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Watching a grand sumo tournament is an impressive experience, but have you ever considered observing a sumo practice session at a sumo stable to feel the power up close? This experience allows you to interact with real sumo wrestlers during their morning training and truly experience the authentic world of sumo.
Morning Practice (Asa-geiko)
Morning practice refers to the sumo training sessions held in the morning, as the name suggests.
Sumo wrestlers dedicate this time to sharpening their skills, training their minds, and focusing their concentration at its peak.
The practice session, where the stablemaster and all the wrestlers gather, only takes place in the morning.
Therefore, everyone is serious and the atmosphere is highly sacred. Sumo itself has a history dating back approximately 1500 years and was originally a ritual performed as an offering to the gods.
The mawashi (loin cloth) worn by the yokozuna (grand champion) during their dohyo-iri (ring-entering ceremony) features a shimenawa (sacred rope) often seen in shrine sanctuaries, symbolizing the yokozuna as a divine being.
Morning practice in this sacred sport of sumo places great importance on etiquette, making it an extremely valuable experience to observe.
Day 1 Ryogoku, Tokyo
8:00 - 8:30 am: Meet the guide at the JR Ryogoku station - Note: Meeting point：It depends on the date of the event.
There are 5 sumo rooms in total.
We will inform you of the meeting place one week before the event, as it will change depending on the holding and availability
Watch the Sumo morning training at a Sumo table in Tokyo:
If you go and watch the match in the Sumo Stadium it's really difficult to get a seat close to the sumo ring, but the good thing about this tours that you get to watch their training from a very close distance!!
A local tour guide will take you to the "World of Sumo":
How well do you know about Sumo? Do you know about the rules of the Sumo match? Do you know what the Sumo-wrestlers eat to grow big? Don't worry, that's why a local tour guide will be there for you throughout the tour to give you insights. We will be using cards and have quizzes to explain all the questions you have about Sumo. Please feel free to ask any questions during the tour!
10:00 - 10:30 am: Tour ends at the venue. Please make your own way to your next destination.
- ・Morning practice viewing fee
・Sumo stable gratuity
・Sumo wrestlers gratuity
・Our local staff, Attendance fee - Tour photos
- English speaking local guide
- Out of respect for Sumo wrestlers, please agree with the followings
-Note that Sumo practice is not for sightseeing
- No chatting, no food and drinks inside
- Once you leave, you are not allowed to re-enter, if you leave during practice please do while on break time quickly and quietly
- Mobile phone/smartphone should be on silent mode
- When take photos, don't move your positions and no flashlight, no shutter sound
- No filming inside (photos can be taken)
- Avoid wearing a revealing dress - Due to the situation of the worldwide spread of coronavirus, you may not be allowed to enter the sumo stable if you look sick with either sneezing or coughing to protect the wrestlers’ health condition.
- As Sumo stables has the right to adjust their schedule in the last minute based on their tournament schedule and wrestlers' condition, please note that there is the possibility to cancel the tour due to the sudden change or cancellation of the practice by sumo stables. In that case, we will fully refund your booking.
- Available for those who are only over 12 years old since those who are younger than 12 years old are not allowed inside the sumo morning practice.
- Please be aware that guests may have to sit on the floor as most of stables do not usually offer chairs.
- The sumo stable has the right to refuse guests who offend the rules of the stable and in this case, we will not be able to refund.
- Sumo stables decide if the audiences are allowed to take the photos of sumo wrestlers or the photos with sumo wrestlers. Please note that there is the possibility that you cannot take those photos in the case the sumo stables rejected for whatever reasons.
- In the case that the group is large, the group may be split into the different groups and each may visit different stables.
- You may not be allowed to go to the toilet during the practice, so please make sure to go to toilet before the tour starts.
- The duration of sumo practice may prolong sometimes, which may cause the tour end later than the estimated time.
- Out of respect for other guests and to ensure the best tour for everyone, we must start the tour on time. You will not be able to join the tour, get refund or rescheduled if you are late for the tour and missed the group.
- We might sometime ask you to change the time/date depending on the availability of the Sumo morning practice schedule.
- This tour doesn't operate during the actual tournament. Please check with your travel consultant for more details.
- Be sure to wear comfortable shoes.