Hello!
We are feeling great that we can start this corner, “Staff Blog” where we’d like to inform you about the places to see or events in Japan. The first one is about “2011 January Grand Sumo Tournament”, which is going to be held from Jan.9th to Jan.23rd in Ryogoku Kokugikan Stadium.
You may not be familiar with “Sumo”, but it is Japan’s national sport and has a long history. It originated over 2,000 years ago as a performance to entertain the Shinto gods. It is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion. If you are interested in Japanese culture and martial arts, we recommend that you should see it at least once.
The sumo stadium “Ryogoku Kokugikan” is located just a few minutes’ walk from Ryogoku Station on the Oedo Line, which is 20 minutes from Higashi Shinjuku Station, one of the nearest stations to our hotel.
The access map is here.
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/ticket/honbasho_joho/tokyo.html
And you can get tickets online, if you visit here:
http://ent-sumo.pia.jp/en/sumo01.php
Since Ryogoku area has numerous temples, parks, and museums, visiting those places is recommendable as well. Together with Sumo wrestling, they should help you to appreciate Japanese culture.