Tournaments & Competitions

The most popular tournament and competition for visitors to experience would be a sumo wrestling match. This full contact, Japanese cultural treasure, wrestling sport originated in Japan and is practiced professionally. Sumo wrestlers, or “rikishi”, must attempt to force their opponent out of the ring or cause any part of their opponent’s body to touch the ground, excluding feet, to win. Visitors can purchase sumo tournament tickets around one month prior to the event through official vendors, buysumotickets.com, or at some convenience stores. Foreigners can watch the sumo match from ringside, box, or balcony seats.

Other popular tournaments in Japan include baseball and soccer. You can purchase these sports tournament tickets on game day or online. More competitions in Japan include horse racing, a popular spectator sport with more than 21,000 races held every year by the Japan Racing Association. There are even power boat racing competitions, officially called Boat Race (kyotei), which is one of the few sports that can be legally bet on in Japan.