Tokyo: Grand Sumo May Tournament
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo: Grand Sumo May Tournament
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Tokyo, Japan
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Sports enthusiasts will love this sumo tour of Ryogoku, Tokyo’s traditional sumo wrestling hub. Start with a walking tour around the neighborhood, during which you’ll learn more about the history of the sport. Watch a tournament in the arena, benefiting from live commentary from your guide via personal earphones so you can understand what’s happening. End with a hearty dinner of chanko-nabe, a dish favored by wrestlers.
- Receive personalized attention on a private tour
- Ideal for anyone wanting to know more about traditional Japanese culture
- Learn more than you would attending a tournament alone
- Meet your guide in a convenient place in Ryogoku
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 108 reviews
Anna_S, Jan 2026
We are very glad we booked this experience ahead of the January grand sumo tournament. Sumo tickets sell out almost immediately so if we hadn’t booked this experience we probably wouldn’t have been able to see the tournament, which was a focal point of our trip to Japan. Our guide Sue was an incredible. She taught us a lot about the neighborhood surrounding the stadium, the Shinto symbolism in sumo, the different rankings, and much more. She looked after us very kindly from start to finish. Thank you, Sue-san!
Mike_H, Jan 2026
Our Guide Aki was very informative and knows about the history and culture of Sumo. The walking tour was excellent and the Sumo matches were fantastic with good 2nd floor seats
Travis_F, Jan 2026
Sumo History tour shows you Sumo Stables and also includes the Yokozuna Shrine!
Sumo Match was great, Yosh is great at answering questions!
Dinner was filling and ready upon arrival, no waiting. Short walk from the match!
Kerry_W, Sep 2025
Ken was our guide. He was very knowledgeable about sumo. He walked us to a sumo stable (exterior) and a sumo shrine near the Kokugikan where he sang the sumo song and shared sumo lore. He accompanied us into the Kokugikan and explained which wrestlers were fighting and gave us background information on them. A truly unique cultural and sporting experience!
Michelle_K, Sep 2024
The Sumo was obviously fantastic, but the tour guide was very quiet and only offered tidbits when prompted (I had to ask a lot of questions).
The other disappointing factor was the ludicrous markup. $300 AUD for a ~$50 AUD ticket and a tour guide that didn’t say much- go yourself instead.
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Dear Michelle,
Thank you for your review on our Grand Sumo Tournament. We are very sorry that the guide could not satisfy you. As you said, he is a quiet gentleman with a lot of international experiences and knowledge. He has received many good reviews so far, but we told him to improve more to fit all participants.
Regarding the price, most of the participants understand and are satisfied with our price so far. We believe that you may understand it is a quite reasonable price if you know the background of the ticket sales. Please let us explain how we get the Grand Sumo Tournament tickets.
Since we are a certified tour company registered to the Japan Sumo Association we have a privilege to purchase a limited number of group tickets a few months in advance. Even so, it is very difficult to get what you want by seat type, date, and numbers of the tickets. Tickets sell out quickly, so you don't have time to choose and think. After this sale, the sumo association starts selling tickets by lottery to the highest, second, and third highest ranking fan club members. Then, one month before the first day of the sumo tournament, the association finally starts selling the remaining tickets to the public.
Because sumo is very popular, tickets sell out very quickly in a few hours on the day. Many people are often unable to get tickets on their own. We recommend purchasing through a travel agency, especially for those who do not know Japanese or Japanese culture because it is safe and reliable. Please be aware that there are also illegal scalpers who sell only tickets with no service at more than three times the original price online.
As a certified travel agency, our tours include not only valuable tickets but also some souvenirs which are used during the sumo match viewing. Your guide invites you to participate in cheering up some popular sumo wrestlers together.
Again, thank you for your comments about our tour on Sept.12th.
We will continue to strive to improve our services so that all tour participants can be even more satisfied.
