We headed over to the Ryogoku Kokugikan (the dedicated arena for sumo wrestling in Tokyo) at 7 a.m. to try our luck at same-day tickets. Success! 2016 Sumo Grand Tournament we’re ready for you! 🏆With tickets in hand, we took a brief detour to explore the Ueno neighborhood and it’s beautiful parks, shrines, and temples. Below, famed Yushima Tenmangu Shrine where the God of Learning is enshrined.
But by mid-day, we were ready to settle into our seats and watch hours of this mesmerizing and sacred sport.
The basic idea is to throw your opponent out of the ring or onto the ground, and while the winningest players are usually bigger, there were many smaller sumos (rikishi) who overthrew much larger opponents in staggering displays of strength and balance. If you’re ever in Japan during tournament time, it’s definitely worth trying to attend Japan’s wonderful national sport! 🎌😤🏆
Watch a video of a live match on our YouTube vlog.
Wow that is like being at a wrestling match but with big guys wearing very little to the imagination. Glad you were able to get a ticket and see this sport in Japan which is like going to any big sport here in the US of A.
Glad you were seated up above not in the front row where then it would have been too much to see. Enjoy love ya both God bless
Fantastic Experience!