SUMO SUMO SUMO!

Tomorrow is the first day of the September Tournament in Kyuushuu and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I missed the July tourney 'cause I was in the States, but you can bet your sweet little buns I'll be watching this one every day. My pre-basho prediction is that we'll get a sweet showdown on Senshuuraku between Asa, 'The Man from Mongolia' and Hakuho 'The Man from Mongolia Mark 2'. I'm also looking for a good showing from Miayabiyama and perhaps Houmashou and Balto as well. I quite like Houmashou; he's a handsome young lad and he could be the new hope for Japanese sumo, along with Kisenosato and Kotoshougiku.

Goog Niter!

A small after-match P.S.- Houmashou won his bout with Juumonji on the first day and is scheduled to fight Takekaze on day 2. Good Luck!

The Joys of Ukon

Ever since I went to Okinawa I've been hooked on Ukon-cha (that's turmeric tea to you non-Japanese-y types). They had it at our hotel instead of the complimentary green tea that you usually get at Japanese hotels, and it was love at first sip. I'd never heard of it until I went to Okinawa, but apparently it's really popular down there, and you can even get it out of most vending machines. I must have drunk about a gallon of it while I was on vacation, and I bought a box of it to bring back home with me. Since then I've been drinking it every day, and the great thing about it is that it's so strong you can just keep re-using the same tea bag over and over again. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find any up here once my stash ran out, but it's well-known in Japan as a health tea (Japanese folk wisdom holds it's good for the liver, but you can read more about it by clicking the link at the end), so you can get it at just about any drug-store. I don't know if you can get it in the States or not, but you might be able to find it at a health food store, or an Indian market, so check it out if you get the chance. Your taste-buds (and your liver) will thank you.

All about turmeric