January Sumo in Tokyo 2027: Hatsu Basho Dates, Tickets & Where to Eat in Ryogoku

The January sumo tournament in Tokyo, the Hatsu Basho, runs for 15 days from Sunday, January 10 to Sunday, January 24, 2027 at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, December 5, 2026 through Ticket Oosumo, the Japan Sumo Association’s official ticket site. This guide covers how to get tickets, when to arrive, what to eat in and around Ryogoku, and how to visit a morning practice without upsetting anyone.

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Updated October 2026 — reviewed by Sunny Pham Sensei (Lệ Nhật Sensei), Japan National Acupuncture License No. 196186 (鍼師) / 195591 (灸師). Written by the Fuji Wellness team, based locally in Edogawa City, east Tokyo.

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When is the January 2027 sumo tournament?

Grand sumo has six official tournaments (honbasho) a year. Three are held in Tokyo, in January, May and September, and all three take place at Ryogoku Kokugikan. The January tournament is the first of the year, which is why it is called the Hatsu Basho (“first tournament”).

Item	January 2027 tournament
Dates	Sun Jan 10 – Sun Jan 24, 2027 (15 days)
Venue	Ryogoku Kokugikan, 1-3-28 Yokoami, Sumida City
Ticket sales open	Sat Dec 5, 2026, on Ticket Oosumo
Banzuke (rankings) published	Mon Dec 21, 2026
Weekend days	Jan 10, 16, 17, 23, 24
Public holiday	Mon Jan 11 (Coming of Age Day)

The dates and sale date come from the official Ticket Oosumo English site. For results, rankings and news, the Japan Sumo Association is the official source.

How do you buy Hatsu Basho tickets?

Advance tickets are sold online. The safest options are the official ones:

Ticket Oosumo (English). The Japan Sumo Association’s official site, with an English version at sumo.pia.jp/en. You pay by credit card, and a booking fee applies per ticket. For recent tournaments, tickets bought on the English site could only be printed at a Seven-Eleven in Japan, so plan to pick them up after you land.
Ticket Oosumo (Japanese). The Japanese version sometimes has extra seat types. Use it if you read Japanese or have a friend who does.

A few things that matter:

Sale day is competitive. Weekend days, the holiday on January 11 and the final days (day 13 onwards) tend to sell out very quickly. Be online when sales open; recent tournaments have opened at 10:00 Japan time, which is evening or night in North America and Europe.
No refunds. Ticket Oosumo does not allow refunds or date changes after purchase, so check your travel dates first.
Same-day tickets are not guaranteed. In some tournaments a small number of same-day tickets have been sold at the Kokugikan in the early morning, with long queues; for others there were none. Do not build your trip around them.
Resale sites often charge far more than face value. If you use one, read its terms carefully.

Seat types: box, chair or ringside?

Seat	Where	Good for
Tamari (ringside)	Cushions around the ring	Serious fans; strict rules (no food or drink, no photos during bouts, minimum age)
Masu (box seats)	Ground floor, tatami boxes on cushions	Groups and couples; very Japanese experience, but cramped for long legs
Chair seats (S, A, B, C)	Second floor	Most visitors; easy to sit in for hours, good view of the whole ring

Box seats are sold per box (for example, two or four people), not per person. If you are tall, have knee or back problems, or plan to stay all afternoon, a second-floor chair seat is often more comfortable than sitting cross-legged on a cushion for four hours. Prices vary by seat, tournament and day; check the current price list on Ticket Oosumo when you book.

A day at the Kokugikan: what time should you arrive?

Bouts start in the morning with the lowest divisions and build up to the top division in the late afternoon. A typical Tokyo tournament day looks roughly like this (times shift slightly from day 13 onwards):

Time	What happens
8:30	Doors open
From about 9:00	Lower-division bouts (jonokuchi up to makushita)
About 14:15	Juryo division ring-entry ceremony
About 15:40	Makuuchi (top division) and yokozuna ring-entry ceremonies
About 16:00–18:00	Top-division bouts
About 18:00	Bow-twirling ceremony (yumitori-shiki) ends the day

Most visitors arrive between 13:00 and 14:30. That gives you time to find your seat, buy food and watch the juryo ring-entry before the top division. Your ticket is valid all day, so if you are a big fan, the quiet morning bouts are a relaxed way to see young wrestlers up close.

Inside the building, the Sumo Museum is open to ticket holders during the tournament, with shorter hours (in January 2026 it was 12:30–16:00). It is free with your ticket.

