The world at my feet

In Tokyo, there is a restaurant where, after lunch, a Ninja master teaches how to move like a shadow and to cast metal stars: it’s the last odd tourist offer in Japan. The tourists, put on the regulation black suit, learn taijutsu (unarmed body combat skills). Then they enjoy themselves with Ninja weapons like the Katana (a sabre), the Bo (a very long stick) and the mythic Shuriken, the rotating blades: it’s an excellent way of digesting a meal. The Japanese tour operator H.I.S Experience Japan has, among its offers, “A day in the life of a Sumo Wrestler” too. I have already booked it. But I hope to not have to put on a Mawashi.

Photo by Laurence Whittemore