Home » Countries » Asia » Sumo Tokyo Tickets – Big In Japan

Sumo Tokyo Tickets – Big In Japan

Sumo wrestling is the national sport of Japan and is steeped in tradition. The origins of sumo are thousands of years old and it is thought to have originated in the Yayoi period in Japan (300 BCE-300 CE). There are six sumo tournaments each year and watching the sumo is a great day out. Here is a guide to what to expect at a basho and how to get sumo Tokyo tickets.

Watch sumo in Tokyo

The rules are very simple: Two rikishi (wrestlers) face each other in a ring known as a dohyo, which is 4.55m in diameter. When mutual consent is given to begin, signified by each wrestler touching his fists to the floor, the bout commences. A rikishi loses when he is either forced out of the ring or touches the floor with any part of his body other than his feet. The wrestlers wear just a mawashi (belt), which can be grasped and used to push, throw or lift their opponent out of the ring or onto the floor. Some rikishi don’t use the mawashi and tend to have a push and thrust approach to taking on their opponent.

Watch sumo in Tokyo

There are very few techniques that are banned, but fist punches, poking the opponent in a vulnerable area or pulling the opponent’s top knot, which is part of the chonmage (the hairstyle), are all considered to be unacceptable and any rikishi that uses these moves will automatically lose the match. A gyoji (referee), wearing robes based on medieval imperial court attire, oversees proceedings, encouraging the rikishi to spar and deciding which has won the bout. Sometimes the outcome is extremely close so additional judges sit around each edge of the dohyo in order to assess which wrestler first exited the ring or touched the floor.

Watch sumo in Tokyo

The first characteristic that most people notice about sumo wrestlers is their weight, which can be substantial. Sumo wrestlers put on weight because it is more difficult to force a heavy opponent from the ring. But they are extremely fit, flexible and agile. There are no weight categories in the sport so a 100kg wrestler could easily face an opponent twice his weight. This is also what makes sumo so exciting – weight isn’t necessarily an advantage as the smaller rikishi may be more nimble and can employ moves that outsmart their opponents.

The bout itself is often, but not always, short in duration, although there is no time limit. It is always preceded by a series of rituals that have origins both in Japan’s Shinto religion and ancient warfare. The rikishi throw salt into the ring to purify it. Other practices include wrestlers raising a leg and stamping on the ground to scare away enemies and also clapping their hands. Once ready, they take their mark and squat in a position known as shikari, facing their opponent, ready to thrust forward when the bout begins. It’s often an explosive start as two large men crash into each other and it’s hugely exciting.

Tournament Schedule

Grand Sumo Basho, or tournaments, are held six times every year. Three are held in Toyko at the  Ryogoku Kokugikan (January, May, September) and then there is one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November). (These schedules have changed a bit during the last couple of years due to Covid.) Each tournament lasts 15 days. The most popular days to attend are weekends and the final days of the basho as the excitement mounts to see who will win the Emperor’s cup. We were honoured to be invited to the sumo by a family friend a few years ago. It made for the most excellent entertainment. The tournament schedule can be found at the Japan Sumo Association website.

The Ryogoku Kokugikan dohyo in Tokyo is located just a two minute walk from the JR Sobu Line Ryogoku Station West Exit (useful if you have a JR pass), or five minutes walk from the Toei Ryogoku Station A3 exit on the Toei Subway Oedo Line. The Ryogoku Kokugikan is easy to find and outside you will see the brightly coloured flags bearing the rikishi names lining the route to the entrance.

Sumo wrestlers flags

Sumo Tokyo Tickets

There are various tiers of ticket available and the most popular seats do sell out quickly. Ringside tamari seats are the most expensive. They are the closest you can get to the action and sometimes audience members can be a little too close if an energetic bout results in a wrestler falling on top of them!

Box seats are designed for either four or six people and you have to buy all the seats within the box. This suits a group of people viewing together. They have a tatami mat base and cushions. The boxes closest to the dohyo are more expensive and they become progressively cheaper the further back they are located. The box seats are very popular.

