This post is part of a series from our recent holiday to Japan. You can read more about our trip by clicking here – Japan With Kids.
After a lovely reader Jen, suggested we see some sumo wrestling while in Japan, we were so excited to find out that there was a sumo wrestling tournament on in Tokyo while we would be there. We bought the tickets before we left Australia, so it was great to get it organised because tickets do sell out. You can see the schedule for sumo wrestling tournaments on in Tokyo for the next couple of years here.
The tickets allow you to be at the event all day with one leave pass. With our youngest kids aged 4 & 7 we decided we would attend for only half the day. We went to the later half as that was when the more prominent wrestlers would be on.
We would have loved to have a box seat, but the cost was prohibitive for us. Single tickets were ¥3,600, while a box for four people was ¥36,800 and we would have need two. While we were much further from the action, we could still see very well.
In fact, I think this seating was best for us, because after about the first hour, the 4 & 9 year olds spent most their time on the ground doing the activities they had brought along.
While the adults and the older kids appreciated the rituals and customs of the tournament.
We had a match guide and hired a couple of FM radio translators. The tournament is covered by television so the older kids listen to the translations of the TV commentary, which they found very entertaining.
While we all enjoyed the sumo wrestling, staying for nearly four hours was a bit too long for the younger ones. Towards the end, I took them out for a walk around the outside of the arena and I was very glad that we had packed activities and snacks for the kids. There was food on sale, but like all arena events it was expensive. I highly recommend taking along your own water and snacks.
We saw some amazing bouts and I loved the focus, pageantry and tradition of the sumo wrestling. The wrestlers themselves are like rock stars in Japan, arriving in limousines and walking on to red carpet to enter the arena!
If you are in Japan when there is a sumo wrestling tournament on, I would highly recommend going along.
Here is a short video of some of the fab wrestling we watched. {Click here to see the video if you are reading via email.}
The Planning With Kids family traveled to Japan courtesy of Jetstar.