Grand Sumo Tournament schedule 2026: all six dates and venues
There are six official tournaments (honbasho) in 2026, each 15 days, starting on a Sunday: Tokyo 11-25 January, Osaka 8-22 March, Tokyo 10-24 May, Nagoya 12-26 July, Tokyo 13-27 September, and Fukuoka 8-22 November. The three Tokyo tournaments are at Ryogoku Kokugikan; the July tournament is now held at the IG Arena in Nagoya. Confirm every date with the Japan Sumo Association before booking.
The next Tokyo tournament is the 2026 September tournament (Aki Basho), 13-27 September at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Dates for future years are set by the Japan Sumo Association and can shift; confirm before you book flights. Japan Sumo Association ↗
What you are seeing
- The pattern repeats every year: one tournament in each odd-numbered month, always 15 days from Sunday to Sunday.
- Tokyo hosts three (January, May, September); Osaka takes March, Nagoya July, and Fukuoka November.
- Between tournaments the wrestlers travel on regional exhibitions (jungyo); those are not ranked competition and are ticketed separately.
What to watch next
- Tickets for each tournament open about eight weeks before day one; the Tokyo dates sell out fastest.
- Weekends, the opening day, and the final few days are the busiest and hardest to get.
- If you have a fixed travel window, work out which tournament overlaps it first, then buy tickets the day they go on sale.
A common first-timer mistake
Assuming sumo runs continuously or that you can catch it any week in Tokyo. There are only 90 tournament days in the year, and only 45 of them are in Tokyo.
Words you may hear
- Honbasho
- an official ranked Grand Sumo Tournament; there are six a year
- Basho
- the everyday short form of honbasho
- Jungyo
- regional exhibition tours held between tournaments
- Senshuraku
- the final day, day 15, of a tournament
Sources and review
Created and photographed in Ryogoku by a Tokyo-based spectator. Facts reviewed against Japan Sumo Association materials on 25 August 2026.