Sumo Morning Practice Calendar, November 2026 to February 2027: Which Weeks to Book

This winter, the weeks to watch sumo morning practice (asageiko) in Tokyo are December 21–27, 2026, January 5–9, 2027 and February 1–19, 2027. In November the wrestlers are in Fukuoka, from November 29 to December 20 the top wrestlers are away on the winter tour, and from late February the stables move to Osaka. Pick the week first, then the tour.

Last checked: October 23, 2026. Stable schedules change at short notice, so check the stable’s calendar or your tour confirmation the night before. For how visits work in general, see our morning practice page.

Stables usually train from about 7:30 to 10:00 on non-tournament days. Arashio stable's street window is free on its calendar days, and guided indoor tours cost about $95–$100. A journalist-led tour on GetYourGuide is our pick for a first visit; the calendar below rates each winter week, and the dates from December 21 and January 5–9 are the ones to aim for.

Why timing matters more than which tour you pick

Many disappointed reviews of sumo practice come down to timing, not tour quality. A tour booked in the wrong week can mean an empty Tokyo stable, a session with only teenage trainees, or a practice that wraps up in half an hour. Stables follow a fixed rhythm around the six grand tournaments (honbasho). In January, May and September the wrestlers are in Tokyo. In March, July and November they move to Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Between tournaments, the top wrestlers also go on regional exhibition tours (jungyo).

Licensed Tokyo guide Ken Tanaka sums it up. During a tournament “only light exercises are held and most stables do not permit view of the practice”. Wrestlers “take 7-10 days off after each of the tournament finishes”. And in November, March and July there are “no practices in Tokyo”.

The week-by-week calendar, November 2026 to early March 2027

How we rated: Best means full stables, sekitori likely and normal session length. Good means normal sessions, but stars or intensity aren’t guaranteed. Limited means short sessions, lower ranks only, or few stables open. None means no Tokyo practice open to visitors. The tournament months behind this rhythm are set out in our best time to see sumo guide.

Other sumo experiences in Tokyo this winter

On mornings when the stables are quiet, or for the evenings around a practice visit, Tokyo has sumo you can book on almost any date: sumo shows with a chanko nabe dinner in Shinjuku and Asakusa, hands-on sumo lessons with former wrestlers, guided walks through Ryogoku past the Kokugikan and the stables, and sumo shows in Osaka and Kyoto for the Kansai leg of a trip. The options below are bookable for dates around your trip.

Weeks to book and weeks to skip

• Book for these windows: December 21–27 (new rankings out, top wrestlers back), January 5–9 (the hardest training before the January tournament) and February 1–19 (practice restarts after the post-tournament rest). For the exhibitions and Setsubun in the same weeks, see our guide to sumo events in Tokyo in February 2027.
• Skip in Tokyo: November 1 to December 20 if you specifically want to see sekitori (the top two divisions), and December 28 to January 4 and January 10–31 if you want a full, open session.
• Free option: Arashio stable in Nihonbashi-Hamacho has a big street window, open from about 7:30 to 9:00 on days marked on its online calendar. Right now that calendar says there will be no practice sessions in Tokyo until December.
• Paid option: for a seat inside a stable, our pick is Tokyo: Sumo Watching with journalist and walks (from $101, 4.9/5 from 308 reviews), run by Japan Shine Tour with a sumo journalist explaining what you’re watching. JTB Sunrise Tours paused sales of its early-morning stable tour on September 18, 2026.
• The biggest risks are timing and expectations, not tickets. Stables cancel at short notice, stable names are often revealed only 3–7 days ahead, under-12s are usually not allowed, and from November 29 to December 20 the stars are on tour.