Sincerely, ARUMACHI
JuanZ_R, Sep 2024
The tournament is an unforgettable experience, the energy, the excitement, and atmosphere, there is so much more to it than just the strength and agility of the athletes, you get to experience the artistry, tradition and culture of this amazing country.Miss Yoko, our guide was very knowledgeable and explained everything very clearly, you could tell she is a fan of the sport and her energy was contagious. I highly recommend it. Get there early and walk around the neighborhood. Great food and nice surprising temples nearby.
El torneo es una experiencia inolvidable, la energía, la emoción y el ambiente, hay mucho más que solo la fuerza y la agilidad de los atletas, puedes experimentar el arte, la tradición y la cultura de este increíble país. La señorita Yoko, nuestra guía estaba muy bien informada y explicó todo muy claramente, se podía decir que es una fanática del deporte y su energía era contagiosa. Lo recomiendo mucho. Llega temprano y camina por el vecindario. Buena comida y templos sorprendentes cerca.
Samastah_Y, Sep 2024
Our guide was really knowledgeable & friendly. She hade sure we had a great understanding of the history & the match. Loved the dinner afterward too. It was a fun experience.
Chantal_F, Jun 2024
I read the mixed reviews and unfortunately this was on the worse end for me. I was fortunate to be seated beside the guide (seats were assigned by the tour organizer), and peppered him with questions throughout the tournament. This is the reason I didn’t give a 1 star.
He was a nice guy, and answered my questions, but as a guide he wasn’t prepared to give info throughout the match to everyone in the tour group. As we were all seated in a row, you were reliant on earpieces to hear anything he wanted to share. He didn’t share anything unprompted, so clearly hadn’t spent too much time actually prepping to guide us through the experience. For anyone not seated beside him, I’m not sure how much they actually got out of the experience.
They gave us a little handout with a booklet and some other goodies. That turned out to be key, as I was able to use the information in the booklets to understand what was happening, and who the wrestlers were.
I would say, if you can, just buy the tickets yourself when they come for sale. It’s much cheaper, and with a little googling you can find the rules.
Similar to others, it seemed like some groups had a very organized guide. But for the price and the fact that you don’t know if your guide will be great or not, I would not recommend this experience.
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Dear Chantal,
Thank you for your detailed review on our Grand Sumo Tournament. We are very sorry that the tour made you feel like "it was the worst for me".
When we receive a low-rated review on a tour, we investigate the tour to find out why it received such a rating and how we can improve our service next time.
You booked a tour on May 1st for May 23rd and joined the tour with our guide Toshi at 3pm on May 23rd. You were a solo traveler from Canada and your seat was West Row 11, seat 12, next to the guide.
First, please let us explain how we get the Grand Sumo Tournament tickets. Since we are an official tour company registered to the Japan Sumo Association we have a privilege to purchase a limited number of group tickets around three month in advance. Even so, it is very difficult to get what you want by seat type, date, and ticket number. Tickets sell out quickly, so you don't have time to choose and think. The association then starts selling tickets by lottery to the highest, second, and third highest ranking fan club members. Then, one month before the first day of the sumo tournament, the association finally starts selling the remaining tickets to the public.
Because sumo is very popular, tickets sell out very quickly in a day. Many people are often unable to get tickets on their own. We recommend purchasing through a travel agency, especially for those who do not know Japanese or Japanese culture. Please be aware that there are also illegal scalpers who sell only tickets without any service at more than three times the original price online.
As an official travel agency, we sell tours that include not only valuable tickets, but also guide services that will satisfy and delight our customers.
Regarding the seating arrangement in the sumo arena, if there are two rows of 10 seats, we will place five people in the front row and five people in the second row, and have the guide sit in the middle of the second row. Therefore, the guide's voice can be heard well even without a microphone. However, for a row of 10 seats with an aisle behind the row, the guide will sit at the end of the row and move periodically to get closer to other participants and explain from behind. In your case, you were lucky to be able to sit next to the guide.
According to the guide's report, as in your review, he was not able to explain well to other participants in the sumo arena. The guide did his best to accommodate the other participants, but regretted that he should have made everyone wear wireless earphones at the sumo arena.
Finally, we appreciate your comments and advice about the tour. We will continue to strive to improve our services so that all tour participants can be even more satisfied.
