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Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament Tour: Group Experience with Expert Sumo Guide
4.9
56 Ratings
Sumida City
Join our Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament Tour for a group experience like no other! Get insider knowledge from an expert sumo guide and explore the sumo town of Ryogoku. Indulge in a delicious chanko-nabe lunch and enjoy prime seating to witness the thrilling sumo bouts.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
-
Ryogoku - 13:00 - 15:00
This part (optional) is to deepen knowledge about sumo history and culture to enhance joy of watching sumo later in the arena. Toward that end, you will visit historical sumo landmarks and sumo stables.
Major must-see landmarks the guide will take you to are:
- Hakkaku-beya Sumo Stable (15min)
- Nomi no Sukune Shrine (15min)
- Ryogoku Kokugikan (30min)
- Ryōgoku Edo NOREN (30min)
- Ekō-in (15min)
- Kasugano-beya Sumo Stable (15min)
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Ryogoku Kokugikan - 15:00 - 18:00
Viewing bouts at the arena
1.The guide will walk you through inside the arena to see
- Murals (10m)
- Championship prizes (10m)
- Sumo museum (15min)
-
Paintings / photos of successive Yokozunas (15min)
2.You will receive (see the photo section):
- A special pamphlet showing photos and profiles of wrestlers with English translation. The guide will walk you through it as you watch fights so that you can watch them with background information.
- A cheer-up towel for a particular wrestler. The guide will teach you how to use it when the wrestler is going to fight. Join the enthusiam of the arena by cheering-up the wrestler.
-
Ryogoku - 18:00 -
Chanko-nabe dinner (Optional)
The guide will take you to one of the best chanko-nabe restaurants near the arena. Enjoy the nutrient hot-pot dish eaten by sumo wrestlers to build their bodies and muscles. ; drinks are not included.
What's Included
- Cheer-up towel to root for a particular wrestler
- All fees and/or taxes
- Information package of tournament information, sumo ranking, and profiles of prominent wrestlers
- Headsets for groups of 3 or more to hear the guide’s voice clearly
- Guiding in English by a sumo expert guide
What's Not Included
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Drinks for the chanko-nabe lunch option; to be ordered separately.
Additional Information
The grand sumo tournament tour in Tokyo is a small group experience featuring live commentary from a sumo expert guide. What truly sets this tour apart is:
Firstly, each participant will receive a package that includes:
- A pamphlet with photos and profiles of each wrestler, translated into English. The guide will explain it as you watch each match.
- A cheer-up towel for a specific wrestler. The guide will demonstrate how to use it when the wrestler competes, enhancing your viewing experience.
- A sumo booklet that covers almost everything about sumo.
Secondly, another unique feature of our tour is the use of an earphone guide system. Your guide will provide live commentary through your headset during the entire tour.
Additionally, we offer an optional walking tour of sumo town to visit essential sumo-related landmarks before the tournament.
- Each option is described below.
-
- 1PM - with chanko-nabe dinner option 1PM - 3PM: Visit sumo-related historical landmarks and sumo stables 3PM - 6PM: viewing bouts at the arena 6PM - : Chanko-nabe dinner
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- 3PM - with chanko-nabe dinner option 3PM - 6PM: viewing bouts at the arena 6PM - : Chanko-nabe dinner
-
- 1 PM - without chanko dinner option 1 PM - 3 PM: Visit sumo-related historical landmarks and sumo stables 3PM - 6PM: viewing bouts at the arena
-
- 3 PM - without chanko dinner option 3PM - 6PM: viewing bouts at the arena
- Please note that there are two different meeting points depending on which option the participant will choose: in terms of starting time, one meeting point for 1PM starts and the other for 3PM starts.
- Each participant will receive 1) A pamphlet showing photos and profiles of wrestlers with English translation; see the photo section. The guide will walk them through it as they watch fights. 2) A cheer-up towel for a particular wrestler. The guide will teach each participant how to use it when the wrestler is about to fight; cheering up a particular wrestler will increase joy of watching.
- We are going to use Chair B seats in the arena. Unlike box seats where four spectators are seated on a 1.3m x 1.3m flat square floor with cushions, you can sit comfortably in a chair all the time.
