Tokyo Sumo Wrestling Tournament

Meet your group at Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal or Ryogoku View Hotel (near the stadium) in the afternoon, and head to Ryogoku Sumo Hall.

Stop by the Sumo Museum where you can learn about this 1,500-year-old Japanese cultural tradition before you continue to the area to watch the real thing. See important sumo-related items on display, such as woodblock prints, folding screens and ceremonial aprons from as far back as the Edo period.

Next head into the Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Feel the excitement during an opening ceremony called dohyo-iri, where your guide will start to explain what's happening at the amphitheater.

You'll watch a series of sumo wrestlers grapple in the elevated ring — made of clay and covered in a layer of sand — from your B-class reserved seat on the second floor. Consult your brochure and sumo-ranking list for the day’s events; junior division sumo matches are held first, proceeding the higher-ranked matches slated for later in the day. Another way you'll know when the big matches are on: the makuuchi (senior-division wrestlers) wear kesho-mawashi, or ceremonial apron.

Watching the sumo matches is the main event, but there are other things to enjoy at the arena. Check out the championship flags in the entrance lobby, purchase a bite to eat from one of the vendors at any time, and don't forget to browse the various sumo-related goods on sale.

Afterward, your guide explains directions back to your hotel. If you select the dinner option, you’re taken to a nearby restaurant.

Optional Upgrade: Dinner
Upgrade your experience to include dinner at a local chanko or sukiyaki restaurant, most likely run by a former sumo wrestler. Enjoy chankonabe, a hearty stew that is the traditional food of sumo wrestler, or sukiyaki, a dish consisting of thin slices of meat, tofu, and vegetables cooked in a soy sauce-based broth. Your guide will not join you for dinner, leaving you to make your own way back to your hotel.