Sumo in Tokyo: tournament, show or morning practice
Three different things are sold as sumo tickets in Tokyo. Ranked bouts happen only during the January, May and September tournaments at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Shows with former wrestlers and early visits to a training stable fill the rest of the year.
Every sumo ticket in Tokyo side by side
The type column tells you what you will watch. Sorted by number of reviews; tap a column header to re-sort.
| Photo | Experience | Type | Real bouts? | Area | Duration | Food | Cancellation | Reviews ↕ | Price ↕ | Book |
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Shinjuku Sumo Show and Experience with Photo Traveling Tokyo | Show | No, a show | Shinjuku (Okubo) | 75 to 90 minutes | Water only, no meal | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (9,073) | €31 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Sumo Show with Chicken Hot Pot and Geisha Dance Asakusa Sumo Club | Show | No, a show | Asakusa | 2 hours | Chicken hot pot (all you can eat), one drink | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (8,539) | €90 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Sumo Show and Dinner in a Historic Sumo House Tokyo Sumo Beya | Show | No, a show | Kiyosumi-shirakawa | 1.5 hours | Chanko only at the 11:00 and 19:00 shows | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (3,641) | €57 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Sumo Show in Shibuya with Experience and Photo Traveling Tokyo | Show | No, a show | Shibuya (Yoyogi) | 75 minutes | Water, no meal | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 5.0 (2,401) | €34 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Ginza Sumo Show with Live Performance and Photo Tokyo Sumo Festival | Show | No, a show | Ginza | 1.5 hours | Chanko included | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.6 (1,896) | €68 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Luxury Sumo Show with Japanese Cuisine and Drinks Asakusa Sumo Club ANNEX | Show | No, a show | Asakusa | 2 hours | Wagyu sukiyaki bento and chanko | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.7 (999) | €90 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Sumo Wrestling Experience with Chanko Nabe and Mochi SUMOLAND | Show | No, a show | Ryogoku | 2 hours | Chanko and mochi; vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free on request | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (735) | €77 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Ultimate Sumo Tournament with a Guide Guided tournament day | Tournament | Yes, ranked bouts | Ryogoku (Kokugikan) | About 4 hours | Not stated | ✕ Non-refundable | ★ 4.9 (580) | €160 per person | Book on Viator |
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Authentic Sumo Morning Practice with an English-Speaking Guide Air Choice | Morning practice | Training bouts | Ryogoku | 2 hours | None | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.7 (440) | €85 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Sumo Morning Practice with a Journalist and Neighbourhood Walk Japan Shine Tour | Morning practice | Training bouts | Ryogoku | 3 hours | None | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (292) | €84 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
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Sumo Training Tour with Ringside Seat and Photo Shoot Small-group stable visit | Morning practice | Training bouts | Kiyosumi-shirakawa | 2 hours | None | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (136) | €85 per person | Book on GetYourGuide |
Prices are pulled from GetYourGuide and Viator and can move with seat class, show time and date; a tournament seat is a different product from a show ticket, so compare within each type.
Three things sold as a sumo ticket
Most disappointment with sumo in Tokyo starts here: a show booked in the belief it is a tournament, or a practice visit planned for a week when the stables do not train.
| Format | What you watch | When in Tokyo | Time of day and length | Booking terms on this site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Sumo tournament | Competitive bouts between ranked professional wrestlers; the only format where results count | Three times a year for 15 days at the Ryogoku Kokugikan: January, May and September | The guided tour on this site lasts about four hours | Non-refundable; seats are allocated four to seven weeks before the tournament |
| Sumo show | Former wrestlers demonstrate sumo for visitors; a few guests may step into the ring. The operators state it is not a tournament | All year, several shows a day, in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Ginza, Ryogoku and Kiyosumi-shirakawa | 75 minutes to 2 hours, morning to evening; some with a meal | Free cancellation |
| Morning practice | Real training in a sumo stable, watched in silence from the side of the ring | Outside tournament weeks; the stables pause during a tournament and for 7 to 10 days after it | Meeting from 07:45, two to three hours | Free cancellation; the ringside practice tour also refunds in full if the stable cancels |
Tokyo tournament dates in 2027
The Japan Sumo Association holds six Grand Sumo tournaments a year, and three of them take place in Tokyo. General ticket sales open four to five weeks before each one. The sale dates below are in Japan time.
| Tournament | Dates at the Ryogoku Kokugikan | General ticket sales open |
|---|---|---|
| January (Hatsu Basho) | 10 to 24 January 2027 | 5 December 2026 |
| May (Natsu Basho) | 9 to 23 May 2027 | 10 April 2027 |
| September (Aki Basho) | 12 to 26 September 2027 | 7 August 2027 |
Source: official 2027 schedule of the Japan Sumo Association (sumo.or.jp), checked 11 October 2026. The other tournaments in 2027 are in Osaka (14 to 28 March), Nagoya (11 to 25 July) and Fukuoka (14 to 28 November).