Sumo arena

Arena seats are located on the upper floor in a standard tiered seating arrangement, further away from the action but they offer a good view at a much cheaper price. For the die-hard fan who cannot pre-order tickets, jiyu seki, (free-seating tickets), located right at the top of the building just below the rafters, can be purchased each day at the Kokugikan from 8am. These will go quickly though and if you want some, you may well need to start queuing very early in the morning.

The tickets are valid for the entire day and bouts start from around 8:30am. Sumo is divided into a number of divisions and the lowest ranked wrestlers will spar earliest in the morning. As the day progresses and the higher ranked rikishi start making an appearance the stadium will slowly fill up. By the time the Makunouchi (the highest division) commences the Kokugikan will be full and the atmosphere incredibly lively as the audience members support their favourite rikishi. You can buy banners, t-shirts and other souvenirs at the concession stands.

Watching The Sumo In Tokyo – Make A Day Of It

On arrival at the Kokugikan main entrance, if you have tickets, you will be guided to your seat. It is possible to pre-arrange a bento and drinks. (Alcohol is allowed.) The stadium even has its own kitchen in the basement. There, they make yakitori chicken, which is often eaten as part of the bento meal. There is a reason that chicken is on the menu – it is a bird that stands on two feet, something that the rikishi most definitely want to emulate. It’s also absolutely fine to bring your own food and drink if you wish.

Then it’s a case of sitting back and watching the action, whilst enjoying delicious food, a cup of green tea and, later on, a few beers as well.

You will often see the banners from sponsors of a particular rikishi parade around the dohyo before the bout. These organisations put up prize money for their sponsored wrestler. If he wins, he receives cash in an envelope offered by the gyoji but if he loses, his opponent wins the prize. The higher ranked and more popular the wrestler the greater the number of envelopes. If a lower ranked rikishi beats an ozeki (second highest rank) or Yokozuna, he wins a magnificent wadge of cash.

sumo Tokyo tickets

One of the wonderful things about when you watch the sumo in Tokyo is that you can wander around the arena between bouts and will often see rikishi in their yukata (light cotton kimono). More often than not, they are happy to pose for photos.

When it’s time for the Makunouchi bouts, the top tier rikishi will enter the dohyo wearing their keshō-mawashi, which are beautifully decorated ceremonial silk aprons, and form a circle. They perform a number of symbolic movements together before they leave and prepare for their bouts.

sumo Tokyo tickets

The Yokozuna, accompanied by two top division wrestler ‘assistants’ then enters the dohyo, wearing a tsuna (ceremonial rope, the word Yokozuna literally means ‘horizontal rope’) around his waist, to perform the ring entering ceremony. There are two types and the Yokozuna will choose which one he will perform soon after his promotion.

The highest ranked wrestlers fight the final bouts and the crowd become increasingly excited. When the very last bout has been fought, there is a closing bow-swirling ceremony – another ritual steeped with symbolic meaning.

Sumo Chanko Nabe Restaurant

And what better way to round off a wonderful day’s entertainment watching the sumo than going out for dinner at a local restaurant? Of course the only meal we could have was chanko nabe – sumo stew. This is the meal that sumo wrestlers eat at their stables in large quantities after their training sessions. (They go to sleep after eating chanko nabe and this helps them gain weight.) It’s filling and nutritious and, importantly, delicious. It’s a great sharing dish – a hot pot that sits in the middle of the table and everyone helps themselves. It comprises meat and vegetables, sometimes with seafood and tofu, that simmers in a dashi broth (a recipe for dashi can be found here). Sometimes sake or mirin is added to the broth to add flavour. There is no specific recipe which means that loads of scrumptious variations are possible. Unsurprisingly, there are a cluster of chanko nabe restaurants in the Ryogoku area.

sumo chanko nabe hot pot

If you are visiting Tokyo at a time when there is no basho tournament, it is possible to watch sumo wrestlers training in their stables. There is no cost to this but you’ll have to get up early as they usually train between 7:30 and 10am. You generally don’t get to enter the stable itself but can watch through a large window. Alternatively there are some guided tours that will take you behind the scenes at a sumo stable.