Key dates at a glance

• Kyushu Basho: November 8–22, 2026, Fukuoka Kokusai Center. Public tickets went on sale September 19, 2026, and sold out on the day they opened. Our sold-out guide covers what still works when a tournament is gone, and our page on Fukuoka sumo alternatives lists the Kyushu stables open to visitors.
• Winter jungyo: November 29 – December 20, 2026: 19 event days at 18 venues, opening in Amakusa, Kumamoto, running through Kyushu and Kansai with Kanto stops at Hiratsuka (December 15) and Hasuda (December 16), and ending with two days in Uruma, Okinawa, on December 19–20.
• Hatsu Basho banzuke: scheduled for December 21, 2026.
• Hatsu Basho: January 10–24, 2027, Ryogoku Kokugikan. Tickets on sale December 5, 2026.
• Endo’s retirement ceremony (danpatsu-shiki): January 30, 2027, Ryogoku Kokugikan, with second-division bouts, the hair-cutting and top-division bouts. Check the official site for door times.
• Haru Basho tickets: on sale February 6, 2027, the same weekend as the Tokyo exhibitions in our February 2027 sumo events guide.
• Haru Basho: March 14–28, 2027, EDION Arena Osaka.

What you’ll see: a session, minute by minute

Times are typical, not guaranteed. Every stable runs its own clock.

1. Pre-dawn to about 7:30: the juniors start. The lowest-ranked wrestlers are already at work when visitors arrive. Stables usually have one ring, so lower ranks train first and senior wrestlers follow.
2. About 7:30–8:15: shiko, suriashi and stretching. You’ll see the leg-raising stomps (shiko), slow sliding-foot drills across the clay (suriashi) and deep splits. It’s hypnotic and very quiet.
3. About 8:00–9:00: moshiai and sanban-geiko (practice bouts). In moshiai the winner stays in and picks his next opponent. Sanban-geiko is repeated bouts between two evenly matched wrestlers. This is where you hear the slap of bodies, which tour reviewers mention again and again.
4. About 9:00–9:30: butsukari-geiko. A senior wrestler offers his chest and a junior charges into it again and again, often until he’s caked in sand. It’s the most dramatic part, and sometimes uncomfortable to watch.
5. About 9:30–10:00: cool-down and ritual close. Final stretches, then the bow. On many tours a photo with the wrestlers follows, if the stable allows it that day.
6. Afterwards: chanko. Wrestlers eat their hot-pot lunch after practice. Visitors don’t join them (Arashio says its wrestlers don’t sit with supporters even at its paid events), so plan your own chanko lunch in Ryogoku.

Session length depends on the day. The main Viator practice listing gives 60–90 minutes, dropping to 30–40 minutes during Tokyo tournaments. Arashio’s English page lists 7:30–9:00, though another line on the same page says 9:30.

Free or guided: which is right for you?

If you have one morning and it falls in a Best week, pay for an indoor tour: the sound and smell at ringside are what you came for. If you’re on a budget, traveling with under-12s or in Tokyo for several mornings, start with Arashio’s window. Ken Tanaka makes a fair point: “Since talking is not allowed during training, there isn’t really a huge advantage in having a guide accompanying you for the visit.” A guide earns the fee before and after the session.

Arashio stable: the free option

• Where: 2-47-2 Nihonbashi-Hamacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Arashio’s Japanese page puts it 3 minutes on foot from Hamacho Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line and 10 minutes from Ningyocho Station.
• When: practice runs from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. on days shown on the calendar at arashio.net (English page: tour_e.html). The stable warns that sessions “may have sudden breaks”.
• Right now: the calendar says, “We have left for Fukuoka for the November Grand Tournament,” with no practice sessions in Tokyo until December.
• Don’t call or email. The stable says: “If you reach out to us by phone or email, we won’t be able to provide any additional information. Please refer to the schedule calendar.” Reservations are not required and viewing is free.
• House rules: keep quiet, no flash, no eating or drinking, and don’t sit on the neighbors’ stairs. You can’t watch from inside; the Japanese page says viewing is through the window only. Women are welcome; the Japanese page says visitors of any gender can watch.
• Who you might see: brothers Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage, both makuuchi regulars, plus newly promoted juryo wrestler Tanji. Don’t count on Wakatakakage. The Japan Times reported on July 8, 2026 that he needed two emergency surgeries for femoral compartment syndrome after an injury in practice, and he missed both the Nagoya and Aki tournaments.
• When to arrive: stand at the window by about 7:15 in Best weeks. Ken Tanaka notes there “can be rows of people watching” in peak season. Arashio’s own supporters’-club terms say sekitori generally don’t attend its between-tournament weekday events because they are “mostly absent on tour”, which is the stable’s own description of the winter tour pulling them away.
• A seat inside Arashio: Chuo City’s tourism association has sold small-group seated tours inside the stable with a live English audio guide. They sell out, and no December or January dates had been posted when the source article was researched, so check before you plan around one.

