Visit Sumo Training- Morning

- Watch sumo training session with knowledgeable sumo tour guide.
- Stroll around vicinity of stable.

Sumo is a contact sport. Sumo wrestlers weighing over 100kg (220 lb) practice with all their strength. You can watch their practice at the ring side. Sumo wrestlers wearing nothing but a loincloth surround the ring. Practice starts from the lower ranked sumo wrestlers. All other wrestlers except for the competing two perform stretching exercise, basic sumo exercise to strengthen legs, hips, and upper body, and muscle building exercise. A match practice is a serious bout between two sumo wrestlers. As if competing in a real tournament, wrestlers hit head to head, push each other, or throw the opponent onto the ring. The winner is qualified to stay in the ring and competes with a new opponent. Some wresters stay in the ring for a long time by beating many opponents. As the practice progresses a higher ranked wrestler comes into the ring and easily defeats the lower ranked winner. Sumo is a world of real ability. Only the talented and well trained wrestlers can get to the higher rank and the rest should leave or retire.

Consequently, a sumo practice watch tour is permitted only to those who realize and follow the sumo tradition and manners. Our guide will ask you to follow certain rules in watching the practice. We may sometimes have to ask certain people who don’t follow the rules to leave the tour.

Our officially certified guide comes to meet you at your hotel and gives you basic guidance on how to properly watch a sumo practice at a sumo stable. Many sumo stables are not taking foreign visitors now, but we will do our utmost effort to find such stables that accept a sumo practice watch.