In addition to the six tournaments held each year (three in Tokyo and one each in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka), the big guys conduct exhibition tournaments in such provincial towns as - Kumamoto! Yes! - It is almost time for the Ozumo Kumamoto Basho, which will be held on December 10 at the Prefectural Gymnasium. Tickets run as low as 4,000 yen for nosebleeder seats (but again, this is a small gym, so even the cheap seats are not bad). For an extra 3,000 yen, you can get a special bento, tea, and a bag of “sumo goods.”
Even if you don’t want to shell out the dough to watch the fights, sumo aficionados should mark this date on their calendar: As this is an exhibition match and thus does not count towards their ranking, the wrestlers tend to be low-key and treat their time here as a sort of vacation. Hang out around the gym before or after the event and you’ll likely be able to meet some of the sumotori; listen to their conversations and you might figure out where they’ll be going to drink that night and maybe join in (happened to me a few years ago). More info is at the link: http://www.tku.co.jp/web/event/kumamotobasho
- William