Book a Grand Sumo Tournament Viewing Tour in Tokyo

Overview

Book a tour to view the Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo and optionally explore the sumo-related landmarks in the surrounding sumo town of Ryogoku, on an expert-guided small-group tour. Visit local must-see spots, and have a chanko-nabe sumo stew dinner; both are options. Sit upright with chair B seating tickets; easier to sit than on a flat floor in box seats. Immerse yourself in the sumo experience with real-time commentaries by our knowledgeable guide using an earphone guide system!

Highlights

Key Information

Description

The grand sumo tournament tour in Tokyo is a small group tour with real-time commentaries by a sumo expert guide. What decisively differentiates this tour is: Firstly, each traveler will receive a package which includes: 1) A pamphlet showing photos and profiles of each wrestler with English translation. The guide will walk you through it as you watch each fight. 2) A cheer-up towel for a particular wrestler. The guide will show you how to use it when the wrestler is going to fight; cheering up a particular wrestler will significantly increase the joy of watching. 3) A sumo booklet which tells pretty much all about sumo. Secondly, what also sets apart this tour from others is use of an earphone guide system. Your guide will provide real-time commentaries through your headset throughout the tour. Toward the end of the tournament, you will ① Enjoy the fights and have lots of fun. ② Get excited with your fellow travelers while cheering up a wrestler with your cheer-up towel. ③ Learn a lot about sumo by listening to your guide’s real-time commentaries. You will watch the bouts by top-division wrestlers for 3 hours from 15 o’clock. While some might think “the longer the viewing hours, the better,” our experience tells otherwise; in the past, those who started to watch much earlier got bored over time and left the arena before the top division match started! Hence, let’s start watching the bouts at 15 o’clock with all our might. Apart from viewing the tournament itself, this tour includes an optional walking tour around Ryogoku, a sumo town. Visit sumo-related historical landmarks and look at sumo stables from outside where sumo wrestlers live and train. Increase joy of watching the tournament by learning a lot about sumo from your knowledgeable guide as you visit many sumo related must-see spots before you actually view the bouts in the arena. We are going to use Chair B seats in the arena. Unlike box seats where four spectators are seated on a 1.3m x 1.3m flat square floor with cushions, you can sit comfortably in a chair all the time. This tour comes in four options. A) 1 PM - 3 PM: Visit historical sumo landmarks and sumo stables Major must-see landmarks the guide will take you to are: Hakkaku-beya Sumo Stable (15min) - Nomi no Sukune Shrine (15min) - Ryogoku Kokugikan, Japan (30min) - Ryōgoku Edo NOREN, Japan (30min) - Ekō-in (15min) - Kasugano-beya Sumo Stable (15min) B) 3PM - 6PM: viewing bouts at the arena The guide will walk you through inside the arena to see Murals (10m) - Championship prizes (10m) - Sumo museum (15min) - Drawings /photos of successive Yokozunas (15min). C) 6PM - : Chanko-nabe dinner Enjoy dinner at one of the best chanko-nabe restaurants near the arena. Each option consists of following components. 1PM - with chanko-nabe dinner option: A) + B) + C) 3PM - with chanko-nabe dinner option: B) + C) 1 PM - without chanko dinner option: A) + B) 3 PM - without chanko dinner option: B) * Please pay special attention to the fact that there are two meeting points depending on which option you choose.