Two sumo wrestlers meeting at the tachiai in the ring at a grand tournament
Sumo calendar and tickets

Sumo in Japan 2026–2027: Tournament Dates and Tickets

Japan holds six grand sumo tournaments a year, each 15 days long: three in Tokyo (January, May and September) and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November). Recent tournaments have sold out, so the date that matters most is the day the general sale opens, four to eight weeks ahead. The calendar below runs to the end of 2028.

Last updated: 2026-10-16

Next Up: November Tournament (Kyushu Basho)

November 8 to 22 (Sun to Sun), 2026 at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka

Sold out. No tickets left for any day and none at the door; the only official way in is the fixed-price resale on Ticket Oosumo's Japanese site

Grand Sumo 2026–27The next six tournaments, and when tickets go on sale2026Nov 8–22FukuokaSold out2027Jan 10–24TokyoTickets from Dec 5Mar 14–28OsakaTickets from Feb 6May 9–23TokyoTickets from Apr 10Jul 11–25NagoyaTickets from May 15Sep 12–26TokyoTickets from Aug 7TokyoRyogoku KokugikanRyogoku Kokugikan, TokyoOsakaEDION Arena OsakaEDION Arena Osaka, OsakaNagoyaIG ArenaIG Arena, NagoyaFukuokaFukuoka Kokusai CenterFukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuokatimetojapan.com15 days each · dates checked Oct 16timetojapan.com/sumo
The next six tournaments, worked out from today's date: the gold one is next or on now. Ticket dates are the day the general sale opens on the official site.

Sumo Tournament Dates 2026, 2027 and 2028

Every tournament starts on the second Sunday of its month and runs to the Sunday two weeks later, so days 1, 8 and 15 are Sundays. The association does not state that as a rule, but every date it has published through 2028 follows it.

The general sale opens on a Saturday, at 10:00 Japan time in every sale of 2026. The November 2026 tournament in Fukuoka is already sold out on all 15 days, with no tickets on the day.

  • November Tournament 2026Coming up
    Dates
    November 8 to 22 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka
    Tickets
    Sold out
  • January Tournament 2027Coming up
    Dates
    January 10 to 24 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
    Tickets
    From Sat, Dec 5
  • March Tournament 2027Coming up
    Dates
    March 14 to 28 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka
    Tickets
    From Sat, Feb 6
  • May Tournament 2027Coming up
    Dates
    May 9 to 23 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
    Tickets
    From Sat, Apr 10
  • July Tournament 2027Coming up
    Dates
    July 11 to 25 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    IG Arena, Nagoya
    Tickets
    From Sat, May 15
  • September Tournament 2027Coming up
    Dates
    September 12 to 26 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
    Tickets
    From Sat, Aug 7
  • November Tournament 2027Coming up
    Dates
    November 14 to 28 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka
    Tickets
    From Sat, Sep 18
  • January Tournament 2028Coming up
    Dates
    January 9 to 23 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
    Tickets
    From Sat, Dec 4
  • March Tournament 2028Coming up
    Dates
    March 12 to 26 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka
    Tickets
    From Sat, Feb 5
  • May Tournament 2028Coming up
    Dates
    May 14 to 28 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
    Tickets
    From Sat, Apr 8
  • July Tournament 2028Coming up
    Dates
    July 9 to 23 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    IG Arena, Nagoya
    Tickets
    From Sat, May 20
  • September Tournament 2028Coming up
    Dates
    September 10 to 24 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
    Tickets
    From Sat, Aug 5
  • November Tournament 2028Coming up
    Dates
    November 12 to 26 (Sun to Sun)
    Where
    Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka
    Tickets
    From Sat, Sep 16

