The Legacy gets Gold Wheels.. and snow tires!

What do you think? I think now this Legacy could enter a rally?!
Not quite as pretty as Petter's Impreza, but the Legacy is much more practical!!

SUMO
The most handsome man in Sumo!!
Tochinoshin

The cutest man in Sumo!!
Tochinokuni

Ogaki-san & I with Tochiozan! He is one of the Makuuchi ranked wrestlers at Kasugano Beya! He is also quite a nice guy!!!

Sumo: Chanko dinner with Kasugano Beya

The past week here in my city of Iruma we’ve been lucky to have the Sumo Wrestlers from Kasugano Stable with us for a week long training camp.

Iruma is lucky because we have a branch of Kasugano Supporters Club here and that is how we can invite them to stay here and practice at the city gym and stay at a local kominkan (community center/hall).

Wednesday night Oct. 10^th was the last night for them in Iruma and this year they welcomed us with a wonderful Chanko dinner party for all supporters club members (that’s me!) and guests. The past few years have all been lunches and this was the first time I experienced dinner. It was such a special treat. I believe Kasugano has the most delicious Miso paste for their Chanko! Each stable has their own special recipe and though I tried hard to get last year’s recipe I was told “it is a secret!”

This year was no exception, again delicious homemade Chanko soup was served to us along with other delicious foods. Unfortunately I was working that night and wouldn’t be able to arrive until it was almost over. My guest however was allowed to go early and enjoy! (I’m so glad you had a wonderful time Ogaki-san!)

When I arrived I was beside myself being seated at a table being served by two of my favorite Kasugano wrestlers! What a treat! I almost died when my friend Yuji (he is also the owner of my house’s gas company) said to me “look, they are our servers!” My heart just stopped beating immediately! One of the guys was Tochinokuni. He is so cute! I met him the first time last year when he was just 18. I thought he had the cutest face! When I got home and realized how young he was I was shocked. You just don’t see them as being so young when they are so big! He was an absolute sweetheart to me last year and I was happy to see his sweet smiling face again this year!

My other treat was that Tochinoshin a wrestler from Georgia (not the US state but the country of Georgia in Europe) was also there as our server. I had been waiting (along with Ogaki-san) to meet him for over one year! Last year we watched him practice in the early morning and I wanted to talk to him so badly! He was so young and handsome and interesting… so I anxiously waited for the chance to meet him at the Chanko lunch! Ogaki-san too was intrigued by him and wanted to meet him.

To our disappointment we didn’t see him. Finally we decided to ask where he was. Apparently he was invited with a few other guys to join a local elementary school’s sports day being held the same day. What a great experience for the kids, what a huge disappointment for us!!

During each tournament I admit Ogaki-san has been his #1 fan. Always watching everything he did and reporting to me. Tochinoshin is still a very young wrestler and in the Makkushita division. Those matches are much earlier in the day but Ogaki-san will watch Sumo from early in the day to make sure to see his bouts! He always reports the results to me!

After I sat down and got my heart beating normally or rather semi-normally I talked to the people at my table a bit and then I forgot all about any food that was there. My chanko would come a bit later (it was being cooked since I was late the first batch was already gone) and so I got up to take a picture and talk with Tochinoshin. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was. He is so KAKKOII (very cool and handsome!) He is a giant (192cm and 125kg *according to his stable’s home page*) but he was so gentle and sweet! I felt silly because I was so nervous and couldn’t say what I wanted! (my regular readers and friends know how I get around rally drivers I love and Sumo wrestlers that I love! Bakka (idiot) Viki comes out in her true form!)

But we had a nice conversation and I realized he was just as handsome and kakkoii as Kotooshu who you know I love so much!! From now I admit Tochinoshin is one of my all time favorite wrestlers! I will continue to follow him as closely as Ogaki-san does. One day Tochinoshin will be in the upper ranks and we will follow him all the way there!

My chanko was brought to the table and yet I didn’t want to pull myself away from Tochinoshin to eat it. Best for my diet if I avoided all food anyway! Whatever a Sumo wrestler eats surely can’t be good for a diet!

I managed to eat almost half of one small bowl of Chanko soup and it was so delicious! Like heaven in your mouth! A little green tea and that was it, rushed out the door. We needed to leave the party area so that the younger guys could eat. As it is when they are home, in their own beya the senior wrestlers are served first by the junior wresters and then they can eat later. The same was true at the party and we were able to eat with the senior guys. But the junior guys were surely getting hungry and so we had to get out of there.

Took a few pictures with my favorite guys, talked with a couple of them a few minutes and then said goodbye to Tochinoshin & Tochinokuni!

