To many Japanese, the closest they will ever get to a sumotori — just one of several words employed in Japanese to describe a professional sumo wrestler, — is at one of the six annual honbasho tournaments held in Tokyo (3), Osaka (1), Nagoya (1) and Fukuoka (1).
Few will ever think of attending a morning training session known as asageiko. And it is likely that fewer still will ever realize that they can easily, with just a little effort, attend what is perhaps the very best opportunity to see sumo up close and in person.
Today, several companies charge tourists a small fortune for the opportunity to visit a sumo stable for a couple of hours to see the early morning training. The truth is, though, with a little planning and the aid of an alarm clock, you can do the same for no charge.