Watch a grand sumo tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan

Professional sumo holds six grand tournaments a year, and three of them take place in Tokyo, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the national sumo hall on the east bank of the Sumida River. Each tournament lasts fifteen days, and a day in the hall runs from the first bouts of the junior wrestlers in the morning to the top division in the late afternoon.

What the experience is

The present hall opened in January 1985 in Yokoami, Sumida, close to Ryogoku Station; the first Kokugikan, a steel dome nicknamed the big iron umbrella, had stood nearby from 1909. The Tokyo tournaments are held there in January, May and September, and the wrestlers spend several days training before each of them.

The day builds slowly. Bouts begin at 8:30 in the morning with the lower divisions, whose wrestlers fight seven times over the fifteen days, about every other day. The two top divisions, juryo and makuuchi, fight once a day, and the hall fills for them in the afternoon. On the last day the leaders are matched against each other where possible, and if two wrestlers finish level, a playoff decides who takes the Emperor’s Cup. The Sumo Museum inside the hall shows the cup and other trophies.

Good to know

The 2027 Tokyo tournaments run from 10 to 24 January, 9 to 23 May and 12 to 26 September, with advance tickets on sale from 5 December 2026, 10 April and 7 August respectively. Tickets are sold through Ticket Oosumo, the official service, which has an English site. Box seats, masu-seki, are on the floor in units of four people, sitting on cushions; arena seats are chairs. Popular days sell out, so book on the day sales open. Arriving in the morning, when the hall is quiet, is a good way to watch the younger wrestlers close up before the crowds.

Sources: Japan Sumo Association, tournament schedule; Japan Sumo Association, tickets; Wikipedia, Ryōgoku Kokugikan; Wikipedia, Honbasho.