Grand Sumo in Tokyo
How to attend a Grand Sumo tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan: the three Tokyo tournaments each year, how chair and box seats work, buying tickets from abroad, what a day in the arena looks like, and where to sleep.
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Grand Sumo in Tokyo in short
Tokyo hosts three of the six Grand Sumo tournaments a year, in January, May and September, all at Ryogoku Kokugikan. The next is Sunday 10 to Sunday 24 January 2027, with advance tickets on sale from Saturday 5 December 2026. Overseas buyers use the English Ticket Oosumo site: a 2,000 yen fee per ticket, credit card only, and the ticket is printed at a Seven-Eleven in Japan. The top division bouts start around 2pm, and Ryogoku station is a one-minute walk.
What happens when
- Sat 5 Dec 2026
- Advance tickets for the January tournament go on sale.
- Mon 21 Dec 2026
- The Japan Sumo Association announces the January rankings.
- Sun 10 Jan 2027
- Day one of 15. In 2026 doors opened at 8:45am on most days.
- Sun 17 Jan 2027
- Day eight, the middle day, and a Sunday, so weekend prices apply.
- Sun 24 Jan 2027
- Final day. In 2026 doors opened at 10:00am on the final day and 10:30am on the two days before.
- 9 to 23 May 2027
- The next Tokyo tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan; tickets go on sale Sat 10 Apr 2027.
Where Grand Sumo in Tokyo happens
Dates are for 2027 where they have been announced.
Which seat and when to arrive
- Cheapest way in
Chair seats C
Arena seats like those in a stadium. Chair seats B, A and S cost more.
3,500 yen weekday, 4,000 yen weekend (2026)
- The traditional seat
Box seats
Japanese-style boxes where you remove your shoes and sit on cushions. Sold by the box, with four people to a box.
34,000 to 42,000 yen per box, B and C (2026)
- When to arrive
From about 2pm
Bouts start in the morning and finish around 6pm, and the main bouts of the top division start around 2pm. Your ticket covers the whole day.
Doors 845am (2026)
- Before the bouts
Sumo Museum
On the first floor of the Kokugikan. On tournament days it is open 12:30pm to 4:00pm and you need a ticket for the arena to enter.
Ticket needed
The Grand Sumo in Tokyo guide
The Tokyo tournaments
Grand Sumo has six tournaments a year, and Tokyo hosts three of them, all at Ryogoku Kokugikan, 1-3-28 Yokoami, Sumida-ku. The next is the January tournament, Sunday 10 to Sunday 24 January 2027, 15 days. Tickets go on sale on Saturday 5 December 2026 and the Japan Sumo Association announces the rankings on 21 December. After that come the May tournament (9 to 23 May 2027, tickets from 10 April) and the September tournament (12 to 26 September, tickets from 7 August). March is held in Osaka, July in Nagoya and November in Fukuoka.
Buying tickets from abroad
The Japan Sumo Association points overseas buyers to Ticket Oosumo English. The terms below are those of the September 2026 tournament.
It charges a 2,000 yen service fee per ticket and takes credit cards only.
You print the ticket yourself, only at a Seven-Eleven in Japan, so you have to be in the country to collect it.
Tickets cannot be changed or cancelled, and a lost ticket does not get you in.
Ringside seats and the top box seats, S and A, are sold only on the Japanese site. Wheelchair seats cost ¥8,000 for two people, a wheelchair user and one companion, and are booked by phone in Japanese only.
The Kokugikan box office sells on the day only when the date has not sold out. The November 2026 tournament in Fukuoka was listed as sold out on every date. Resale and transfer without the organizer's permission is banned, and buyers who got tickets to resell can be refused entry. The ticket pages warn guests to be careful of resale sites.
Chair or box
Chair seats
Arena seats like those in a typical sports stadium, priced per seat. In 2026 chair A cost 8,000 yen on weekdays and 8,500 on weekends, and chair S 9,000 and 9,500. Children aged four and over need a ticket, and there is no child discount.
Box seats
Box seats are Japanese-style boxes where you sit on the floor on square cushions, with your shoes removed. The basic rule is four guests to a box, and a box is sold as a unit, so the price is for the whole box. Box C on a weekday works out to 8,500 yen a person in 2026, against 5,000 yen for a chair B seat.
