Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament Viewing Tour
Description
Discover Sumo Culture, History, and the January Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo! Discover Sumo Culture, History, and the January Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo! Join an English-guided tour in Ryogoku, exploring sites of Japan’s sport, and feel the power and spirit up close. Meeting point: JR Ryogoku Station West Gate Seat Type: 2nd Floor A-Class Chair Seat 2nd Floor B-Class Chair Seat 2nd Floor C-Class Chair Seat Meeting Time: 12:45 PM | Tour Starts: 1:00 PM The walking tour lasts approximately 2 hours. Tickets can only be picked up at the designated time on your reserved day — no other dates or times are available, and we cannot take responsibility for missed pick-ups. Please be sure to arrive on time.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Witness live sumo matches featuring powerful and skilled wrestlers. The arena houses a Sumo Museum where important sumo-related items such as woodblock prints, folding screens and ceremonial aprons from as far back as the Edo period are on display. There are shops on the 1st and 2nd floors of the arena. Enjoy shopping for fans, stationery, sweets, and other sumo-related merchandise.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Your guide will be holding a sign with the tour name and meeting time. Tickets can only be picked up at the designated time on your reserved day — no other dates or times are available, and we cannot take responsibility for missed pick-ups.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children up to 3 years of age may also join, but must sit on the lap of a parent or guardian while watching.
- Seats may not be designated. This information will be provided on the day of the tour.
- It is not permitted to take photographs with your own smartphone or other devices.
- Please note that you will have to wait to be seated if one of the following events is underway at the time: a sumo match, a speech by the Sumo Association (on the last tournament day), the ring procession of the Makuuchi division wrestlers (dohyoiri), the ring entering procession of the Yokozuna, or the ritual stomping ceremony (on the last tournament day). In such a case, please wait until the event is over before proceeding to spectator seating.
- If you would like to be seated together as a group, please make a request when booking. Although staff will try to provide customers with their requested seating arrangements, please note that some requests may not be accommodated.
- Suitcases and other large pieces of luggage cannot be brought into the seating area. Please make sure to store luggage at another location on your own in advance (coin lockers, etc.) or at your accommodation.
- Bringing food and drinks including alcohol into Kokugikan is prohibited. Please purchase food and refreshments from the vendors inside the arena
- Customers who are late for the departure time will have their reservations canceled. Please give yourself plenty of time.
- Please arrive by 10 minutes before departure.
- Walking Tour plan: Please wear comfortable walking shoes as this tour involves a moderate amount of walking.
- Walking Tour plan: In case of heavy rain or other inclement weather, the walking tour portion may be canceled. You will still receive your Sumo Tournament ticket and can explore the museum and stadium on your own.
Reviews(6)
Had a nice time learning about the area around the stadium and the history of sumo from our tour guide! It was a little hard for us to feel fully immersed because the streets were busy and we couldn’t always hear what she was saying, but she was incredibly nice and answered a lot of questions we had about sumo and what to expect inside. We booked 2nd Level B-Class seats and stayed until the end — it was really nice to get a primer on what to expect before we went in, and the tournament was really fun.
Dear guest, Thank you for joining our Sumo Tour and for sharing your thoughtful review. We are glad to hear you enjoyed learning about the area and the history of sumo, and that the guidance helped you feel prepared before entering the arena. We appreciate your comment about the difficulty hearing the guide in busy streets, and we will review this to improve the experience for future guests. We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the tournament throughout the day. HIS Team
This is a fun tour of the area surrounding the sumo arena, ending inside the arena to enjoy the upper division wrestling. I love watching sumo so we’ve taken this tour several times and each time we’ve learned something new. Today was a cold day and I wasn’t particularly interested in walking around. The guide graciously gave us our tickets so we could go inside and warm up. All the guides have been friendly and provide good information if you’re new to sumo. Take the tour and have a good time.
Great alternative if you can’t buy tickets on your own. Very popular. We stayed the entire time and thoroughly enjoyed the Sumo Wrestking. This was part of a tournament. Seats were second level, section B. So mid second tier. Good view still. The guide takes you to see a nearby temple and park. Then to the Sumo Wrestling. Note that the top tier wrestlers are at the END of the event so don’t leave early (you can easily skip the earlier times (like up to 3:30-4:00pm when the top tier wrestlers start.
Rip-off - high three-digit amount paid, although the cards usually cost 20 EURO. Everything else was fine.
Dear Alexander, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are very sorry to hear that you feel the price of the Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament Viewing Tour did not meet your expectations for value. We want to clarify what the total cost of the tour includes, beyond the face value of the ticket: - Guaranteed Access: The price reflects the difficulty and high competition involved in securing these highly sought-after Sumo Tournament tickets, which are often sold out instantly to the public. - Guided Service: The tour includes a dedicated local guide who provides a briefing on the history, rules, and unique culture of Sumo before the viewing of the match. This educational service is a core component of the tour. - Convenience: Our service provides you with a reserved, secured ticket and a seamless experience, saving you the significant time and frustration of securing them yourself. We appreciate your honest comment and are constantly working to improve the perceived value of our guided component to ensure the overall experience strongly justifies the package price. We're glad to hear that everything else about the experience was in order, and we hope you still enjoyed the incredible atmosphere of the Sumo match itself. Sincerely, The HIS Team
Sumo is a top 5 sporting event I’ve been attended. The atmosphere by the end is electric and so unique. Some tips for the stadium: Get your food earlier because a lot of it sells out. It gets a little warm in the 2nd floor so get/bring a fan.
Initially I was a little skeptical of this purchase as the company had no reviews and little information about it available online. However they really came through when all other tickets were sold. I spent an hour refreshing the official sumo tickets website the minute tickets went on sale but when I could finally get through to a purchase screen, all tickets were sold out. For every day of the 15 day tournament. I checked viator and this was the best price I could find on B class tickets. More than buying from the official website of course but that is to be expected. Additionally it was not part of a tour so I contacted the company and asked if i could pick up the tickets the day before so I could watch all the lower division bouts from the start of the day. They made this happen for me so I am incredibly grateful. Because of this booking I was able to watch the full opening day of the May tournament, something that almost didn't happen so I can not rate this experience highly enough.
