Watch A Sumo Tournament

The adventure

Sumo is mostly ritual and a few seconds of violence. The wrestlers climb into the ring, stamp, throw salt to purify it, crouch, stare and stand up again, sometimes several times, building the tension. The crowd knows the routine and waits.

Then, without warning, both men explode forward. Bodies slap together, feet slide in the clay, and in a few seconds one of them is pushed out or thrown down, and it's over. The top wrestlers, the yokozuna and ozeki, enter in embroidered silk aprons worth a fortune. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan holds about 11,000 people, many eating bento boxes in box seats on cushions, and when a top wrestler is upset by a lower one, the cushions fly into the ring.

Why it’s epic

• The top-division ring-entering ceremony, dohyō-iri.
• Grand sumo tournaments in January, May and September in Tokyo.
• Ryōgoku, Tokyo's sumo district, with stables and chanko-nabe restaurants.

What it is

Japan has six grand sumo tournaments a year, each lasting 15 days. Three are held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, the others in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

How to do it

Buy tickets online when they go on sale, about a month before. Same-day tickets are sometimes sold at the door.

Top tip

Arrive in the afternoon for the top-division ring-entering ceremony and stay to the end.

Need to know

• Good seats sell out fast; check the Japan Sumo Association's sale dates.
• Box seats are for up to four people sitting on cushions.
• Early sessions feature lower-ranked wrestlers and are almost empty.

Plan this trip

Rough cost

£750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK

Time needed

A day

Best time to go

January, May or September in Tokyo

Fly into

HND airport

Arena seats are reasonable; box seats cost much more.

Make it happen

• Tours and ticketsGetYourGuide
• FlightsSkyscanner

Why it’s on my list

Not done yet. If you’ve done it and have tips, tell me about it.