Online, in advance
The official sumo wrestling website sells tickets online both in Japanese and English. Be aware that tickets often sell out for the tournament within the hour, and even quicker for weekend tickets!
Prices to see sumo wrestling in Japan are anywhere from 38,000 yen ($350) for seats close enough to the stage that you could get smushed by a falling sumo, to 3,800 yen ($35) for seats one row down from the top of the stadium.
At the door, day-of
200 to 400 same-day sumo wrestling tickets are sold at the door each day there is a tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. This is the option that I went with on a Saturday at the end of the May Sumo Grand Tournament in Tokyo.
Tickets are 2,200 yen ($20) per person for any seat in the very back row circling the stadium. I thought this was a pretty good deal since others are paying almost double this amount to sit only one row below us!
There’s a catch to try and snag one of these 400 seats to watch sumo wrestling in Tokyo… You have to line up in front of the Ryogoku Kokugikan from very early in the morning to get them!