In Osaka, spring doesn’t just mean the arrival of the cherry blossoms – it also heralds the thunderous return of what’s always one of the city’s most anticipated sporting spectacles. The March Grand Sumo Tournament brings 15 days of high-stakes wrestling to Edion Arena Osaka, where Japan’s top-ranked athletes compete for the Emperor’s Cup.
As the second tournament of the year, the showdowns in Osaka are known for setting the tone for the rest of the season, with early-year performances often dictating which wrestlers will dominate the bouts, and headlines, in the year ahead.
Running between March 8 and 22, the tournament has a flexible structure that lets you dip in and out as you please. Its tickets are for all day, so you can catch everything from the morning bouts to the main event matches featuring top-division wrestlers from around 2pm. One re-entry is also allowed until 5pm – perfect for grabbing lunch in nearby Namba between bouts.
Don’t worry if you’re not a seasoned follower: sumo is one of those rare sports where the sheer spectacle can carry you through even if you don’t know all the rules. That said, if you want to brush up beforehand, Netflix’s Sanctuary offers an excellent crash course in the sport’s traditions and drama, and there’s still time to binge it before the tournament begins.
Tickets go on sale February 7 at 10am, and with demand consistently outstripping supply, you’ll want to set a reminder.
Seating options range from traditional masu-seki box seats, where you’ll remove your shoes and sit on cushions in Japanese-style floor boxes, to Western-style arena chairs in the balcony sections.
The most coveted – and priciest – tickets are the ringside seats at ¥20,000, where you’ll sit close enough to the action that wrestlers occasionally tumble into spectators.
Weekday box seats run ¥34,000–¥56,000, jumping to ¥38,000–¥60,000 on weekends and holidays. Two-guest box seats with tables cost ¥22,000.
Chair seats offer a more affordable option at ¥3,500–¥11,000 regardless of the day. Note that all tickets carry a ¥2,000 service fee, and children over 4 require their own ticket.
If you miss the online sale, a limited number of same-day general seating tickets (usually a few hundred only) are available at the venue, but they’re not guaranteed and don’t include the premium box seats.
