Sumo isn't just "fat guys" wearing a muwashi and pushing each other, but a serious sport that combines weight, speed, intellect, technique and guile. It's not uncommon for a small guy to defeat a much larger opponent using his Sumo skills. The minimum height and weight is 167 cm and 67 kg.

The best source for detailed info about sumo is at goo Sumo.

Grand Sumo Tournaments are held six times per year, three in Tokyo (January, May, September) and three others in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. This page will discuss the Tokyo tournaments, but attendance information is similar for the others. Tournaments run 15 days,  starting and ending on Sundays.

The Tokyo tournaments (basho) are held at the Kokugikan, the Grand Sumo Stadium in Ryogoku. It is easily accessible by train or taxi, but who takes taxis in Tokyo? A terrific English-language train planner for both city systems as well as cross-country is available.

The tournament starts early in the day, sometimes as early as 10 AM, although the top division of rikishi (wrestlers) doesn't occur until 4 PM. The day progresses with the young, mostly inexperienced wrestlers through to the top divisions all day. In many ways it's a sport that's like baseball - you can sit and talk to your neighbors, eat and drink copiously, and occasionally be cued to watch some action in the ring. A generally good time to show up is between noon and 1 PM.

Tickets used to be a chore to secure, but during the week tickets are usually available at the box office for that day's matches. On weekends it's best to get tickets in advance - there are now web-based ticketing systems available, and accessibility is getting better all the time. It took some time for the sumo society to "get with" the technology, but they now see the advantages for them and are embracing it. Ticket prices start at 3,600 Yen.

A whole array of food and drinks are available onsite, but you can also pack your own food and bring it with you. Any shop selling obento boxes will package your food to take with you.

One of the recent additions is the availability of commentary by the English-language broadcasters who do the NHK television broadcast. There are small FM receivers with earpieces available for rent, that can be used to hear either the Japanese or English play-by-play. The "rental" is actually free; you leave a deposit for the radio and they return it in full when the radio is returned. (The English broadcast starts at 4PM and is on 78.3MHz. Japan starts their FM band at a lower frequency then most other countries, so your radio from home may not work.)

A great and inexpensive souvenir is a Banzuke, which lists the wrestlers in their current rank for the particular tournament. These can be purchased for 50 Yen, but they go quick and only a limited amount are printed each basho.

The last two hours, from 4 PM until 6 PM, is the very top rikishi, finishing the day with bouts between the yokozuna (the highest rank in sumo) and each day's challenger.  In the past, three Hawaiian-Americans dominated sumo wrestling alongside Japanese wrestlers. They were Konishiki, Akebono, and Musashimaru. (Those are their sumo names - Akebono's real name is Chad Rowan.) As of the May 2008  tournament in Tokyo, the two Yokozuna are Asashoryu, a Mongolian and the recently promoted Mongolian, Hakuho.  Additional future candidates for Yokozuna include a Bulgarian, Kotooshu. The addition of Caucasian rikishi has really stirred things up in the sumo community. It was one thing having Americans, as long as they were Hawaiians and Asian in appearance. But the influx of Europeans has made this once Japanese-only sport more exciting and attractive to a wider audience.

After the last bout, be sure to stay for the short ceremony at the end, which is designed to rid the dohyo (ring) of negative energy from the losers. It's bad form to run for the exits during this ceremony.

Enjoy the sumo!