Guided stable tours compared

Prices are “from” prices seen in October 2026 and change with currency and season.

The journalist-led tour is our pick because the guide explains what you’re watching over 90 silent minutes, and its reviews are the strongest of the practice tours we checked. The Air Choice tour has more reviews and costs about the same, so take it if your morning is sold out on the first.

Etiquette checklist

• Silence, including no whispering, from the moment you enter until the bow.
• Phone fully silent, shutter sound muted. No flash, and no video where the stable says so.
• No food, drink or gum.
• Sit still on the floor, cross-legged or seiza. Never point the soles of your feet at the ring or the wrestlers.
• Stay to the end. Several tours say leaving early is a serious faux pas, and some say early leavers lose the photo and the refund. Use the restroom beforehand.
• Remove hats and sunglasses, and take your shoes off where asked. Wear clean socks.
• Cover tattoos if you can.
• Skip perfume and dress modestly. You’re a guest in someone’s home and gym.
• Never approach or photograph wrestlers mid-practice for a selfie. Wait for the organized photo, if there is one.
• Never walk into a stable uninvited, and don’t sit on the neighbors’ steps at Arashio.
• Women are welcome to watch. The only restriction is the traditional ban on women stepping onto the dohyo.

How to avoid a disappointing visit

1. Pick the week first. If your only free mornings fall between November 29 and December 20, expect lower-division wrestlers only. The visit can still be good, but set your expectations.
2. Read the “location TBA” clause. Many listings assign the stable only 3–7 days before. You can’t pick a yokozuna’s stable unless the listing names it.
3. Check minimum ages. Twelve or 13 and up is common.
4. Accept that photos are discretionary. Listings say photos depend on the stable’s discretion, and some warn that the photo can be cancelled on the day.
5. Arrive early. Tours start promptly, and late arrivals usually forfeit with no refund.
6. Avoid tournament weeks for your main visit. Sessions shrink to 30–40 minutes.
7. Check the night before. For Arashio, that’s the online calendar. For tours, it’s your confirmation email.

Practical tips

• What to wear in winter: layers you can sit in, plus thick socks. Stables are often unheated with the door open. At Arashio you stand outside at dawn, so bring gloves and a hat you can take off. A November 2025 reviewer of the Fukuoka practice tour wrote that she “only wished I had worn warmer clothing as ended up being a really cold day”.
• Getting there: most tour stables are around Ryogoku, Kiyosumi-Shirakawa and Oshiage in Sumida and Koto wards, with meeting times between 7:00 and 8:00. Arashio is on the Toei Shinjuku Line at Hamacho.
• Make a Ryogoku morning of it: after practice, walk to Ryogoku Kokugikan and the Sumo Museum. Check opening days first, because the museum closes between exhibitions. Then have a chanko lunch in the neighborhood; our Ryogoku Kokugikan guide has the details.
• With kids: under-12s are usually not allowed on indoor tours. Arashio’s window is the family option, but it means standing still and silent for an hour. A sumo show with dinner takes children of any age.

November option: Fukuoka in Kyushu Basho season

In November every stable moves to temporary lodgings (yado) in Fukuoka and Saga, often on shrine grounds, in warehouses or at company facilities. A Japanese fan site’s 2026 list shows how mixed access is:

• Supporters’-club members only, reservation required: Nishonoseki-beya (yokozuna Onosato) at I-Base Fukuoka in Nishi-ku; Tatsunami-beya (yokozuna Hoshoryu) at the Ryoyu Pan stadium in Itoshima; Isegahama-beya inside Dazaifu Tenmangu.
• “To be updated”: Sadogatake, Ajigawa and others.