Then I came home, took a walk, changed into my PJs and suddenly when I thought I would go to sleep soon my phone rang! I didn’t recognize the number but I had a feeling I should go ahead and answer it. I often don’t answer the unregistered numbers especially at night. What a HUGE surprise! It was Tochinoshin! I think I asked him three times who he was. Remember Bakka Viki, she has trouble comprehending the exciting things! What a wonderful conversation we had! Then he said that they all had some free time as the next day was a day off. “Why don’t you come meet us? You said your house was close by, right?”

“Gee, I’m in my pajamas, I was going to go to sleep soon…”

“Oh, well if you can’t then, we’ll just..”

The conversation went a bit like that but of course in Japanese.

As I sat there thinking to myself “what? Get dressed again? Isn’t it bed time?” I realized that I couldn’t let them down! That and “how often do you get a chance like this anyway?” went through my mind.

“OK” I finally said “what time?” and that was that. Forty minutes later I was all dressed again and meeting the guys! In my mind the whole night I was thinking “Gee, you should be sleeping by now!” Thursdays are my hardest days. I work in Chiba and the commute takes me nearly 3 hours each way. I’m often standing at least 90% of that time as well. Then four 90 minute classes back to back as well. I need my rest but I kept thinking “once in a lifetime or at least once in a year chance!”

I had an absolutely wonderful time!! I “paid” for it all day with burning eyes and could barely stay awake but it was worth it!!! Unfortunately there isn’t much exciting to do in Iruma at night, not like the guys are used to being in downtown Tokyo where their beya is.

But the whole night is one I’ll never forget!! And.. diet or not I can still taste that delicious Chanko as well! J

Thanks again to Kasugano Beya for coming to Iruma to give all of us such a great opportunity. And thank you for the wonderful Chanko dinner of course too! Special thanks to Tochinoshin for making it even more exciting!

Oh and by the way, as I post this on October 14^th (my internet has been down all week) I can say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to Tochinoshin!!! Yesterday was his 20^th birthday!! (Tochinoshin, if you are reading this I sent you a birthday card yesterday & it should have reached you by now since I sent it express mail.) I hope you had a wonderful birthday and got to celebrate some this weekend. I wish you many more happy birthdays and a great and successful Sumo career!!

The next Sumo Basho is in Fukuoka in November. A bit too far to go but I’ll try to watch as much as I can on television! The Banzuke (Sumo rankings) will be released on October 29^th. I can’t wait to see how the boys will be ranked!

Now I am all psyched for Sumo but Rally Japan is just around the corner so I have to switch my mind over to WRC for a bit now!!!

Love, Viki

Finally!!
Some sunshine photos of the "Petter Solberg" Legacy!!!

This is my parking lot! Don't you think Legacy is the prettiest car there? That Impreza looks nice too but not quite as good!!!

This is my friend Legapy's car!!!
When you look at his Legacy you can see how I couldn't resist doing this too!
Thanks Tohru for helping me!!

Hi Subaru Friends!!!

I've been wanting to post pictures of my "new & improved" Legacy since Sunday night. Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures yet because it has been raining continuously since I picked it up, but even a bad picture is better than no picture....

However, my internet has been screwed up since Saturday. I believe I need a new modem so I need to contact my provider but that is troublesome too! I have this idea that if I keep playing with it suddenly it will be ok. So anyway I can barely get something posted before I get knocked off line again!

So, let's make it brief!!!

Thanks to my friend Tohru (aka Legapy) I've made drastic changes to my Legacy! When I saw his car in September and saw how beautiful it looked I could not resist 'dressing up' my own Legacy as well.

Legapy introduced me to a wonderful shop called DECALCO which was actually not too far from my house, maybe 2 hours drive or so. He arranged everything for me with the owner and I brought my Legacy in last Wednesday after work. It was supposed to take a week or more but suddenly Saturday night when I was at the gym I got a fantastic phone call from them saying I could pick it up the next day!

So, I got my friend Elvis (yes, Japanese but with cool nickname) to go with me as co-driver and help me back to the shop. First, I was worried about getting lost as they gave me a loaner car but it has no navigation. Let me tell you once you've had navigation you forget how to drive without it! (Wouldn't that be like Petter driving without Phil?) Second, it would be a long drive as it was raining and I knew it would take the better part of at least 5 hours round trip and it was cool to have someone with me to talk to. Third, I was just nervous to go there alone and see my "reformed" baby!

We got there around 1600 and as I pulled up I almost freaked out how beautiful my Legacy had become! It was so "Pika-Pika" (that means sparkly and pretty in Japanese) that I was overwhelmed!! There was a slight trouble with one sticker arrangement on the driver window but we talked about it and we fixed that. It meant another hour or so there at the shop but it was worth it.

Around 1730 we left driving Pika Pika Legacy! It felt so cool to drive it. I was mad though it was raining and getting dirty immediately!!!

We went snow tire shopping on the way home and had a nice time talking. I think a lot of it was Elvis telling me I was crazy for spending so much money for the stickers! :-)

For now these are the best photos I have! More when it clears up Friday and I can wash it and take better ones!!!

What do you think??