You may know that sumo tournaments are held for fifteen days, every two months.
The January, May and September tournaments are held in Tokyo, while the March, July and November tournaments are held in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka, respectively.
But, what if you’re visiting in an even month like April..?
If you’re satisfied with a glimpse of these sumo wrestlers, you can check out their morning practice sessions.
A select number of sumo stables (sumo wrestlers belong to these sumo stables, where they live, eat and train) in Tokyo allow the public to view their training.
Training starts early, usually around 6am for the younger, lower-ranked wrestlers and around 8am for the higher-ranked ones.
You will be required to sit on the mats provided, and you may not talk as this will disturb training.
Please check and enquire about photography rules in advance, as this depends from stable to stable.
The stables known to accept public viewers are: Takasago stable (高砂部屋), Hakkaku stable (八角部屋), Dewaumi stable (出羽海部屋), Azumazeki stable (東関部屋).
The telephone numbers and addresses are below.
We suggest that you have someone (perhaps your hotel reception) call the stables in advance to see what days they have training.
Remember that they do not train every day, and will be away during tournaments.
Takasago stable: 03-5608-3223; Hojyo 3-5-4, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区本所3-5-4)
Hakkaku stable: 03-3621-0404; Kamesawa 1-16-1, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区亀沢1-16-1)
Dewaumi stable: 03-3632-4920; Ryogoku 2-3-15, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区両国2-3-15)
Azumazeki stable: 03-3625-0033; Higashi-komagata 4-6-4, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区東駒形4-6-4)
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