Sincerely,
ARUMACHI
Grace_G, May 2024
We love sumo &
our tour guide Ali was very nice & informative.She knows what she’s doing by heart.Lucky to get tickets by reserving it months before.It’s the 2nd to the last day of the tournament & I could it’s the highlight of our Japan trip.
Patty_F, Jan 2024
This tour was so great! The tour around the neighborhood was nice, it really gave a good backstory to the tournament. The chanko lunch was nice, but beware if you are not a fish eater, there's a lot of fish mixed into the hotpot so everything(meat, vegetables)has that flavor. The tournament was fantastic and I really got into the matches, albeit I'm not really a sports fan. Our guide was super knowledgeable, and explained everything and answered all our questions, I would have been lost without him. There's a lot of ceremony and drama that makes the matches very entertaining! If you are in town when there's a tournament, I HIGHLY recommend doing this!
Darik_J, Sep 2023
Very nice tour, I got to learn a lot about sumo I didn't know before and enjoyed the matches greatly.
JR_G, Sep 2023
Brilliant day out at the sumo. Our guide Yoko was knowledgeable and friendly.
Started with a great tour of the arena where we learnt about the history and rules of sumo.
Would recommend this tour if you're lucky enough to be in Tokyo when it's on
Matthew_D, May 2023
This was one of the highlights of our holiday for me. Didn’t know what to expect but our guides were excellent. They showed us around the area near the arena and explained the history of sumo. Showed us were the fighters train and live. We had great seats in the arena and when the tournament started our guides explained what was going on. We really got into the contest and I will carry on following the sport. Would love to go again. Thank you to our hosts Yasu and her helper (sorry can’t remember his name but he was very helpful).
Matt, Angela, Nathan and Louise
Gary_P, May 2023
Ichirio was a great guide, very informative and knowledgeable, happy to answer all questions. Very easy to understand. Sumo was a unique and enjoyable experience for us.
Linnette_C, Jan 2023
The entire tour was very insightful and tour guide was very knowledgeable. Highlight of the tour was of course the tournament.
Sean C, Jan 2020
We visited the grand sumo tournament and having the host made it so much better for us. Our host was Yoko, we met her at the station as stated on the booking info. She had a sign saying “I am Yoko” instead of the sign that we were told to look for but this wasn’t a problem but something to be aware of.
We were greeted with gift bags that Yoko had prepared for us with tournament information, sumo profiles and a bit about sumo wrestling itself. We were shown around the stadium and museum and Yoko explained everything to us, and also during the tournament Yoko explained all the rituals and routines to us.
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable experience that was enhanced by the host and we would recommend this!
diego_v, Sep 2025
It was amazing, we had a great time father, the tour looks in front of the sand and there they put us, all afternoon they explained everything by a device while we took and had a great time
Auto-translated
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- Shore Excursions
- Full-day Tours
- Bus Tours
- Historical Tours
- Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises
- Private and Luxury
- Cultural Tours
- Private Sightseeing Tours
- Tokyo
- Full-day Tours - Musashino
- Shore Excursions - Kawasaki
- Full-day Tours - Kawasaki
- Bus Tours - Kawasaki
- Historical Tours - Kawasaki
- Shore Excursions - Yokohama
- Full-day Tours - Yokohama
- Bus Tours - Yokohama
- Historical Tours - Yokohama
Attractions in Tokyo, Japan
- Meiji Jingu Stadium Tours & Tickets
- Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine (Kawagoe Hikawa Jinja) Tours & Tickets
- Hakone Open-Air Museum Tours & Tickets
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo Tours & Tickets
- Harajuku Tours & Tickets
- Aokigahara Forest Tours & Tickets
- Nakamise Shopping Street Tours & Tickets
- Tokyo National Museum Tours & Tickets
- Tokyo Disneyland® Tours & Tickets
- Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine Tours & Tickets
- Inokashira Park Tours & Tickets
- Engaku-ji Temple Tours & Tickets
- National Museum of Western Art Tours & Tickets