On Tuesday, December 8, 2026, it looks like “Ozumo Nishinomiya Basho” will be held in Nishinomiya.
(Thanks to Kaorun, peke, and Aki-chan for the tips)
Here it is ↓
The venue is Life partner Arena (Hyogo Prefectural Gymnasium). It’s scheduled for December 8(Tue) from 9:00 to 14:30.
2026年12月8日の大相撲西宮場所、行く？行かない？
Because it’s a regional sumo tour, there will apparently be a popular “hair-tying demonstration” where you can watch a rikishi’s oicho-mage topknot being tied, as well as “shokkiri”, a comedic demonstration of banned moves and unusual winning techniques. There may also be chances to shake hands with popular wrestlers and take photos with them, so that kind of interaction you don’t get at a regular tournament is part of the appeal of these tours.
The official website is here ↓
[Official] Winter Tour Ozumo Nishinomiya Basho
Here it is on the map ↓
The address is 1-2-7 Naruohama, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
目次
A courtesy visit to Governor Saito ahead of the event
So, ahead of this Nishinomiya Basho,
Edagawa-oyakata from the Japan Sumo Association came to pay a courtesy visit to Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito.
Which means Nishi2 also went beyond Nishinomiya…
and came to Kobe, where the Hyogo Prefectural Government Office is located!
Since we had the chance, we went to see how the courtesy visit for the Nishinomiya Basho went.
By the way, this will apparently be the first time it’s held at a prefectural gymnasium. From here on, here are some of the fun exchanges we saw on site.
The governor really loves sumo
The moment the formal greetings ended and the conversation began, the governor’s first words were this:
“I actually like sumo quite a lot.”
He brought it up himself before anyone even asked.
When Governor Saito was in high school, it was right during the Waka-Taka boom. He lived in a dorm and there was only one TV, but apparently everyone would crowd around and watch intently. He still watches on weekends and on the final day of tournaments, apparently.
“There aren’t any same-day tickets anymore”
Governor: “I went a couple of times to the top makumi seats at the Kokugikan.”
Oyakata: “Was that a long time ago? These days, there aren’t any same-day tickets anymore.”
Governor: “There aren’t!?”
Oyakata: “Because everything sells out.”
That was a moment that really made us think: wow, sumo is popular.
Apparently you used to be able to wander around inside
The governor said this with a hint of nostalgia:
“What was fun was that you could move around freely.”
In the early morning, you could apparently even go down close to the dohyo. These days, it seems a bit stricter.
“Oh, that reminds me,” said the governor.
He happily said, “Olympic Ojisan was there too, and I got a photo with him.” Mr. Saito is totally the type who loves taking photos with famous people. Very much so.
The oyakata kept saying, “People in Hyogo really love sumo”
The oyakata said this over and over during the conversation.
“People in Hyogo Prefecture all love sumo.”
“The Kobe Basho had over around 8,000 people, even though it was on a weekday.”
Last year’s events in Kakogawa and Amagasaki were also apparently huge successes on weekdays. Hyogo really is sumo country, isn’t it?
Except for those absent, “all makuuchi wrestlers will appear”
This is a really important point.
“Except for those out due to injury or illness, all makuuchi wrestlers will appear.”
Including the yokozuna, basically everyone will come. For a regional tour, that’s pretty impressive.
Ura, a Kwansei Gakuin graduate, too
When Nishi2 brought up, “Speaking of Nishinomiya, there’s Ura-zeki, who graduated from Kwansei Gakuin,”
he said, “Ura will of course be there too, depending on his condition that day.” His Kwansei Gakuin-designed kesho-mawashi with the moon really stands out, doesn’t it?
Kids might be able to step onto the dohyo too
And then the oyakata made this nice suggestion:
“We also do kids’ sumo. Children can get on the dohyo and do a little practice with the sekitori.”
Apparently, they can accommodate just under 10 children up to around elementary school age. He laughed and said, “It’s a weekday, but maybe they could even take the day off school somehow.”
Koshikiiwa Shrine also serves as a lodging place for Futagoyama-beya, and Nishinomiya Shrine holds kids’ sumo too, so Nishinomiya has all kinds of connections with sumo.
To the Nishinomiya Board of Education: please somehow help coordinate things for the kids who want to go that day 🙏
Still, why was Nishinomiya chosen?
One thing we were curious about was why Nishinomiya was chosen,
西宮といえばこの力士！誰が思い浮かぶ？