Location
Ryogoku Kokugikan National Sumo Arena
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(56 Ratings)
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165ek
Aug 3, 2024
Highlight of my trip! - Yuumi was a very fun and knowledgeable guide, and kept me smiling throughout the day. I enjoyed the Nagoya castle walkthrough but the highlight of my whole Japan trip was really the sumo tournament. Yuumi’s insight was invaluable as I could not have understood the rules, importance, or popularity of the sport without her. I was so happy to find the tour. It was soooo worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bnatoanywhere
Jul 26, 2024
Great experience - We attended the Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya with two boys under age 10. Yoko provided great explanation into what was happening and the sumo tradition. The company provided us with towels to support one of the wrestlers which made us more invested in the games. And Yoko gave us additional players from her district to cheer on.
We’d recommend this experience to anyone visiting who wants to learn more about the sumo traditions.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Supachai99uk
Jul 21, 2024
Truly brilliant and memorable - Truly memorable experience had by all the family. Well worth the money. This was a well put together package. Great knowledgeable host who explained everything in excellent English using personal hearing device and microphone. Also allowed us to travel on the bullet train. Worth every penny.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P6138qlricardoj
Jul 21, 2024
Sumo tournament and Nagoya Castle view - Yoko was a very kind person. I really liked to see the sumo tournament. Every comment was valuable. I understood the sumo tournament.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K9444caantoined
Jul 19, 2024
Sumo Tournament Experience in Nagoya.and Castle Tour - Actually, it was in Nagoya but we can not rate this place specifically because trip advisor only offers tokyo tournament to give Rating with operator arumachi.com
We visited the castle at 13:00 and then attended the sumo tournament on 19 July 2024 from 15:30 until 18:00. It is an interesting and unprecedented experience, with an original atmosphere. The castle is less than 200 meters from the tournament site and the painted panels are very beautiful to look at.
The organization by arumachi was impeccable, on time, and with an effective Guide speaking good English ( Nozomi). The meeting place is easy (exit from the subway station called nagoyajo). The seats were quite high in the stadium but you can see very well. In addition it is possible to move without problem to take pictures or film walkways throughout the stadium, this is allowed. We must not take places too low because the places closer to the dohyo do not have a seat and require sitting in tailors or kneeling which is tiring for Westerners in general. These low squares are 1x1 meter squares with carpet. You can leave your place, move and even go out permanently whenever you want, even during the fights.
An activity to recommend , but to book in advance like many things in Japan. Enjoy Japan well
Review provided by Tripadvisor
907maleew
Jul 15, 2024
Yuumi was wonderful for Nagoya Sumo + Castle Tour - My family and I enjoyed the Nagoya Sumo + Castle Tour! Yuumi did a wonderful job explaining everything and answering all of our questions. She did a great job communicating beforehand via WhatsApp where we needed to meet her. When we arrived, she was prepared with a bag of information plus the headsets to use during the tour. I enjoyed being able to hear her from the headset during the few times that we were separated (bathroom break, shopping for souvenirs, etc). I highly recommend Yuumi for the Nagoya Sumo + Castle Tour!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sunshine02269732354
Jul 15, 2024
Great Castle and sumo tour in Nagoya - We did the Nagoya Castle and Sumo Tournament in Nagoya in July 14th. Yummi a very energetic and knowledgeable guide and made sure we were well educated on the history. I highly recommend this tour to learn quite a bit of the history of the importance of Nagoya Castle. Unfortunately, the tournament will no longer be held at Dolphin Arena since it’s been around since 1964 and no plans for renovation.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erinlj9238hl
May 30, 2024
Amazing sumo tour! - Taka was an amazing tour guide! Very knowledgeable, answered all of our questions, took us on a super cool tour of the stadium and surrounding areas, and even got us a picture with some of the sumo wrestlers! I would absolutely recommend this to everyone!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bogey831
May 26, 2024
Bucket list! - We initially were going to purchase tickets on our own. Instead we did it through guide and we were not disappointed. Jeff took us around the local area around the arena including where the sumo wrestlers lived. He explained everything that was happening during the matches. This was my wive’s bucket but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chantal_f
Jun 5, 2024
Better off going on your own - 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.
Review provided by Viator
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