A day in the Kokugikan
In 2026 the Kokugikan opened its doors at 8:45am on most days, at 10:30am on the two days before the final day, and at 10:00am on the final day. The bouts start in the morning and finish around 6pm, and the main bouts of the top-division wrestlers start around 2pm. Your ticket covers the whole day.
You can leave and re-enter, but the 2026 Tokyo rule allowed re-entry once, and you had to be back by 5pm. Weekend and holiday prices are higher than weekday prices on every seat type: 500 yen on chairs B and C and 2,000 to 4,000 yen on boxes in 2026.
The Sumo Museum is on the first floor of the Kokugikan. It is free to enter on ordinary days, but on tournament days it is open from 12:30pm to 4:00pm and you need a ticket for the arena.
Getting there
The arena is one minute on foot from Ryogoku station on the JR Sobu Line, and five minutes from Exit A4 of Ryogoku station on the Toei Oedo Line. There are no parking facilities at the arena. For the rest of the city, see Tokyo.
Where to sleep
The simplest base is Ryogoku itself, where the arena is a short walk from the station. If you would rather sleep in one of the main Tokyo areas, Where to stay in Tokyo compares six, including Asakusa and Shinjuku.
- 0.5 km from the Grand Sumo centre
- Guest score of 9.6/10 from 384 reviews
Where to stay for Grand Sumo in Tokyo
Tours and tickets
Partner options we would book ourselves.
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Right now in Tokyo
Local time, today's weather and the exchange rate, refreshed through the day.
13
- Feels like
- 12°
- Humidity
- 83%
- Wind
- 5 km/h
- Chance of rain
- 2%
Tokyo
05:07 AM
Tuesday, November 3
- Today19°12°2%Tuesday: Cloudy. High 19°, Low 12°. Chance of rain 2%.
- Wed15°13°27%Wednesday: Rain. High 15°, Low 13°. Chance of rain 27%.
- Thu19°13°93%Thursday: Rain. High 19°, Low 13°. Chance of rain 93%.
- Fri21°14°27%Friday: Cloudy. High 21°, Low 14°. Chance of rain 27%.
- Sat17°11°25%Saturday: Cloudy. High 17°, Low 11°. Chance of rain 25%.
- Sun15°9°8%Sunday: Cloudy. High 15°, Low 9°. Chance of rain 8%.
Updated 03:15 AM local time · Powered by WeatherAPI.com · Weather data by Open-Meteo.com
Around the same dates
Other festivals in Japan while it is on
- JanHatsumōdeJapan
Grand Sumo in Tokyo FAQ
When is the next Grand Sumo tournament in Tokyo?
Sunday 10 to Sunday 24 January 2027 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, per the Japan Sumo Association schedule. The 2027 Tokyo tournaments after that are 9 to 23 May and 12 to 26 September. March is in Osaka, July in Nagoya and November in Fukuoka.
How do I buy tickets from outside Japan?
Through Ticket Oosumo English, the site the Japan Sumo Association links to. The January tickets go on sale on Saturday 5 December 2026. In 2026 the English site charged a 2,000 yen service fee per ticket, took credit cards only, and issued tickets that could be printed only at a Seven-Eleven in Japan.
How much do sumo tickets cost?
In 2026 chair seats C were 3,500 yen on weekdays and 4,000 yen on weekends; chair B 5,000 and 5,500; chair A 8,000 and 8,500; chair S 9,000 and 9,500. Box seats B were 40,000 yen on weekdays and 42,000 on weekends and box seats C 34,000 and 38,000, per box of four. Children aged four and over need a ticket, with no child price.
Can I buy a ticket on the day?
Only if the date has not sold out. The Kokugikan box office does not sell on the day when a date is sold out, and the November 2026 tournament in Fukuoka was listed as sold out on every date.
Can I come and go during the day?
In 2026 at Ryogoku Kokugikan you could enter and leave at any time, but re-entry was limited to once and you had to be back by 5pm. Tickets cannot be changed or refunded, and a lost ticket does not get you in.
Can I resell a ticket I cannot use?
No. The Japan Sumo Association bans resale and transfer without the organizer's permission, apart from non-profit transfers to family, friends or business associates. People who bought tickets to resell can be refused entry, and the ticket pages tell guests to be careful of resale sites.