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Tokyo Sumo Morning Practice Tour
4.9
120 Ratings
Sumida City
Experience an intimate and traditional Sumo encounter in Tokyo with our Sumo Morning Practice Tour. Get up close to the wrestlers, feel the intense atmosphere, and learn about the history and traditions of Sumo.
Duration:
2 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Ryogoku Station Gallery - Meet your guide at 7:45am at the nearby train station before making your way to the sumo stable. Get ready to get some amazing insight into this unique Japanese sport that originated from the religion of Shintoism. Learn from your guide about how the origin of sumo dates back at least 1500 years, and about how it preserves rituals and traditional aspects of Shinto while also being a major spectator sport in Japan. Before you take your seat on the ground in the sumo stable, learn about the six annual Grand Tournaments that all go on for 15-days. Three of them are in Tokyo, and one in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka respectively.
- Ryogoku - Watch quietly and respectfully as the sumo wrestlers go through their daily routine. You are sure to be in awe as you see them going through their rigorous training, and you will gain a newfound insight into this ancient art.
At the end of the practice, your guide will walk you back to the train station where you will part ways.
- Sumo Museum - If we have time, we may stop by.
- Ryogoku Edo Noren - We may stop by and see all of the shops if we have time.
- Ryogoku Kokugikan - If you want, we can walk past Kokugikan, where the Grand Sumo Tournament is held in Tokyo.
What's Included
- Photos with wrestlers (depends on the day)
- Local, professional guide
- Sumo stable entrance and watch the real practice closely
Additional Information
If you want to watch the REAL Sumo wrestlers up close, this is one of the closest you can get!
Let’s watch the wrestler’s morning practice right next to the ring and feel the intense and serious atmosphere. The sound of wrestlers colliding to each other, their breath and the scent of the fragrance they wear are something that you can never feel by watching any videos.
You will meet with your knowledgeable tour guide at the station and walk to the stable(10mins walk). Your guide will explain you about Sumo, its history, rules and regulations before entering the stable and then watch it together. You will see the unique traditional sports which is at the same time religious rituals, originally started to entertain the Shinto deities.
If you are lucky, you will get to take photos with the wrestlers after the practice outside of the stable!
- Minimum age is 12 years old (Kids 11 and under cannot enter the stable)
- Please be aware that depending on the schedule, the ending location may differ from the meeting place.
- Please use the restroom before arriving at the meeting point.
- The practice/tour may be a bit shorter or longer than expected depending on the content of the practice
- Cellphones must be on silent
- Photos are OK but only without the flash or shutter sounds
- Unauthorized use of the photographs taken is strictly prohibited. Please be aware of image and privacy rights violations.
- Videos are not allowed
- Eating and drinking is not allowed（Please be aware that it is hot in Tokyo in summer, and there will be no air conditioning on the tour. Since it is so hot, guests are allowed to drink water and sports drinks inside the stable during the month of Summer. We also recommend that you bring something like an ice pack or cold towel to help keep you cool.）
- Sunglasses and hats are not allowed in the stable
- Once you leave the sumo stable, you cannot re-enter.
- Please watch the practice silently and respectfully
- Please do not step down onto the ring or the sandy ground area. The ring is a sacred place for the wrestlers.
- Please do not stretch your legs toward the ring. It is considered impolite to show the soles of feet to the wrestlers.
- You cannot ask wrestlers to take a photograph with you while the practice is still going on.
- Please do your best to NOT leave the sumo stable in the middle of the practice, and try to stay and watch the practice until the very end.
- Please be very careful not to interfere with the sumo wrestlers concentration.
- For those interested in seeing sumo, but can’t fit this tour into your schedule, have a look at our other sumo tours! Please search “Sumo Morning Practice Tour in Tokyo, Sumida city” or “Tokyo Sumo Morning Practice Tour with Audio Guide” to find them.
- If you are not feeling well, please refrain from joining the tour.
- After meeting up, we may take a train to the stable
Location
1-chōme-8-21 Oshiage
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(120 Ratings)
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T1118baadamb
Sep 15, 2024
A truly unique and inspiring experience with an excellent guide - Our guide Yukio was waiting for us when we arrived about 15 minutes early. He gave us some basic information while we waited. His English is excellent, and he was warm and welcoming. When the group had all arrived Yukio gave us some further information and took us the short walk to the stable. Inside was a fascinating insight into sumo. The powerful athletes were practicing and training just a few feet away. It was a unique and inspiring experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Niph0
Sep 10, 2024
Inspiring!! 🤩 - What you see during matches is just a hint of how incredible this experience can be. The morning practice allows you to appreciate the overwhelming physical prowess of the sumo wrestlers, the hard training they have to endure and the extreme power they unleash when they fight. I was ready to be impressed, but wow, I was transfixed, jaw dropped in awe, inspired by how strong the rikishi were. Thanks also to the Japan Wonder Travel person who accompanied us for the explanations and the details about what we saw and the background of the stable. All super interesting. If you have the chance, go!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ottaviaba
Sep 9, 2024
An up-close look at the art of sumo - Living in Japan, I became intrigued by sumo after seeing it on TV multiple times. Through some online research, I learned that there are two main ways to experience it: attending a full tournament or watching the morning practice. I decided to ease into it by starting with a practice session, and what an exciting experience it turned out to be! Watching the wrestlers up close gave me a real appreciation for the immense effort and dedication they put into their craft. A big thank you to JWT for making the whole experience so easy and enjoyable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gerald_m
Sep 7, 2024
Close up interesting entertaining tour - Get to see the sumo wrestlers up close in training and here about there life styles.
Having your pics with wrestlers was a real keep sake
Review provided by Viator
Adam_b
Sep 4, 2024
Great and unique experience. - Our guide Yukio was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The sumo training was amazing. A truly unique experience. Very interesting to be so close to these athletes. Great experience!
Review provided by Viator
Katy_o
Sep 3, 2024
Sumo tour - Great tour! Really enjoyed the training session. Got to see the sumo wrestlers up close. Very interesting. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Camper09994845879
Sep 3, 2024
An in-depth Sumo exoperience - A true immersion in the Sumo environment. Time very well spent at this morning session. Excellent in all respects. Thank you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Curiosity61506489029
Sep 3, 2024
Superb and a must. - What a stunning experience. For me as a sumo fan it was like meeting Messi, Ronaldo and Maradona at the same time. Two former yokozuna (incl. the GOAT Hakuho) and the current yokozuna Terunofuji. Very kind and good guide Take. An absolutely must when you stay in Tokyo.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scenic11989894300
Sep 3, 2024
Great activity! - Really cool to see the sumo wrestlers practice in their regular gym! Beautiful sport with lots of history in an intimate setting
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katrin_p
Sep 2, 2024
Authentic experience with terrible organization and customer service. - The Sumo experience was very authentic and cool. This I would recommend everyone to see. However I would go with another company. The whole organization around was really messy and impossible to reach both Viator and the tour operator. We reached out in the chat before starting the tour to say we will be 5 min late. No response. We arrive at meetup point, no one is there. We call and have to wait in line for customer service to pick up, which takes some time. Once picking up they then need to connect you to the operator. Then they hung up and didnt call back. We call back again and tour operator finally responds in chat and calls the number I gave 30!!! min past meeting time. We missed big part of the experience due to this and one person in our group decided to leave before due to this unproffessional handling. This is an intimate tour and I do believe that you should reach out to people who arent there to check if theyre on their way and make sure they find you. NOT reaching out 30 min after tour started. Also arrived and no apology or anything for being completely unable to reach for almost a whole hour.
Review provided by Viator
