Tokyo Sumo History Walk & Chanko Lunch: Small Group Or Private

The Sumo tour with Jeff was our best tour in Japan. Jeff was very knowledgeable about the Sumo culture and area. He showed us around the Ryogoku area, showed us some Sumo stables (outside), the Sumo museum and other important places to the Sumo culture. More importantly, Jeff was very interesting and had in depth knowledge of Sumo living and culture. We ended our tour with a fabulous sumo style hot-pot lunch.

There is a lot more to learn about Sumo Wrestling than we even imagined, thanks to our wonderful guide, Jeff. Though we don’t meet any Sumo wrestlers because they were away on a tournament it was so interesting and informative. So that was not necessary. There is a whole culture to learn about in this area of Tokyo. We were treated to a traditional meal after the tour.

We had a private tour of the sumo historic area of Tokyo. Our guide Taka was excellent - very friendly, informative and happy to answer questions. The chanko-nabe meal was plentiful and delicious.

More than just sumo. The sumo education was fascinating as was the overall leanings of Japan and the area. Our guide Jeff was very friendly and answered all our questions. The hotpot meal at the end was fantastic. Thank you

An absolutely incredible experience! Our guide Taka was a true gentleman who spoke perfect English, was so kind and had an amazing knowledge of history and the location. The lunch afterwards was also delicious. Would absolutely recommend this to anyone! Thanks so much. Taka!

Taka our guide was excellent. But our timing was tight - we knew we were btn sumo tournaments & wouldn't see any actual sessions, but then found out Sundays even the training facility tours were not open. Lovely lunch & other sights, but touring that day wasn't really worth the $$ & time.

Tour guide was wonderful, experienced, knowledgeable, we had a great time with Jeff. Downside: museum was closed. Lunch was great.

Our guide for the day was Shizue (Sue). Sue was extremely knowledgeable and great fun to be with. She really took the time to get to know us personally which helped the flow of the tour. We chose this tour because it's about the history of sumo and Sue did not disappoint. We highly recommend this tour and Sue!

The tour was really interesting, learned a lot about sumo and saw some good sights around the area they live and train in. We also were shown a few other sights around the area including a nice garden with a pond. Our guide Shizue was really nice and enthusiastic and she explained things very well. The lunch we had was great, had a lot of different elements to it and we can understand why the sumo wrestlers eat it as it's a very hearty meal. Overall a really nice experience and would recommend to anyone interested in sumo.

It was my two nephews and I first ever visit and this tour was a great experience! We had a private tour with Jeff who was kind, fun, and informative. Loved walking through Ryogoku and getting not just sumo history but town and artists history. Fun anecdotal stories, interesting sights and a fabulous lunch to top it off. Jeff was great and took/shared lots of photos for the three of us. I'd say the only drawback was the timing of our trip bc all the Sumo world was in Osaka for the tournament but that was just dumb luck, highly recommend

Jeff was fantastic! Very knowledgeable, informative and personable. Highly recommend the tour in general and Jeff in particular.

We had a great Sumo history walking tour with our guide Taka. He was welcoming, friendly, insightful & courteous. We walked around Ryogoku (the center of sumo wrestling) and visited Sumida Hokusai Museum, Sword museum, Former Yasuda Garden, sumo stables, sumo event stadium, etc. We’ve ended our tour with a delicious & delightful chanko-nabe lunch. We enjoyed gaining knowledge about sumo wrestlers and their training grounds. We highly recommend this tour.

This was such a interesting tour and a really great way to see Ryogoku. Jeff is very knowledgable and answered all of our questions, with lots of time for us to take photos and look around the different shrines and areas. The lunch was incredible and we were very full afterwards! Highly recommend.

Our tour guide was Jeff who was incredibly knowledgeable on the subject of Sumo and Sumida area. He provided us with a 3 hour tour of the area, showing us interesting sites and giving us a good history of the area. We attended the tour during a time where the sumo were in grand tournament, but not in Tokyo. Jeff showed us the many sumo sites and stables and provided us with a history and funny stories. It was very good to get to know the Ryogoku area, and we were very lucky as the weather was beautiful. The food was incredible, a smaller version of a traditional sumo chanko - very filling but tasty also. I would highly recommend the tour. We had a great time and Jeff was such a good guide.