How to Get Sumo Tickets

  1. Buy only through the official channels. The main one is Ticket Oosumo, the Japan Sumo Association's own ticket site, in English and Japanese. Ticket Pia, Seven-Eleven stores in Japan and a Japanese-language phone line also sell; no other convenience-store chain does.
  2. Mark the general sale date in the calendar above and book that morning, from 10:00 Japan time: every tournament of 2024 sold out, and so did all three Tokyo general sales of 2026.
  3. Or try a lottery first. Before the general sale come two fan club lotteries, a Ticket Oosumo lottery and a Ticket Pia lottery, in that order, and a day or seat type that sells out in the lotteries never reaches the general sale. The Ticket Oosumo lottery needs no fan club membership, only an account on the Japanese site, and a lottery ticket costs ¥550 more in fees. For November 2026 the English site also ran an international lottery, September 8 to 11.
  4. On the English site you pay by credit card, plus ¥2,000 a ticket in fees, and print the tickets at any Seven-Eleven in Japan. They cannot be changed or refunded, and a lost ticket means no entry. Some seats are sold only on the Japanese site: in November 2026, the ringside cushions and the front boxes.
  5. The Japanese site needs a free account, a phone check from a registered phone and a card enrolled in 3D Secure. Its fees are lower: ¥275 a ticket plus ¥165 for a paper ticket or ¥110 for a QR ticket. QR tickets have to be shared out before the gate, one code per guest: screenshots and printouts are refused.
  6. Sold out? Use the official resale and nothing else. Ticket Oosumo runs a fixed-price resale, first come, first served. The association says resold tickets from anywhere else can be cancelled and their holders turned away, names Buy Sumo Tickets, viagogo, StubHub, Ticket Ryutsu Center (チケット流通センター) and Ticketjam (チケジャム) among the sites to avoid, and dealt with 138 cases in 2025.

Seats and Prices

Tamari (ringside)
Floor cushions right around the ring, one person each, 16 and over only.No food, drink, photos or phones, and wrestlers can land on you.
Masu (box seat)
A square box of floor cushions, sold whole: the price is per person times the box size. Tokyo sold boxes for one to six people in September 2026; Nagoya sold only boxes for four.SS, S, A, B and C are the row bands from the ring outwards. Shoes go behind the box, and the Kokugikan bans legless backrest chairs.
Chair seat
Stadium seats on the upper floor, one person each, graded from SS or S down to C or D by distance and side.The cheapest way in: from January 2027 a Tokyo Chair D costs ¥3,000, and a weekday Chair C in Fukuoka ¥2,000.
Box seat (Kokugikan)
A block at the back of the Kokugikan's first floor, priced per person. It is on the 2027 price list, but none of the 2026 Tokyo tournaments put it on sale.
Kids and senior seats
Cheaper boxes or chairs for groups that include someone aged 4 to 15, or someone 60 or over. In Tokyo in 2026 the voucher could not be used at all without that person.
Wheelchair space
A space for a wheelchair user and one companion at a single price, sold from a set date for each tournament (by phone, in Japanese, for November 2026). A wheelchair cannot go into a box.
Ryogoku Kokugikan: from January 2027
Tamari (ringside)¥25,000–30,000
Masu SS (rows 1 and 2)¥22,500–25,000
Masu S (rows 3 and 4)¥18,000–22,000
Masu A¥15,000–18,000
Masu B¥11,000–14,000
Masu C¥9,500–11,500
Box seat¥20,000–25,000
Chair S¥11,000–13,000
Chair A¥10,000–12,000
Chair B¥6,000–8,000
Chair C¥5,000–7,000
Chair D¥3,000

Per person; boxes are sold whole. The lower figure is a weekday, the higher one day 14 and the final day, with weekends and holidays between.

EDION Arena Osaka: from March 2027
Tamari (ringside)¥20,000
Masu S¥17,000
Masu A¥14,000–15,000
Masu B¥11,500–12,500
Masu C¥9,500–10,500
Chair SS¥13,000
Chair S¥10,000–11,000
Chair A¥7,500–8,000
Chair B¥6,000–6,500
Chair C¥5,000–5,500
Chair D¥4,000

Per person; weekday, then weekend and holiday.

IG Arena: July 2026, kept for 2027
Tamari (ringside)¥20,000
Masu S¥15,000
Masu A¥12,000–13,000
Masu B¥10,000–11,000
Masu C¥9,000–10,000
Chair SS¥10,000–11,000
Chair S¥9,000–10,000
Chair A¥7,000–8,000
Chair B¥6,000–7,000
Chair C¥4,500–5,000
Chair D¥3,500–4,000

Per person; weekday, then weekend and holiday. In July 2026 every box was a box for four.

