Tokyo January Sumo Tournament (Hatsu Basho) 2027 Confirmed

大相撲一月場所（初場所） — Tokyo (Kanto)

Last updated: Fri, September 25, 2026

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The Hatsu Basho ("first tournament") opens the sumo year: 15 days of bouts at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo's national sumo hall. Every rank competes each day, from the youngest wrestlers in the morning to the ozeki and yokozuna in the late afternoon, and the ceremonial ring-entering of the top division is the highlight of each day. It is one of three tournaments held in Tokyo each year, and the one that best fits a winter trip.

Background

Grand sumo holds six official tournaments a year, each lasting 15 days: three in Tokyo (January, May, September) and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November). The Japan Sumo Association sets the dates years in advance. Ryogoku, the neighborhood around the Kokugikan, is home to many sumo stables and to the Sumo Museum inside the hall.

Getting there

2 min walk from JR Ryogoku Station (West Exit, JR Sobu Line). 5 min walk from Ryogoku Station on the Toei Oedo Line. There is no parking — come by train.

Tips

• Tickets go on sale on December 5, 2026 (the banzuke rankings are announced on December 21). Weekend days and the opening and final days tend to sell out first, so buy on release day if your dates are fixed.
• The Japan Sumo Association's English site links to the official ticket seller, Ticket Oosumo, which has an English version. A handling fee is added to the ticket price.
• Bouts run all day: the lower divisions start around 9:00–9:20 AM (around 11:00 AM from day 13), the juryo ring-entering ceremony is around 2:15 PM and the top-division (makuuchi) ring-entering ceremony around 3:40 PM, with the last bout around 6:00 PM. Arriving by mid-afternoon covers the highlights.
• Box seats (masu-seki) are sold per box and you sit on cushions on the floor — tight for four adults. Chair seats on the second floor are cheaper and easier for a long day.
• Ringside tamari seats are for ages 16 and over only. Anyone aged 4 or over on the day needs their own ticket.

Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Fri, September 25, 2026