Where to eat: Kokugikan yakitori and chanko nabe in Ryogoku

Inside the Kokugikan

Kokugikan yakitori. Made in a kitchen in the basement of the Kokugikan and sold in small boxes, it is meant to be eaten cold and is the classic sumo snack. Chicken is considered lucky in sumo because a bird stands on two legs (a wrestler who touches the ground with a hand loses).
Chanko in the basement hall. During tournaments, a basement hall serves bowls of chanko (the wrestlers’ hot-pot stew), with recipes from different sumo stables. Expect a queue around midday.
Bento. Wrestler-themed bento and snacks are sold on both floors. You can eat at your seat in box and chair seats, but not in ringside seats.

Chanko nabe around Ryogoku Station

Ryogoku has many chanko restaurants, several run by former wrestlers. Well-known names include:

Tomoegata, a few minutes from the Kokugikan, known for a lightly salted chicken-and-sardine broth.
Kappo Yoshiba, a former sumo stable with the original practice ring still inside.
Chanko Kirishima, linked to the former ozeki Kirishima, close to Ryogoku Station.

Chanko is filling and full of vegetables, making it a good dinner on a cold January evening. Weekend dinners after the tournament fill up fast, so book ahead if you can.

Morning practice (asa-geiko): how to watch respectfully

Watching a stable’s morning practice (asa-geiko) is many visitors’ favourite sumo memory. A few points first:

Most stables are private homes and workplaces. Do not turn up uninvited. Many stables do not accept casual visitors at all.
Go with an organised tour or a confirmed arrangement. Several tour companies in Ryogoku arrange visits, usually starting around 8:00.
Timing. Practice is most intense in the weeks before a tournament. During the tournament itself many stables hold shorter sessions, so ask your tour operator what to expect.
Etiquette. Keep completely silent, put your phone on silent, take off hats and sunglasses, never use flash, and do not film unless you have been told it is allowed. Sit still on the floor (another reason to stretch your legs and back beforehand), and do not stand up or leave in the middle of a bout.

More to do in Ryogoku

Edo-Tokyo Museum. Next door to the Kokugikan, it reopened on March 31, 2026 after about four years of renovation. Admission to the permanent exhibition is ¥800 for adults, and junior high students and younger enter free. It is usually closed on Mondays; check the museum calendar before you go.
Kyu-Yasuda Garden. A small, free strolling garden beside the Kokugikan, good for a quiet ten minutes.
Ryogoku Edo Noren. A food hall beside Ryogoku Station built around a full-size replica sumo ring.
The Sumida River. Walk five minutes west for river views and a short walk towards Asakusa if you have time.

Combining sumo with a recovery session

A common pattern among our visitors is to combine a day at the sumo with a session at Fuji Wellness. Many people find several hours on a box-seat cushion hard on the hips, knees and lower back, especially after a long flight.

The route is simple: Toei bus 錦27 starts at Ryogoku Station and runs via Kinshicho and Kameido to the Komatsugawa-keisatsusho-mae stop with no transfer. The ride takes about 25 minutes, and the clinic is a 3-minute walk from the stop.

How the tournament fits with the clinic’s hours:

Saturday, Sunday and the January 11 holiday: the clinic is open 8:00–12:00. A morning session, lunch, and then the 錦27 to Ryogoku gets you there in good time for the juryo ring-entry around 14:15.
Monday–Thursday: the clinic is open 9:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:00. A morning session before an afternoon at the Kokugikan works well.
Friday: the clinic is closed (January 15 and 22, 2027 are Fridays).

Consultations are in English, Vietnamese or Japanese, by appointment only. See our Ryogoku visitor page and the step-by-step guide to getting to Fuji Wellness, or contact us to book.

Frequently asked questions

What are the dates of the January 2027 sumo tournament in Tokyo?

The January 2027 Grand Sumo Tournament (Hatsu Basho) runs for 15 days, from Sunday, January 10 to Sunday, January 24, 2027, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Sumida City, Tokyo.

When do tickets for the January 2027 Hatsu Basho go on sale?

Advance tickets go on sale on Saturday, December 5, 2026 through Ticket Oosumo, the official ticket site of the Japan Sumo Association, which has an English version. Weekend days and the final days usually sell out quickly, so be ready when sales open.

What time should I arrive at the Kokugikan?

Doors open at around 8:30, but most visitors arrive between 13:00 and 14:30. The juryo ring-entry ceremony is at around 14:15, the top-division ring-entry at around 15:40, and the top-division bouts run until about 18:00.

Can I eat and drink at the sumo?

Yes, in box seats and second-floor chair seats. Kokugikan yakitori, bento and drinks are sold inside, and chanko stew is served in the basement hall during tournaments. Eating and drinking are not allowed in the ringside (tamari) seats.

How do I get from Ryogoku to Fuji Wellness?

Take Toei bus 錦27 from Ryogoku Station to the Komatsugawa-keisatsusho-mae stop, a direct ride of about 25 minutes, then walk 3 minutes. The clinic is open on weekend and holiday mornings and on weekday mornings and afternoons, closed on Fridays, by appointment only.