Tokyo Sumo History Walk & Chanko Lunch: Small Group or Private

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Drop in for a short visit at the famous stable, and look at the sumo stable from outside where sumo wrestlers live and train.

   15 min

2. Visit this shinto shrine where the founder of sumo is enshrined. Learn from the guide how he instigated sumo 1500 years ago; how the sumo rules have been refined to take a form as of now over years; how a ring entering ceremony is held here when a new grand champion (Yokozuna) comes into being; that Japan Sumo Association visits it to pray for a successful tournament 3 times a year.

   30 min

3. View the sumo arena from outside, a mecca of sumo where the Grand sumo tournaments are held three times a year. Learn from your guide lots of interesting stories this sumo-dedicated arena has including its overall structure, drum tower, and banners.

   30 min

4. Feel the atmosphere of old Edo (as Tokyo was called before). See a full-scale sumo ring. Learn from the guide so many stories about sumo observing the ring up close.

   30 min

5. Located at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo’s main sumo arena, the museum focuses on preserving and presenting the history and traditions of sumo. * The sumo museum is not open to visitors during the grand sumo tournaments and while its exhibits are changed. During that period, the guide will take you to alternative sumo-related landmarks.

   15 min

6. Kasugano Stable (Kasugano-beya) is one of the most historically significant sumo stables. A sumo stable is a communal home where wrestlers train, eat, and live together according to the customs and strict hierarchy of professional sumo. Even seeing this stable from outside helps understand that sumo is not simply a sport performed in an arena, but a way of life lived every day.

   15 min

7. See the venue of the sumo tournaments held during the edo (samurai) period. Learn the social status of wrestlers; how the tournaments were held and looked like during the pre-modern era.

   15 min

8. We will take you to one of the best chanko-nabe restaurants in town. Enjoy this nutrient hot-pot dish which is in the centerpiece of sumo wrestlers’ diet to gain weight and muscles to build their bodies. Learn from your guide all about sumo while having the lunch.

   1 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 29 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Tokyo

• Its from-price is close to the median of the 4374 experiences we list in Tokyo.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 625 of 4374.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Tokyo

Neon-lit districts, quiet shrines, superb food and distinct neighbourhoods make up Tokyo, a vast, orderly metropolis linked by punctual trains.

Every district feels like its own city. Shibuya's famous scramble crossing and Shinjuku's towers, bars and Golden Gai alleys pulse with energy, while Harajuku mixes youth fashion with the forested calm of the Meiji Jingu shrine. In Asakusa, the Sensō-ji temple and its market street keep an older Tokyo alive, and Ginza offers polished department stores and galleries.

Top-ranked sights in Tokyo: Senso-ji Temple (Asakusa Temple), Tokyo Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu).

See all 4374 experiences in Tokyo