I figure out why Japanese people have so many festivals

So last night after drinking some really good coffee at this cafe about 5 min drive from the house. Hitomi tells me that there is a festival at the local Yaizu shrine. She says that there will be there kids who can shoot arrows from moving horses. I'm like sweet let's do it. So we load up in the car about 8pm and head out. I brought my camera thinking, well at least some pictures of the crowd might be kinda cool. Most of my pictures at large events just don't com out all that well. I don't like using the flash and at night a flash is a MUST.
The festival was OK, there was a SH!TLOAD of people and a SH!TLOAD of them were DRUNK! And then it dawned on me.....Japanese people throw festival for the same reason that every other culture throws a festival......to get FREAKING WASTED!!!! And to over charge everyone for food and beer! HA! It truly is a small world.

Anyway I had to tell you that story to tell you this one. While we were walking to the festival we can across this sumo dojo (a trainning gym) that was having an exibition outside. And my first thought is sweet I can take pictures of big fat guys in thongs!!! YES!
In all seriousness, I really do like sumo and I was really pumped to see them. I took some pictures just as the event was ending. Hitomi and her sister point out a sumo wrestler that was dressed in a very nice kimono. They started chatttering back and forth in Japanese, and told me to come on. I went over and there were a bunch of people taking pictures with the sumo wrestler in the kimono. It turned out that he was a local Yaizu sumo wrestler that had made it to the big time. He was in the big tournament that was in Nagoya last month. He was a big local star! Hitomi asked him if a could take a picture with him and he nodded yes! Sweet!!!!
I was pumped to take a picture with him. And afterward he shook my hand! AWESOME!!! Anyway it was an ok festival I didn't see any kids shooting arrow from moving horses but I did get to meet a sumo wrestler. There is a GOD.

Oh and one other thing, the sumo dude smelled like baby power. Not what I expected, I was for certain he was going to reek of B.O. Never judge a book by its cover huh?
Any way here are the links to some promised pictures remember cut and paste into your browser) by the way if this doesn't work for you for some reason LET ME KNOW!!:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86078854@N00/33626750/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86078854@N00/33626751/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86078854@N00/33626752/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86078854@N00/33626753/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86078854@N00/33626754/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86078854@N00/33626755/