hopefully contribute to the other cities better by the end of August!
Last year when I was in Japan, I noted that there’s a number of very good unagi restaurants around Nagoya.
Andy – do you have any recommendations from Nagoya?
I am heading to Nagoya in July ( I have placed an order with buysumotickets.com for the second week) and would love recommendations too :-)
ALso guys you might be interested that Yoshikaze (Yoshikaze319) and Takanoiwa (baska_iwa) have active Instagram accounts, and osunaarashi is on there too
Yoshikaze often posts interesting looking restaurants that he eats at to combine the interest in Japanese food and sumo
I need to update the social media links and add Instagram accounts.
Nice – followed. The grams then recommended Ishiura (ishiura_masukatsu), so why not?
Oh – and Mitakeumi (hisaishiomichi).