How to buy a Basho Ticket outside of Japan?

[Kumafuji]

Hello everyone,

I´ll be in Japan during january basho and would like to get some tickets.

What and where is the easiest way to buy sumo tickets online?

[sumojoann]

https://www.buysumotickets.com/

I highly recommend buysumotickets.com.  Jeff is the owner and his company has been in business since 2008 and is based out of Japan.  I have used his services on several occasions, once buying 11 tickets (Aki 2014), and also buying just one ticket every year for Nagoya (up until the pandemic hit).  He is excellent.  I can't say enough great things about his company.  Honest, reliable, accurate, with great customer service.

They are currently accepting "pre-orders" for the January basho.  His site explains how that works. 

He charges the face value of each ticket plus a service charge for each ticket.  Depending on when you order and your preference, he can ship the tickets to your home by EMS (Express Mail) or have them ready at your hotel in Japan.

I know you'll have a wonderful time at the basho.  Wish I could be there, too!  I hope you will take lots of pictures and I encourage you to post them on the Forum for all of us to enjoy.  Have a great trip!

Edited November 9, 2022 by sumojoann

[Kumafuji]

Hello,

Thank you very much for your help. If it's as easy as you say I'll definitely buy tickets there.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Kumafuji

[Akinomaki]

Not quite as easy, but you can nowadays always get tickets directly from the official site, till a day before you plan to go to visit the basho. Unfortunately they more or less scrapped the English side and you have to register and buy from the Japanese pages, when sales have started.

Since there is hardly ever a sellout now, you can still buy tickets when you are in Japan, at the 7/11 convenience stores where you have to collect your tickets also when you order via the site. The ticket terminals there can be switched to English.

There was a TicketsToday service for foreigners, but I can't access the site now and don't know if it still works.

[Kumafuji]

2 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

Not quite as easy, but you can nowadays always get tickets directly from the official site, till a day before you plan to go to visit the basho. Unfortunately they more or less scrapped the English side and you have to register and buy from the Japanese pages, when sales have started.

Since there is hardly ever a sellout now, you can still buy tickets when you are in Japan, at the 7/11 convenience stores where you have to collect your tickets also when you order via the site. The ticket terminals there can be switched to English.

There was a TicketsToday service for foreigners, but I can't access the site now and don't know if it still works.

Thank you too. I´ll try to pre order and if that is not working I´ll try your way. I also wanted to buy tickets for Hakuho Hair cut Ceremony but sadly failed to get some.

[sumojoann]

https://www.buysumotickets.com/faq#pre-orders 

I definitely recommend pre-ordering, the earlier the better, even nowadays.  Some seats are hard to get or sell out quickly.  If you're pretty flexible and you just want tickets for weekdays, you should be okay.  But if you're picky like me or you are concerned about ending up empty-handed for whatever reason, then pre-ordering is a good idea.  Keep in mind that Jeff doesn't have access to any tickets prior to when they go on sale to the general public.  The day they go on sale is when he jumps in & tries to fill his pre-orders on a first come-first serve basis.  You'll notice that on Jeff's site, there are certain types of seats that he doesn't even try to get for his customers on weekends or holidays because they're too difficult to even try for.  The link above answers FAQ.

 

[sumojoann]

On 09/11/2022 at 07:00, Kumafuji said:

Hello,

Thank you very much for your help. If it's as easy as you say I'll definitely buy tickets there.

@Kumafuji On the buysumotickets.com website, they have a "Contact" page (click on the "Contact" link at the top of the screen).  This  allows you to not only purchase tickets, but to also ask questions.  I recommend you read the FAQ first and if you still have questions or concerns, you should contact them to discuss them, especially if you are feeling a little hesitant about ordering through them.

Edited November 11, 2022 by sumojoann

[Kumafuji]

On 11/11/2022 at 07:07, sumojoann said:

@Kumafuji On the buysumotickets.com website, they have a "Contact" page (click on the "Contact" link at the top of the screen).  This  allows you to not only purchase tickets, but to also ask questions.  I recommend you read the FAQ first and if you still have questions or concerns, you should contact them to discuss them, especially if you are feeling a little hesitant about ordering through them.

I already bought tickets after checking out the homepage. I also bought tickets for Hakuho´s Hair cut ceremony on buysumotickets. I actually based my trip to japan around Hakuho´s retirement and I am so thankful to you for showing me this page, because I didn´t manage to get tickets on the actual sale day on pia website. Hakuho is my absolute favorite since many years and me attending his event makes me so happy.

[sumojoann]

1 hour ago, Kumafuji said:

I already bought tickets after checking out the homepage. I also bought tickets for Hakuho´s Hair cut ceremony on buysumotickets. I actually based my trip to japan around Hakuho´s retirement and I am so thankful to you for showing me this page, because I didn´t manage to get tickets on the actual sale day on pia website. Hakuho is my absolute favorite since many years and me attending his event makes me so happy.

I am very happy for you!  I didn't even know that tickets were still available to Hakuho's Danpatsushiki.  I just found out from Jeff at buysumotickets.com that he still has a few tickets left to that event (in Arena B and C seats).  Oh my goodness, you're going to have such a wonderful experience --- a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the retirement ceremony of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time -- and your favorite, too!  I hope you will take lots of pictures and post them on Sumo Forum for all of us to share in your excitement. 

[Kumafuji]

I´ll try my best to get some nice shots. Thank you again.