In March Osaka holds a sumo tournament at the Prefectural Gymnasium. It lasts pretty much all day. You can learn about a typical sumo day here. We got tickets on the day for ¥3600 each (arena C).
We took our seats about 2pm, and the gymnasium was pretty empty. Most people around us were relaxing, eating bento and drinking beer, not necessarily paying attention to the sumo!
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the sumo. After 4pm the serious competitors came out, the seats filled up and the tension grew. Although with it the pomp and ceremony took longer, often longer than most of the matches!
The last match was epic, we had been taking sides and the left guy (mine) was a giant, he had 7 sponsors and the other competitor 10! The crowd were getting riled up and yelling “ganbare”. The giant western man on the left looked to be winning but at the last second the other guy spun it around and threw the giant over the edge of the ring! Everyone went insane! A report of the match can be found here!.
Although it is mostly a tourist / serious sumo lovers event I really recommend it and hope to go again next year!
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