This Tokyo Sumo Experience Let Me Get Up Close and Personal With Some Mighty Men

Located in the heart of the historic Asakusa neighborhood, Asakusa Sumo Club is run in part by retired rikishi, and includes a small practice ring surrounded by stadium seating, a restaurant serving traditional sumo wrestler fare, and a gift shop with lots of sumo-related memorabilia—perfect for picking up a parting souvenir after the demonstration wrapped. The neighborhood is also just across the Sumida River from Ryogoku, where the official sumo tournaments are held at the Ryogoku National Sumo Hall.

Arriving at the venue, we were seated in a small arena holding about 70 people in stadium-style seating surrounding a small dohyo, or earthen wrestling stage ringed with rice straw bales called tawara. We were quickly served a hearty set meal (come ready to eat right away!), included in the cost of the show: chankonabe, fried chicken, inarizushi (sushi rice wrapped in sweet fried tofu), and roll cake for dessert, accompanied by our choice of soft drinks, beer, or sake. Chankonabe is the famous sumo wrestler stew, a concoction of meat, seafood, and vegetables that training wrestlers eat in great quantities in order to put on weight quickly; it’s mostly found near sumo arenas, so does require some tracking down if you want to try it outside of the sumo show context.

Related: 15 Traditional Japanese Foods and Drinks To Try on Your Next Trip

Sumo wrestlers eat 10,000 calories per meal, twice a day, in order to pack on the pounds, explained Blacko, our bilingual, Irish emcee—even as someone familiar with sumo culture, this was all new to me and the level of detail was something you wouldn’t get just anywhere. They also consume large quantities of beer, and sleep after meals, in between bouts of intense training. Plus, each heya, or training stable, has its own recipe for chankonabe, prepared in rotation by the wrestlers themselves, and some stables are known for their especially tasty stews.

As we tucked in our voluminous vittles (all you can eat), Blacko gave us a short sumo history lesson before the match, touching on sumo’s presence in ancient creation myths, its roots in agriculture as a ritual dance for good harvest, and its move into the imperial courts, and subsequent widespread popularity after being used as a training tool for samurai. Today, sumo still has strong roots in Shinto, Japan’s homegrown religion.

These roots are visible in the highly ritualized motions the wrestlers perform before and in between bouts. With great fanfare, Blacko introduced our two wrestlers for the night: Asamitani and Asanohide, former rikishi who demonstrated the ins and outs of a sumo match. This explanation is quite different from the official tournaments, which are held only six times a year, three of which are in Tokyo. There, matches are held in rapid succession with no explainers.

For example, explained Blacko, there’s shiko, the act of raising the legs high to the side before stamping on the ground, to frighten away any lurking evil spirits. Another ritual is the throwing of salt in the ring. Salt, in sumo as in Shinto, symbolizes purification and emphasizes the dohyo as a sacred space.

Here, the wrestlers hammed it up, preening and posing for the crowd and trading jibes with each other that wouldn’t be allowed at an official match. This is sillier and more lighthearted, but also more accessible than visiting Ryogoku. Still, the pageantry is indeed part of the official tournament—wrestlers often spend a long time trying to psych each other out with malevolent staredowns and pointed salt flinging. The actual match, in which a rikishi tries to topple their opponent, often lasts only seconds.

After demonstrating how a “real” match goes, volunteers had the chance to try their luck in the ring, an experience you certainly wouldn’t get to try (or witness!) at any old sumo bout. Said volunteers included a woman from El Paso, Texas; a long-haired Australian guy; and even a few children. Hilariously, they came in one by one wearing sumo costumes and took turns trying to topple the pros. Conclusion: don’t let the flab fool you! Underneath the bulk, there’s sheer muscle, and even the young, fit challengers couldn’t budge our hulking hosts … but it was entertaining to watch their efforts.

The demonstration was followed by a question and answer session, which gave us access to sumo wrestlers that you wouldn’t typically get at a standard match. El Paso asked if the wrestlers could marry, which led to a lot of flirting between her and Asanohide, who, it turns out, is single. “Are you proposing?” he asked, with an interpretation assist from Blacko. The answer, it turns out, is that wrestlers are only allowed to marry once they reach the upper divisions of the sport. At that point, they are considered senior enough to marry and live outside of the stable system.

“Sumo practice today is an incredibly rigid and brutal discipline,” explained Blacko. “It is grueling training. It's not a sport you turn up to train for. It's a life that you live.” Wrestlers often join a stable at just 15 years of age; they retire around 30. Thanks to our emcee, I definitely learned a lot about the history and technicalities of sumo, which has really enriched my understanding of the sport.

In contrast with the tournaments, which last several full days, the show was the perfect length at two hours. And, at the end, we were even invited to take photos with Asanohide and Asamitani, as well as Miho, who had performed a (somewhat incongruous) intermission dance dressed in full kimono. Each attendee or group got a chance for their own photo op, and full page photos were then presented to us along with a gift bag stuffed with sumo-themed knickknacks, all included with the entry fee.

Beyond the nonstop entertainment, I left with a new appreciation of this venerable sport and the rikishi who dedicate their lives to it. For two hours, I got a window into a way of life completely different from mine, one characterized by discipline, determination, strength—and a bit of fun. That glimpse, after all, was the best souvenir.

This tour was provided courtesy of Viator.