Fukuoka Kokusai Center: November 2026, kept for 2027
Tamari (ringside)¥20,000
Masu S¥13,000–14,000
Masu A¥11,000–13,000
Masu B¥9,500–10,000
Masu C¥8,000–8,500
Chair S¥5,500–6,000
Chair A¥4,500–5,000
Chair B¥2,500–3,000
Chair C¥2,000–2,500

Per person; weekday, then weekend and holiday.

A Day at the Tournament

  1. 8:45 Doors open (10:30 on days 13 and 14, 10:00 on the final day).
  2. About 9:20 The four lower divisions start in a quiet hall. From day 3 the first bouts are maezumo, for recruits not yet on the ranking sheet.
  3. About 14:15 The juryo division enters the ring in its ceremonial aprons; juryo bouts from about 14:35.
  4. About 15:40 The top division, makuuchi, enters the ring, east side first on odd days.
  5. About 15:55 Each yokozuna performs his own ring entry, with a sword bearer and a dew sweeper.
  6. About 16:05 Top-division bouts. The ozeki and the other top ranks come on after 17:00.
  7. About 17:55 The bow-twirling ceremony after the last bout. The drum plays everyone out at about 18:00.
  8. Final day Bouts start later, at about 10:10, but the afternoon runs early: the top division enters the ring at about 15:15. At about 17:15 three wrestlers from each side stamp in unison before the last three bouts, and after them come the Emperor's Cup and the three special prizes.

These are the association's 2026 times at the Kokugikan. On ordinary days the other venues' afternoons ran within five minutes of them, though Osaka's mornings started up to 20 minutes earlier. If you only want the top two divisions, be in your seat for the juryo ring entry at about 14:15.

Good to know on the day

  • Re-entry differs by venue (2026 rules): once in Tokyo and Osaka, back by 17:00; not at all in Nagoya; as often as you like in Fukuoka until 17:00.
  • No bottles, cans or cool boxes, and bags may be searched at the door. At the Kokugikan big bags go to the cloakroom (¥800 in September 2026); IG Arena in Nagoya bans wheeled cases outright.
  • You can eat at your seat, except ringside. The Kokugikan's yakitori, made in its own basement to taste good even cold, was ¥850 for five skewers in September 2026, and a bowl of a stable's chanko ¥500 in the basement hall.
  • No flash, no drums, banners or noisemakers, and smoking only at the designated smoking spots. Everyone aged 4 and over needs a ticket.
  • Go quiet at the tachiai: when the referee crouches and points his fan forward, the bout is about to start.

The Four Venues

Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo

両国国技館 · January, May, September

Getting there
Two minutes on foot from the west exit of JR Ryogoku Station on the Sobu Line, about five from Ryogoku Station on the Toei Oedo Line. There is no parking.
Same-day tickets
None once a day has sold out, and all three Tokyo general sales of 2026 sold out. Until a day is gone, the official site, Ticket Pia and Seven-Eleven sell until 17:00 on the day itself.
Good to know
Re-entry once a day, through the South Gate (September 2026). Big bags go to the paid cloakroom on the first floor; there are coin lockers on the walkways outside.
Our Ryogoku guide →

EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka

エディオンアリーナ大阪 · March

Getting there
250 m from the south exit of Nankai Namba Station and 350 m from exit 5 of the subway's Namba Station; JR Namba is 800 m away.
Same-day tickets
In March 2026 there were no unreserved seats and nothing was sold at the door once the advance sale had sold out.
Good to know
Re-entry once, back by 17:00 (March 2026). The basement chanko stand sold a ¥500 bowl, cash only, with a different stable's recipe each half of the tournament.
Our Namba guide →

IG Arena, Nagoya

IGアリーナ · July

Getting there
Right outside exit 4 of Meijo Koen Station on the Meijo subway line. On crowded days the association suggests Josai Station on the Tsurumai Line instead, about 20 minutes on foot. No parking and no drop-off for cars.
Same-day tickets
Nothing at the door once the advance sale has sold out (July 2026).
Good to know
No re-entry (July 2026). No wheeled cases, bags must fit between your seat and your legs, and the lockers take transport IC cards only. The July tournament moved here in 2025.
Our Nagoya guide →

Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka

福岡国際センター · November

Getting there
No station next door: Nishitetsu bus 88 from stop F outside Hakata Station to Kokusai Kaigijo Sunpalace-mae, or bus 99 to Kokusai Center Sunpalace-mae; from Tenjin, bus 80 from stop 2A at Solaria Stage. Gofukumachi subway station is 12 minutes on foot.
Same-day tickets
None for November 2026: every day is sold out, and the official site says nothing will be sold on the day.
Good to know
Re-entry as often as you like until 17:00 (November 2026).
Our Fukuoka guide →

Sumo Between Tournaments

The Sumo Museum

One room on the Kokugikan's ground floor with exhibitions that change three times a year. It is free, open 10:00 to 16:30 on weekdays and closed on weekends and holidays. During the Tokyo tournaments it opens daily from 12:30 to 16:00, but only to people with a ticket for that day.

Free events at the Kokugikan

The day before the September 2026 tournament the senior referee consecrated the Kokugikan's ring in a Shinto ceremony, burying salt, kelp, dried squid and chestnuts in its centre, and the public could watch free (entry 9:20 to 9:50, no wrestlers). Before the May 2026 tournament the Yokozuna Deliberation Council's practice review was open to the public, free, on May 1 from about 8:00 to 11:00. The association announces these shortly before (nine days ahead for the September ring ceremony, four weeks for the May practice), and the 2027 dates are not out yet.

Regional tours (jungyo)

Between tournaments the wrestlers tour towns across Japan, and a tour day runs from open practice at about 9:30 to the close at about 15:00, with comic bouts and a hair-tying demonstration before the top division fights at about 13:30. The winter 2026 tour runs from November 29 in Amakusa to December 20 in Uruma, Okinawa, by way of Kyushu, Hiroshima, Kansai, Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Saitama, and each stop sells its own tickets.

Stable practice

The association offers no way to book a visit to a stable's morning practice. The open practice, the ring ceremony and the regional tours above are the official ways to see sumo outside the tournaments. For the rest of a sumo day in Tokyo, see our Ryogoku guide.

Sumo FAQ

When are the sumo tournaments in 2027?

January 10 to 24 in Tokyo, March 14 to 28 in Osaka, May 9 to 23 in Tokyo, July 11 to 25 in Nagoya, September 12 to 26 in Tokyo and November 14 to 28 in Fukuoka. Each one runs 15 days from the second Sunday of its month.

When do sumo tickets go on sale?

On a Saturday four to eight weeks before each tournament, at 10:00 Japan time in every sale of 2026. For 2027: December 5, 2026 for January, February 6 for March, April 10 for May, May 15 for July, August 7 for September and September 18 for November. Lotteries for fan club members and for Ticket Oosumo and Ticket Pia users come before each general sale.

How much are sumo tickets?

The cheapest adult seat is a weekday Chair C in Fukuoka at ¥2,000. In Tokyo from January 2027, a Chair D costs ¥3,000 and a ringside cushion ¥25,000 to ¥30,000. Masu box seats are priced per person (¥9,500 to ¥25,000 in Tokyo from January 2027) and sold as whole boxes, and the official English site adds ¥2,000 a ticket in fees.

Can you buy sumo tickets on the day?

Only for a day that has not sold out: the official site, Ticket Pia and Seven-Eleven keep selling until 17:00 on the day. Recent general sales have sold out, and once a day is gone there is no box office sale at the door; the November 2026 tournament is sold out on all 15 days.

Can foreigners buy sumo tickets online?

Yes, on Ticket Oosumo's English site, the Japan Sumo Association's official ticket site: credit card only, ¥2,000 a ticket in fees, and you print the tickets at a Seven-Eleven in Japan. Before the November 2026 general sale it also ran an international lottery. Some seats, such as the ringside cushions, may be sold only on the Japanese site.

Are sumo ticket resale sites safe?

No. The Japan Sumo Association says resold tickets can be cancelled and their holders turned away at the gate, and it names Buy Sumo Tickets, viagogo, StubHub, Ticket Ryutsu Center (チケット流通センター) and Ticketjam (チケジャム) among the sites to avoid. The only official resale is the fixed-price resale on Ticket Oosumo.