Why seats go so fast, what the guided tournament tour includes and what to book when no tournament falls in your trip: sumo tickets in Tokyo, explained by travel date.
If you are in Tokyo for the blossoms in late March or early April 2027, there is no tournament to watch. The wrestlers compete in Osaka from 14 to 28 March, and the next Tokyo tournament opens on 9 May. The shows run as usual through spring, which makes them the realistic way to see sumo on a blossom trip. Morning practice may be harder to find in these weeks, so check the dates in the booking calendar before you plan a morning around it. Ticket sales for the May tournament open on 10 April, in the middle of the season.
Small print that changes the evening
- A listing called an experience can still be a show. SUMOLAND sells its sumo wrestling experience as a show, and the Shinjuku and ANNEX listings state that they are not a real tournament.
- At Tokyo Sumo Beya in Kiyosumi-shirakawa the meal depends on the time slot. Chanko comes with the 11:00 and 19:00 shows only; the 8:30 and 15:00 shows have no food.
- Stepping into the ring is not guaranteed. At the Shinjuku show six guests per show get the chance, picked by lottery.
- The Shinjuku and Ginza venues take cards only, and Shinjuku does not admit latecomers.
- The Ginza show is in Ginza, not at the Kokugikan. In Ryogoku, check if your meeting point is at the Toei Oedo line station or at JR Ryogoku; they are separate stations.
- Halal and gluten-free meals are rare. The Asakusa Sumo Club and its ANNEX offer neither, while SUMOLAND prepares vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free food on request.
Chanko, the hot pot of the stables
Chanko nabe is the stew that wrestlers eat in their stables, and several shows here serve it: Asakusa with chicken, the ANNEX next to a wagyu sukiyaki bento, SUMOLAND with mochi pounding, the Ginza show, and Tokyo Sumo Beya at its 11:00 and 19:00 slots. If one meal at the ring makes you want more of Tokyo's food, tokyo-food-tours.com compares the city's food tours and cooking classes.
One page that keeps the formats apart
Sumo listings in Tokyo use the same words for very different things, and "sumo tickets" can mean a seat at the Kokugikan or a 75-minute show in Okubo. We sort every bookable option by what you actually watch, add the tournament calendar with its sale dates, and say where a listing leaves something open. When you book through a link on this page, the booking platform pays us a small commission out of its margin, not out of your ticket price.
FAQ about sumo tickets in Tokyo
Is a sumo show in Tokyo a real sumo match?
No. The shows are staged for visitors and the operators say so themselves: the Shinjuku show and the Asakusa ANNEX show both state that they are not a real tournament. Competitive bouts between ranked wrestlers only happen at the Grand Sumo tournaments, which Tokyo hosts in January, May and September.
When are the sumo tournaments in Tokyo in 2027?
All three take place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan: 10 to 24 January, 9 to 23 May and 12 to 26 September 2027. The other three tournaments of the year are held in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November).
When do tickets for the 2027 Tokyo tournaments go on sale?
According to the Japan Sumo Association, general sales open on 5 December 2026 for the January tournament, on 10 April 2027 for May and on 7 August 2027 for September, all in Japan time. Several Japan travel guides report that weekend days, the final day and the January tournament go on the first day of sales.
Can I see sumo in Tokyo during cherry blossom season?
Not at a tournament. In late March and early April 2027 no tournament is held in Tokyo: the March tournament takes place in Osaka from 14 to 28 March, and the next Tokyo tournament starts on 9 May. The sumo shows run all year, so a show is the realistic option in spring.
What is sumo morning practice?
Visitors sit quietly in a sumo stable and watch the wrestlers train, early in the morning; the Air Choice visit meets at 07:45. Stables do not train during the 15 days of a tournament and take a break of 7 to 10 days afterwards, so practice visits only work outside those weeks.
Do the sumo shows serve food?
Some do. The Asakusa Sumo Club serves an all-you-can-eat chicken hot pot, its ANNEX a wagyu sukiyaki bento with chanko, SUMOLAND chanko and mochi, and the Ginza show chanko. Tokyo Sumo Beya serves chanko only at its 11:00 and 19:00 shows. The Shinjuku and Shibuya shows come with water but no meal.
Can I book halal or gluten-free food at a sumo show?
Rarely. The Asakusa Sumo Club and its ANNEX offer neither halal nor gluten-free meals; vegetarian food at the Asakusa Sumo Club needs two days' notice. SUMOLAND in Ryogoku offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals on request.
Can I cancel a sumo booking?
The shows and morning practice visits on this site can be cancelled free of charge; the deadline is on each booking page. The guided tournament tour is different: it is non-refundable once booked, with a rebooking or refund only if no tickets are allocated.
Tournament, show and practice in one table
Sorted by what you watch, with meeting point, meal and cancellation terms.
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