Our Sumo Town Tour Guide by local Japanese native "Jeff" was beyond awesome! Being the only ones in our group, we luckily got a real personalized sumo town tour treatment! Jeff was very knowledgeable and explained and pointed out the various sumo stables, facts and various places in Ryogoku that are essential to sumo culture. It's VERY beneficial and worth doing BEFORE doing your first ever live sumo match, if you've never seen sumo before. This tour really prepares and educates you for the real thing later in the day/evening, so that you're more versed when watching it in the arena. Ohh and my goodness, the Chanko will be worth your while too...it's SOOOO GOOD!!! I'd gladly do this tour again in the future as a refresher, should I happen to be in town again for the next tournament!! You won't regret any moment of this educational and valuable tour experience!!!

We booked a tour to discover the grand sumo tournament with Arumachi inc and it was amazing. Perfect to have a guide that allows you to better understand the sumo culture. And most of all, we were really lucky to have Aki as our guide! Aki was really nice and full explanation. She even speaks French. A very nice moment!

We learned a lot about sumo life from Jeff, even though all the sumo were currently in Nagoya at a tournament. We recommend this tour to everyone, it teaches a lot about the history of Japan and sumo.

Informative & well planed walking tour. Taka is good at telling the story of sumo. Chanko restaurant staff were very warm & charming. We had a good time.

We did this tour prior to attending the sumo tournament and it was a perfect add on to this experience Our Guide,Taka, was so informative as we strolled around the streets near the stadium. We learnt so many things from the experience. It was a small group and being connected via headset to our guide was very helpful. We had our meal after the tournament which was a great way to end the tour. Highly recommend this tour.

We had a wonderful tour and experience. Our guide Yoko was pleasant, friendly, knowledgeable and spoke great English. Unfortunately it rained really hard on our tour day but Yoko handled it with grace. Highly recommend Yoko and this tour.

Taka-San was very courteous kind and informative! It was nice to learn about the famous Japanese ukiyo-e artist and the history on our way through Sumo town. I really enjoyed learning about the history of sumo and the changing-nabe was tasty!

Aki-san was very knowledgeable about the culture and ways of sumo wrestling. We were delighted to see the sights and listen to the stories and history of Ryogoku. I would recommend this tour to anyone interested in the history and culture of sumo. Great experience!!!

This was a very good tour of the Ryogoku area, which includes the Hokusai museum, Japanese gardens, a Japanese sword museum, Shinto and Buddhist temples, sumo arena and sumo stables. Please check if the museums of interest are open during your visit - the Tokyo-Edo museum is being remodeled until 2025 and the sword museum was closed over the Dec-Jan break for a change of exhibit. We would have liked to also attend a sumo practice in hindsight; those tours start at 7:30 am, which would be no problem with jet lag from North or South America, in hindsight. Our guide Taka was very helpful, patient and informative with describing the history, context and culture of all of the above, which a simple solo walkthrough would not cover. Lunch was a hearty hot pot at a local restaurant. Very good tour and hope to return during a sumo grand tournament and to see the sword/katana museum.

The tour was excellent. Tako-San was very friendly, knowledgeable, spoke very good English. Overall great experience. Thank you. Highly recommended. Ask for Mr. Tako-san

We initially wanted to watch Sumo morning training and have lunch with them, but unfortunately, they had gone for a competition at that time. So, in the end, we opted for this cultural tour. The tour guide, Yasu San, was well-prepared, providing thorough explanations of the culture involved, which deepened our understanding of Sumo. Overall It was amazing and highly recommend this tour.

Rieko was comprehensive and showed us around the many historical sights that showed the history of Japanese culture! It would have been nice if we could enter any of the locations that she showed us However, the walk was great and her friendliness helped us learn more about Japan!

The tour guide yoko Kanno is an amazing person. She was very friendly and informative. She clicks very cute photos. She even took us to akihabra and told us all the important stores to visit. Would recommend a tour with her :)))

Rieko definitely made us feel at home in Ryogaku with her passions for sumo and Japanese history. From the Mawashi viewing to the sumo grand hall and shinto vs Buddhism explanations of culture and beliefs, we have learnt so much from her fluent explanations despite our random questions. Thank you for the fun morning walk in the park 🏞 (storks and tortoises 3x)

It was a truly informative and interesting walking tour of Ryogoku. Yoko, our guide for the half day tour, was a real trooper. She didn’t mind that we were 15 minutes late. She had a deep understanding of the history of Sumo and showed us some of the interesting stables. I wish we had more time to spend with her and I hope to have her guide us next time around

We had a very nice trip in the Ryogoku neighborhood during which we learned a lot about the history of the neighborhood and its connection to sumo sports. Also the subsequent food was very good.