And if you can’t get to Japan at all it is possible to watch sumo basho on TV. Japan’s national broadcaster NHK World present the highlights from each day over the entire fortnight.  The first and final day’s events are also shown live.

If you are likely to be in Tokyo at the time of a basho we highly recommend trying to obtain tickets for the sumo. It really is the most lovely way to spend a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon watching this unique and fascinating sport.

Japanese New Year Tradition at Meiji shrine
Spending New Year in Japan
Miyajima torii
The three best views in Japan
Visit the Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo
Visit Yakushima Shiratani Unsuikyo
Visit Yakushima Island in Japan
More posts from Japan
If you liked this post, please share it:

21 Comments

  1. What an amazing sport and ancient tradition. I had no idea how long it has been around and that there are ancient rituals based in religion and warfare that come with it. I always found sumo wrestling fascinating. It’s just so very different from any other sport I’m familiar with. Those wrestlers are so huge it kind of annihilates any resemblance with other types of wrestling. Huge added benefit with the lovely food and the liberal drinks policy at the venue.

    • Thanks so much, Stefan. We’re not really into watching sport generally, but found the sumo to be fascinating. It is very much steeped in tradition. We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Tokyo – it was so nice to be able to sit back, eat great food and enjoy a couple of beers as we watched each bout. We still follow each basho on TV these days!

    • Thank you. Like you, we don’t really watch sports, in fact, it was our first live sporting event. It was fantastic – interesting sport plus good food and beer made for a really excellent day!

    • Thank you. Yes, we remembered the sumo from many ago but they stopped showing it on terrestrial TV. These days we can eagerly watch each basho on the internet! Seeing it live was a fantastic experience.

  2. This is a fascinating read Mitch. I knew a little about sumo but not how the days are organised. Definitely sounds like you could really make a whole day of it. Great fun I’ll bet.

  3. This was a really interesting read! I think in the Weat we know very generally what sumo is but have no idea the amount of detail and tradition that goes into it. How do the tournaments work? Is it basically round robin so that you just keep wrestling till you lose? Or is it kind of like football where you proceed to the next “round” based off of some kind of win-loss point system?

    • That’s a really good question. It’s actually a round robin over the 15 days. The division is divided into East and West and the wrestlers face a different opponent each day. Each win or loss is recorded for each wrestler and the rikishi aim to achieve kachikoshi – more wins than losses. This means that they will keep or improve their ranking. A wrestler that has more losses than wins in the tournament faces demotion. Last July had the most exciting finale when yokozuna Hakuho faced ozeki Terunofuji (who was hoping to achieve the rank of yokozuna). On day 15 each had a perfect record of 14 wins, 0 losses. The final bout was brilliant, edge-of-the-seat stuff. Hakuho won but Terunofuji got promoted anyway!

  4. I had a rough idea about Sumo wrestling but this post has explained it all in great detail. I feel I understand it much more now, including the terms, names, and traditions associated with it. I thought of going to a Sumo match when I was in Japan but never got round to it. Their weight always astounds me, especially when my doctor keeps warning me about any weight gain and I am positively thin compared to these guys! Loved reading this – very informative and helpful.

    • Thank you so much, we’re really glad you found this to be informative. It was a really enjoyable day – highly recommended. Yes, it’s amazing how flexible and fit the rikishi are – some of them are able to do back flips!

  5. This is quite the experience to behold! When I make it over there in the future, this is definitely on my list of things to see. Loved all the detail and information on Sumo wrestling, it really shows that there’s so much more to this sport than meets the eye.

    • Thank you! We’re not really into watching sport but the sumo was absolutely fascinating and made for a great day out.

  6. I really hope we can check out the sumo matches when we go to Japan, hopefully next year. Amazing info. Had no idea you could get bento boxes there.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up To Our Very Tasty Newsletter

Loading