The easiest route for visitors is Fukuoka: Morning Sumo Practice and Hakata Old Town (from $77, 4.2/5 from 22 reviews). It visits a stable near Hakata Station for about an hour, in a three-week window in November only, then continues on a Hakata Old Town walk. Twenty-two reviews is a small sample, so read the recent ones before you book.

A pricier request-based product, Sumo Morning Practice with Local Guide, Tokyo & More (from £143, new listing with no reviews yet), lists Fukuoka availability from October 27 to November 22, 2026. Our Nagoya and Fukuoka guide covers the tournament and the city.

Late-February option: Osaka in Haru Basho season

From late February, stables move to Osaka-area lodgings ahead of the March 14–28 Haru Basho. Arashio, for example, has lodged at Otori Taisha shrine in Sakai and posted practice-viewing details there, with spring 2026 its fifth year. The same request-based Sumo Morning Practice with Local Guide lists Osaka from March 1 to 28, 2027. Outside March, “Osaka sumo” on booking sites usually means shows with retired wrestlers, not real stable practice. Our guide to sumo in Osaka covers those shows and the March tournament.

FAQ

When is sumo morning practice in Tokyo?

Typically from about 7:30 to 10:00 on non-tournament days. The free Arashio window lists 7:30–9:00.

Can I watch sumo practice in Tokyo in November 2026?

Practically no. Stables are in Fukuoka for the November 8–22 Kyushu Basho, and Arashio says there is no Tokyo practice until December.

Is December good for sumo practice?

December 21–27 is excellent. Before December 20, most top wrestlers are on the winter tour, so Tokyo stables mainly show lower ranks.

What’s the single best week this winter?

January 5–9, 2027, the last full week before the January 10–24 Hatsu Basho. Our New Year sumo calendar adds the Meiji Jingu ceremony and chanko that week.

Can I watch practice during the January tournament?

Sometimes, but sessions are light (30–40 minutes) and many stables close to visitors.

Is watching sumo practice free?

Yes at Arashio stable, from the street window on calendar days. Indoor tours cost about $94–$101.

Do I need to book Arashio?

No. The stable says “Reservations are not required”, but practice isn’t guaranteed, so check the calendar.

Can I phone a stable to arrange a visit?

Generally no. Stables today either run supporters-only viewing or work through tour companies, and Arashio asks people not to phone or email.

What’s the minimum age?

Usually 12 or 13 for indoor tours. The street window has no limit.

Can women watch sumo practice?

Yes. Women just may not step onto the dohyo.

Will I see a yokozuna?

Only if your tour names his stable, and even then it isn’t guaranteed. Most tours assign the stable later.

Can I take photos?

Usually yes, without flash and with the shutter muted. Video is sometimes banned. Group photos with wrestlers happen at the stable’s discretion.

What should I wear?

Warm layers you can sit cross-legged in, clean socks, no perfume, and tattoos covered if possible.

What happens after practice?

Possibly a photo, then you leave while the wrestlers eat chanko. Head into Ryogoku for your own chanko lunch.

Can I see practice in Osaka or Fukuoka?

Yes, in season: Fukuoka in late October and November, Osaka in late February and March. Access is through tours or the stables’ own announcements.

How we checked this

We used the Japan Sumo Association’s tournament and regional tour schedules as recorded on this site, Arashio stable’s own Japanese and English pages, JTB Sunrise Tours’ news notices, current operator listings on GetYourGuide and Viator, licensed guide Ken Tanaka’s month-by-month notes, and a Japanese fan tracker of the Kyushu stable lodgings.

Ready to Book?

Our morning practice page explains how a guided visit runs. If your dates miss the good weeks, the December winter tour guide covers the jungyo stops near Tokyo and Osaka, and a sumo show runs year-round.